Topeka city manager outlines 10 strategic goals, customer‑service streamlining and housing funding options

Dr. Robert Perez, Topeka city manager, told the Citizens Government Review Committee on March 5 that he and staff have identified 10 strategic goals for fiscal year 2025 and are pursuing organizational and service changes to deliver them.

Perez said the goals were drawn from input he received from the governing body, staff and the public, and that they cluster around seven focal areas including quality of life and public safety. "I told council last night it's definitely not an exhaustive list of everything that the departments will be working on," Perez said, adding that departments also have subordinate goals tied to the high‑level priorities.

The manager described three avenues the public currently uses to request city services: the SeeClickFix platform, the utilities call center and contacts routed through council members. He said one of this year's priorities is to streamline that system so residents reach the right service more quickly through a consolidated nonemergency option (Perez and staff referenced a single short nonemergency number conceptually described as "301"). Perez said the change is intended to reduce use of 911 for nonemergencies and to make follow‑up more consistent.

On staffing, Perez described a more scrutinized position‑approval process after a hiring freeze. He said the city is continuing to fill mission‑critical public safety positions but is reviewing other vacancies through a position review committee (human resources, budget staff and department heads) to determine whether duties can be redistributed. He also told the committee he is planning a deputy city manager to oversee infrastructure and development departments and intends to expand the finance leader role into a CFO/assistant city manager position overseeing internal services.

Perez described recent operational practice during a field incident involving the unsheltered population: department heads and deputies were empowered to suspend operations as needed and investigators were engaged. He said the city uses competitive procurements (requests for proposals) when hiring outside consultants.

Affordable housing was a recurring topic. Perez said the city has roughly $1,000,000 in an Affordable Housing Trust Fund and about $500,000 in an economic development fund that officials have discussed activating; he told the committee that the challenge is sustaining the fund without an ongoing revenue source. "One of the things that we've been talking about is finding some way to potentially partner with somebody who could maybe do some kind of public‑private partnership," Perez said. He also said the governing body has previously discussed a half‑cent sales tax proposal that would generate new money for public safety, affordable housing and homelessness programs, and that council and staff must demonstrate internal budget discipline first before asking voters for new revenue.

Perez responded to committee questions about customer service, saying many residents contact staff via email, social media or through council members, and that the goal is to reduce duplication and improve response time. He noted the city has an interim chief financial officer provided by an outside consulting group while the organization rethinks the long‑term structure of the finance function.

The committee agreed by consensus to extend Perez's presentation time by up to 15 minutes so members could finish questions. Perez concluded by saying he and his team are working on implementing the strategic goals and on organizational changes to support delivery.

Why it matters: The manager's presentation lays out near‑term priorities and staffing changes that affect how residents get services, how the city deploys grant and local funds for housing, and the structure that will oversee public works and public safety.