Jones taking over health department

City Manager Marc Ott announced the appointment of Shannon Jones as the new director of the city’s Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday. Carlos Rivera, who served as HHS director since 2011, resigned on Feb. 6, effective April 6. His brief letter to Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras gave no reason for the resignation. Rivera declined to speak to the Austin Monitor, and Lumbreras was not available for comment Tuesday. According to Ott’s memo, Jones has been with the city since 1999 and has served as deputy director for the department since 2011. According to information from the city, Jones holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and has completed coursework toward a Ph.D. in management and policy from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. In his memo, Ott said that Jones has “a proven track record with our organization.” The memo indicates that Jones had recently planned to retire, but reconsidered to take the position as the department’s director.