Shannon Jones appointed interim ACM

Former Austin Public Health director and “Health Talk” host Shannon Jones will be serving as Austin’s interim assistant city manager. A news release about the appointment explains that Jones’ purview will include homelessness, some elements of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and steering the city’s work on health and environment and culture and lifelong learning in a number of city departments, including Animal Services, Austin Public Health, Austin Public Library, Austin Resource Recovery and the Parks and Recreation Department. Jones said in the statement, “They say that nobody really leaves the city of Austin. Having already spent a significant portion of my career serving the community here I am excited to return once again and contribute to the great work city employees are doing, particularly around minimizing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Jones will be filling in for former Assistant City Manager Chris Shorter, who is relocating to Baltimore to serve as the city administrator. Recruitment to permanently fill the assistant city manager slot will begin this week.