It’s been more than a year since Corpus Christi had a permanent city manager.
But that changes on Monday, which will be Peter Zanoni’s first day at work as the new city manager.
He apparently has done a lot of prep work for his first day of work.
He says he’s already had some interaction with the community.
This head start has helped him get a better idea of what Corpus Christi expects and needs.
“Execution is important,” he says. “I’m all about getting things done and so we need to deliver.”
As day one nears, Zanoni is more than ready to hit the ground running.
Coming into a new city with many new faces, he felt it was a good idea to hear what the community had to say.
“Getting input from the community, I’m hearing a lot from the community ever since I began the interview process,” he said. “And getting their expectations and the individual expectations and their individual needs will be helpful with me establishing the goals of the city.”
Some of those expectations have helped Zanoni set a list of priorities as the new city manager.
His aims include:
- Improving the city’s development services department.
- Improving Corpus Christi’s roads.
- Keeping a safe water supply.
- Getting non-profits to collaborate to help the homeless population.
And in just the short time he’s been in the city, he has become well aware of the condition our streets and roads are in.
“I mean the drive off I-37 just to City Hall alone poses several questions to me,” he said.
Answering those questions about streets will be a challenge, and Zanoni understands there will be many more challenges.
But he said, that’s half the reason why he even applied.
“There’s a lot to do in Corpus Christi and that’s one of the reasons I took the job, is there is a lot of challenges that the community is asking to be addressed,” he said. “If it was an easier type of job, I probably wouldn’t have had much interest.”
Monday morning, Zanoni will be meeting with the city’s top 50 department leaders to discuss shared goals, visions and expectations.
That meeting is set for 8:30 a.m.
Salaries for past city managers have averaged about $220,000.
The City Council offered Zanoni an annual base salary of $300,000.
He’ll also receive stipends for a car, a work phone and moving expenses.
