At The Core | Spotlight On Dr. Robert Perez
“At the Core with Danielle J. Martin” features leaders across Kansas and is dedicated to showcasing the stories and voices of local leaders who have substantially impacted their communities and industries.
ABOUT DR. ROBERT PEREZ
In May of this year, the City of Topeka named Dr. Robert Perez the new city manager of Topeka. With more than 20 years of municipal government experience, Dr. Perez holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Education with a concentration in organizational leadership, a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in political science.
Dr. Perez previously served as the assistant city manager for the City of Dallas, Texas. He has an extensive background in public works and has published numerous academic articles on topics ranging from the nexus of data and infrastructure to innovations in local government. In his most recent role, Dr. Perez provided executive leadership to the City of Dallas’ Departments of Public Works, Transportation, Bond and Construction Management, Equipment and Fleet Services and Building Services, as well as provided oversight to the Departments of Sanitation, Code Compliance, Animal Care Services, Homeless Solution and 311 Customer Service.
The City of Topeka selected Dr. Perez from a group of forty applicants following interview panels with the city’s Governing Body and community stakeholders. Dr. Perez arrived in Topeka this summer with his wife, Harim Perez, and their miniature schnauzer, Sebastian.
Martin: Joining me today is Dr. Robert Perez, the new city manager of Topeka.
Something we have in common is that we’re both from Texas. You’re from Dallas, I’m from Houston. It’s interesting how we both landed here in Topeka. How are you feeling after coming here from a bigger city?
Perez: Thank you for having me. The first few weeks on the job were a bit of a challenge, but the City of Topeka team is an amazing and very talented group of folks. They made the transition to Kansas pretty easy, and everyone in Topeka has been super welcoming.
Martin: You’ve been an assistant city manager in Dallas for many years. Did you ever see yourself in Topeka, let alone working as a city manager?
Perez: I moved to Texas when I was a sophomore in high school. My family’s from there and I definitely came to love it, so I would be lying if I told you I ever saw my career bringing me to Kansas. But it’s been such a welcoming experience. As far as becoming a city manager, I thought I was going to become a lawyer because that’s what I was studying for in college. In my senior year of college, I took an Introduction to public administration course taught by a professor who was an assistant to the mayor of San Antonio. One day he asked me if I needed a job, and I ended up working as a temporary social worker with the City of San Antonio. While serving in that position, I learned about the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Texas at San Antonio and met the San Antonio city manager, who told me about the cool things she got to work on. That was the day I decided I wanted to be a city manager.
Martin: Mayor Padilla said he has confidence in your ability to lead Topeka. What are your strategic goals for Topeka and how do you plan to achieve them?
Perez: Public safety, first and foremost. Next, our affordable housing needs and helping to shelter our homeless population. Then our infrastructure investments. Hopefully all of that leads to greater economic development across the city. City council just approved the police union contract because in order to stay competitive and have competitive pay for officers, that contract increase was definitely needed. When you have a well-paid police force, it helps with public safety. Obviously there are support services that are needed as well, but in order to attract and retain good officers, I think competitive pay is important. We’ve been hovering around 40 vacant police officer positions. Money’s not everything, but I think it will be a good tool to keep us competitive.
As far as other investments like infrastructure, we’ve been going through the budget process. We’re balanced for the 2025 budget but that’s using a lot of one-time reserves, so we’re maintaining our current level of service. Beginning in 2026 or 2027, we’re either going to have to redirect money from existing services or explore alternative funding sources.
Martin: What should the public be concerned about or do to help?
Perez: I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about. We have a team of very smart people. As we move forward in the budget process, we’re going to have to make some decisions. We have a number of vacancies that we’ve been carrying for a while. There are opportunities for us to look at how we’re funding positions, and we need to decide whether those vacant positions are still needed. We’ll also be looking at some of our existing fees.
As far as how the public can help, get involved when we hold budget listening sessions. We hosted five budget listening sessions before we developed the proposed budget and heard from the public about what the priorities are for the community. We also have an open email for people to write in.
Martin: You have an extensive background in public works. What are some of your ideas for the future of Topeka?
Perez: We have a robust system for maintaining our infrastructure, whether it be our streets or utilities. Everything is very similar to Dallas. For each of our streets, there’s a pavement condition index rating from zero to one hundred. Basically, we know the condition of all of our utilities and infrastructure. The way that we select our projects is very scientific, and I appreciate that.
Infrastructure can help public safety. I was talking to some folks from the Topeka Police Department today about how if you have a high-crime area, you don’t necessarily need to saturate it with officers. Sometimes all you need to do is put in better lighting. At one of our budget listening sessions, someone said that you don’t have to bring in a hundred officers to address speeding. You can design a street that makes people slow down.
Martin: What lessons have you learned from Dallas that you’ve carried to Topeka?
Perez: I think the biggest one is probably listening. Before you try to implement something, you need to listen. You need to understand what some of the challenges or barriers have been. Along those same lines, don’t try to pretend. I tell people all the time, “You know what? You guys are the experts. I’ll lean upon your expertise and we’ll make collaborative decisions.”
Martin: One thing I’ve learned about this community is that it can be intimidating to have a person come in from out of state. Why should the community trust you?
Perez: I’ll give you this insight. My previous boss T.C. Broadnax, the city manager in Dallas who’s now the city manager in Austin, was born and raised in Topeka. Went to Topeka High, played basketball at Washburn. He had a lot of great things to say about the community. He told me there’s so many things to work on and so much opportunity. Between that insight, all the times we visited Topeka, the interview process, the folks I’ve met, it’s basically made me committed to the city. I want us all to thrive. That’s why I hope that the public trusts in that, because that’s my goal for everybody who lives and visits here. More than anything, I want us to be a model organization that everybody points to and says, “Oh my God, look what they’re doing in Topeka.”
Martin: What is it about a challenge that excites you, and why?
Perez: No matter what I touch, I want to make it better than it was when I first found it. I know that by addressing challenges, people’s lives get better.
Martin: Do you see yourself going higher in the political realm?
Perez: No, this is it. I found my niche in city management, and my hat’s off to all the folks who can go out and campaign. I’ll let you set the policy and I’ll go make it the best I can.
Martin: What made you want to get your doctorate?
Perez: The honest truth is that I got to a place in my career where I had some free time. I could do the whole Netflix and chill thing, or I could actually go to school and further my education. When I got into the program, I fell in love with it. It’s a doctorate in education with a concentration in organizational leadership. Knowing that I wanted to be a city manager, I really felt like I would actually learn leadership theory and how to apply it. The program also had statistics and organizational development. It all just kind of tied into my career goal for being a city manager.
Martin: What do you do in your free time?
Perez: Now I have time to watch Netflix. One of my guilty pleasures with my wife at the end of a long day is watching Bridgerton. We’re in season three. I love it.
Martin: Honey, yes. That’s my show.
Perez: My wife and I also like to travel. One of the other things we love about Topeka is the restaurant scene.
And the coffee. We found a lot of great coffee shops here. Saturday mornings for us are about getting up and taking the laptops to the coffee shop to work for a little bit.
Martin: Where do you see yourself in the next few years?
Perez: I don’t know what God’s plan is for me. I mean, I definitely don’t want to be one of those fly-by-night guys who comes in, gets some experience and takes off. I told the mayor and council that if Topeka is loving my family and me, and I’m loving Topeka, who knows how long I could be here?
Martin: If you could say anything to the community right now, what would you want to share?
Perez: Thank you for being so welcoming. The public’s done a really good job as far as electing a very insightful governing body. I’m going to do my best for y’all
