Roughly 100 days into his new job, Killeen City Manager Ron Olson said he's happy with the progress his city has made under his watch.
With Killeen facing several well-publicized challenges, like the city's budget, Olson said he hopes a productive first 100 days will lead to even more growth in the next 100.
Ron Olson doesn't shy away from a challenge. In fact, he seeks them out.
"I want to go to a city that has challenge to it. Certainly, Killeen fit that bill when I got here," Killeen City Manager Ron Olson said.
Ironically, the bill, or budget, is one of the main issues the City of Killeen has struggled with.
"Part of the reason I came was because there were financial challenges, and there were organizational challenges. And my goal is to fix all of that and make something that is not smooth and make it smooth," Olson added.
In order to smooth things over in this time of change, one main goal Olson had for himself: meet the people.
"I've met hundreds of new people, and I can't tell you how many briefings I've had on city issues, but it's scores," Olson said.
All to help the city continue towards transparency that all city leaders seem to believe is important.
"He's trying to create that atmosphere that we're very transparent, which we should be, we're very open, which we should be, so I like that," Jose Segarra, the Mayor of Killeen, said.
But, that transparency took time... about 100 days... to build.
"I think their first reaction is always, 'Yeah, we'll see,'" Olson added.
So, seeing his plan unfold is exactly what Olson hopes the people of Killeen witnessed during his first 100 days. But, he's already looking forward to the next 100.
"I've narrowed down some achievable goals for the next 100 days...and we'll just continue to have a very sharp focus on moving the city forward," Olson said.
Mayor Segarra said City Manager Olson has full support from the council who Olson said he looks forward to working with more.
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