Tying into the national debate on reducing gun violence, the Engage Breakfast on March 6 will broach the subject of safety in Austin.

"Well, I think that the economic vibrancy of a city and the quality of life for its residents, visitors and business people [begins] with safety," Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said Feb. 28. "If you have a safe environment, you'll have a much more positive environment for everybody in the city."

The Engage Breakfast series is hosted by the nonprofit Leadership Austin and aims to be a forum of discussion for issues affecting the Austin area.

Panelists for the breakfast include Acevedo; Dawn Handley, chief program operations officer with Austin Travis County Integral Care; and Michael Lauderdale, chairman of the City of Austin Public Safety Commission. The panel will be moderated by KXAN anchor Robert Hadlock.

Austin Travis County Integral Care provides behavioral health and developmental disability services.

Acevedo said one of the challenges the Austin area faces in keeping residents safe is the struggle to patrol a growing area with a "lean" staff.

"This, coupled with the fact that we are the fastest-growing city in terms of population, and every year, not only do we get more people living in the city, visiting the city and conducting business in the city, we also expand our geographic footprint where we are required as a department to police larger swaths of land," Acevedo said. "That creates many challenges. We are constantly trying to do more with less."

Acevedo said he believes a city is defined by its ability to keep residents safe and that Austin "has an excellent reputation for doing just that."

The breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. March 6 in the Kodosky Lounge at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 W. Riverside Drive.

For more information or for tickets to the breakfast, visit www.leadershipaustin.org/programs/engage/upcoming.