Austin City Council votes to appoint T.C. Broadnax as next city manager at $470K salary

The Austin City Council on Thursday unanimously voted to appoint T.C. Broadnax as Austin's next city manager — the top city official charged with overseeing dozens of city departments, over 16,000 employees and a multibillion-dollar budget.

Broadnax, the departing city manager of Dallas, will begin as Austin's city manager on May 6, according to the unsigned contract that was attached to the City Council agenda.

He will be paid a base salary of $470,017.60, almost a $50,000 increase from his salary in Dallas. This is also a nearly $82,000 raise from former Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk's base salary.

The vote Thursday came after more than a year of Austin having an interim city manager after Cronk was fired in part due to the city's response to the 2023 winter storm.

This past week, the two finalists for the position spoke about their vision for Austin at a meet-the-candidate town hall, and the next day were interviewed by the City Council.

After nearly a full day of deliberations, Mayor Kirk Watson announced that a subcommittee of City Council members recommended Broadnax for the role.

The other candidate interviewed for the job was Sara Hensley, the city manager of Denton and a former Austin interim assistant city manager and former director of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

Read More: Who is Sara Hensley? Here's why Denton's city manager is a finalist for the role in Austin

Who is T.C. Broadnax?

Broadnax has served as Dallas city manager for seven years. Prior to Dallas, Broadnax was the city manager of Tacoma, Wash., and the assistant city manager of San Antonio and Pompano Beach, Fla.

Broadnax earned two bachelor's degrees in political science and communications from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., and has a master's degree in public administration from the University of North Texas in Denton, according to his résumé, which was obtained by the American-Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act.

His exit as Dallas city manager came at the recommendation of a majority of the Dallas City Council. A joint news release from several Dallas City Council members cited ongoing issues between Broadnax and Mayor Eric Johnson, stating, “It has become apparent that the relationship between the mayor and the city manager has not been conducive to effective governance and the advancement of Dallas’ interests," The Dallas Morning News reported.

During the meet-the-candidates event in Austin, Broadnax spoke of his achievements in Dallas's response to homelessness, which garnered positive feedback from some council members who spoke with the Statesman after the event.

The next day, Broadnax, when speaking with the media, said one of his priorities if he was selected would be to find a permanent police chief.

Austin has been without a permanent police chief since Joe Chacon resigned in August. Robin Henderson has been serving as the interim police chief since then.

Read More: Exclusive: Austin Police Chief Joe Chacon to resign from department. Here what we know.

Some of the other priorities, he said, are police contract negotiations with the Austin Police Association, which are ongoing, as well as addressing housing and homelessness.

On March 26, several local labor union leaders including the Austin Police, Fire and EMS Associations sent an email to the mayor and City Council saying they wanted Hensley to be selected as the next city manager, citing concerns with Broadnax over "reports of poor communication and accessibility."

Broadnax did not immediately respond to a request for interview after Thursday's City Council vote.

Salary and benefits comparison

In addition to the $470,000 base salary, the unsigned contract shows thousands of dollars of allowances, including a $1,620.32 annual cellphone allowance, a $5,000 per month housing allowance for the first six months to "offset costs of a temporary residence," a $7,000 annual executive allowance and more.

Broadnax is currently making $423,000 with a $700 per month car allowance, according to records obtained by the Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act.

In Austin, former City Manager Cronk's base salary was early $388,000, which was raised from $350,001 the December before his firing. Interim City Manager Jesús Garza's 2023 annual salary was listed around $350,000, according to city employment records obtained by the Statesman.

Broadnax's May 6 start date is about a month before his planned exit date from Dallas, which is currently June 3. However, The Dallas Morning News reported, the Dallas City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs met this week to discuss the date of the appointment of that city's interim city manager.

How long has Austin been without a permanent city manager?

Austin has been without a permanent city manager since February 2023, when Cronk was fired.

Read More: Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk out, will get $463,000 in severance

Garza has been serving as the interim city manager since then.

Who was interviewed as part of this search process?

Three finalists were initially selected from a pool of 39 applicants for the position. Those three finalists were Broadnax, Hensley and Brian Platt, the city manager of Kansas City, Mo.

Read more: Austin is getting close to hiring a new city manager. Here's everything you need to know.

Platt withdrew his name from consideration shortly after the finalists were announced.

The City Council conducted closed-door interviews with Broadnax and Hensley last Tuesday before making the recommendation to move forward with Broadnax later that evening.

Read More: Austin City Council subcommittee recommends T.C. Broadnax be Austin's next city manager

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin City Council votes T.C. Broadnax as Austin's next city manager