Austin's City Council has just put their money where their mouth is, betting big on the new city manager, T.C. Broadnax, with a hefty $470K salary. Broadnax, who previously managed Dallas before parting ways under a cloud of tension, is set to pocket $82,000 more than his Austin predecessor when he gets down to business come May 6.
In a unanimous power move on Thursday, the council wrapped up over a year's worth of reliance on interim management following a spat between the city and former city manager Spencer Cronk, who got the boot for the city's fumbled response to a 2023 winter storm, according to the Austin American Statesman. Broadnax's considerable bump in compensation comes alongside a suite of perks, including a temporary housing allowance worth $5,000 monthly, and an "executive allowance," confirmed by The Austin Monitor.
With 30 years of local governance on his resume, Broadnax is no spring chicken to city management. Before Dallas, he cut his teeth in city admin in Tacoma, Washington, and did six years as assistant city manager in San Antonio. Despite a rocky exit from Dallas, complete with friction between Broadnax and some council members that made headline news, Austin seems ready to embrace his expertise.
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes didn't mince words, saying: "I am looking forward to working with T.C. Broadnax, and am excited for his leadership that he will bring to our city," as obtained by The Austin Monitor. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also hailed Broadnax's imminent arrival, confident in a rapid kick-off on next year's budget planning. Council Member Chito Vela chimed in, “T.C. Broadnax is probably the most qualified city manager candidate and if we hadn’t hired him, the next city would have snapped him up,” he said.
Despite the optimism from some city officials, not everyone's sending up fireworks over Broadnax's appointment. A collective of local labor union leaders had rooted for Sara Hensley, the other candidate in the running, over concerns about Broadnax's track record on communication and accessibility, the Austin American Statesman noted. But it seems the city's chiefs are banking on Broadnax's urban know-how to steer Austin through its portfolio of hefty projects, like Project Connect and the I-35 expansion—not to mention the pending housing and policing policy reforms.
