City Council subcommittee recommends T.C. Broadnax as Austin's next city manager; vote expected next week

AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Just hours after conducting interviews with the two finalists vying to be Austin's next city manager, a City Council subcommittee has recommended T.C. Broadnax to fill the position.

Council members interviewed Broadnax, who is already set to depart his current role as Dallas' city manager later this year, and Sara Hensley, who is currently the city manager of Denton, in a closed session Tuesday.

"The subcommittee that we originally started with to help pick the search firm and provide input to the firm," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson wrote in a post on the city council's online message board, "recommends that we post a council action for April 4, 2024, to authorize negotiation of an employment agreement and/or to authorize execution of an employment agreement with T.C. Broadnax."

That subcommittee includes council members Paige Ellis, Jose "Chito" Vela, and Vanessa Fuentes, in addition to Watson and current mayor pro tem Leslie Pool.

The city has been without a permanent city manager since council members voted to oust Spencer Cronk in February 2023; since then, former city manager Jesús Garza has been serving in an interim capacity. Garza did not apply for the permanent position.

The committee's recommendation goes against that of several local labor unions, who sent an email message to council members Tuesday afternoon voicing their support for Hensley. Those include the city's three public safety unions - the Austin Police Association, the Austin Fire Association, and the Austin EMS Association - along with the Laborers' International Union Local 1095.

"We have heard reports of poor communication and accessibility with TC Broadnax, and our concerns were only magnified during his interview as he relayed a hostile and combative nature with labor union representatives and members of his own City Council," the unions' message reads. "If the Council chooses to support him, we hope that collaboration and communication with his labor unions is a clear expectation for him."

Broadnax and Hensley represent two finalists culled from roughly 40 applicants for the Austin position. Broadnax is currently scheduled to step down from his Dallas role on June 3, according to Dallas City Council documents.