Austin City Council to vote Wednesday on replacing city manager
By Chuck Lindell, The Texas Tribune
“Austin City Council to vote Wednesday on replacing city manager” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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The Austin City Council will discuss moving on from City Manager Spencer Cronk, and possibly appointing an interim replacement, at its Wednesday meeting, according to a late addition to the council agenda.
The agenda item, added by Mayor Kirk Watson and three council members, will allow the city’s governing body to authorize severance pay for Cronk and take action on creating a transition plan.
Cronk fell into disfavor after a recent ice storm left tens of thousands of customers without electricity for days, with a lack of initial information about restoring power adding to citizen frustrations.
According to the agenda item, council members will be able to discuss Cronk’s employment and compensation, and the potential appointment of an interim replacement, in private before voting to act in open session.
Joining Watson in sponsoring the action item were council members Paige Ellis, Alison Alter and Chito Vela. Cronk has been the capital city’s top administrator since 2018.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/11/Austin-vote-replace-Spencer-Cronk-ice-storm/.
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