Austin city manager on thin ice after winter storm

The city of Austin’s chief executive is potentially on the chopping block after last week’s winter storm left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity for days and residents desperate for information about when their power would be restored.

The Austin City Council will evaluate City Manager Spencer Cronk’s employment during a meeting Thursday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced Monday morning. The emergency item got the backing of three council members — Alison Alter, Chito Vela and Vanessa Fuentes.

“To all our Austin citizens who are furious about the ongoing power outage, you’re right,” Watson said in a tweet. “There must be accountability.”

In a statement, Cronk said he respects “the Mayor and Council’s role to ask questions, gather information and consider decisions in the best interest of the City.”

“My focus and attention remain 100% on supporting City departments and marshalling (sic) resources to continue power restoration and debris cleanup, and to continue providing assistance and aid to residents and businesses who need it,” Cronk said.

Under Austin’s council-manager system, the mayor and City Council appoint a city manager who serves as the city’s chief executive and oversees the city’s day-to-day operations — powers and responsibilities held by mayors in large cities like New York, Chicago and Houston. Cronk manages the city’s 14,000 employees and $4.9 billion budget. City Council members hired Cronk in 2017 after his stint as Minneapolis’ city administrator.

Making about $388,000, Cronk is one of the city’s toppaid employees — second to Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent, who makes more than $400,000. Most of the council voted to give Cronk a raise in December.

Cronk’s job is on the line after last week’s winter storm raised questions about whether Austin officials once again failed to learn from past calamities. Some 30,000 Austin homes and businesses were still without power Sunday night, and officials said it’s possible they will have to go another week without it.

A 2021 report by the city auditor found that Austin officials failed to make emergency preparations before Winter Storm Uri that may have helped during that storm — despite past recommendations to do so. Austin had enacted only a small portion of recommendations made after previous crises, the report found. Like other Texas cities, Austin underestimated the severity of the storm and wasn’t prepared to weather it.

Chief among those findings was the city’s lack of effective communication with the public — which reared its head again last week as Austinites waited for 24 hours after power outages first began to hear from city officials about when their electricity would be restored.