AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- After concerns over the city's efforts to respond to last week's ice storm and a new controversy over contract negotiations with the city's police union, Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk appears to be on the way out.
Multiple media reports Friday afternoon, citing anonymous sources inside City Hall, say council members were near-unanimous Thursday night in their desire to ask Cronk to resign or be fired. Council members met for nearly 90 minutes in a closed-door, executive session meeting to "evaluate" Cronk's job performance.
Then, on Saturday, an agenda item for a special called meeting on Feb. 15 was posted, to "authorize payment of severance benefits to City Manager Spencer Cronk, and potentially discuss and take action related to the appointment, compensation, benefits and transition plan for an interim city manager." Mayor Kirk Watson, Mayor Pro-Tem Paige Ellis, and Council members Alison Alter and José "Chito" Vela are listed as co-sponsors.
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Cronk issued a statement Saturday night, responding to the agenda item being posted by council members. "I was not made aware of items that Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Ellis, Council Member Alison Alter and Council Member José 'Chito' Vela added to the Special Called Meeting of the Austin City Council on February 15," said Cronk. "This meeting was originally posted as a postponed discussion regarding a proposed new one-year meet and confer agreement with the Austin Police Association. However, since the posting of these Saturday night addendum items relate to my employment and severance benefits, I will simply reiterate that I remain Austin’s City Manager and no actions have been taken by this new Mayor and Council to change my responsibilities or role. I continue to be focused on serving this community and leading our dedicated workforce."
Several council members have expressed frustration with Cronk over the city's response to last week's ice storm, which saw tens of thousands of Austin Energy customers lose electricity - many of those for several days.
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Adding fuel to the fire, late Wednesday, Cronk also announced a tentative agreement between the Austin Police Association and city negotiators on a new four-year labor contract. Several council members, including District 4's Vela, had been pushing for a one-year extension of the current agreement.
Vela openly shared his frustrations with Cronk's announcement of the tentative agreement between city negotiators and APA during Thursday's open session. "I am extremely disappointed in the late night press release," said Vela, "and early morning press conference, which seemed clearly designed to undermine an item my colleagues and I had brought forward today. It is absolutely unacceptable for the City Manager to interfere with the policy-making process like this."
"City Manager, your actions over the last 24 hours, trying to ram a four-year contract through Council when it is unlikely there are the votes to pass it, only serves to inflame the situation and risk further deterioration of the relationship between the police and the community," Vela continued. "These actions have caused me to lose my faith in your leadership of the city; I do believe it is time for a new City Manager."
Cronk addressed the dispute over the police contract in his statement Saturday night. "The safety of our residents, businesses, employees, and visitors has – for me – always been paramount," said Cronk. "The final tentative four-year agreement that was reached [Friday] is centered on my professional management experience of how best to keep our community safe - and that remains the sole driving factor for pursuing a four-year contract."
"My obligation, one of many as the City Manager, is to ensure the safety of all of our residents. Moving forward on a four-year contract provides greater assurance that the safety of our residents remains intact. Chief Chacon and I have serious concerns that our police staffing levels will be compromised if a one-year contract is pursued. Additionally, I am concerned about the financial impact to the City’s general fund."
In addition to taking up Cronk's status and potential severance pay, Council will take up the police contract issue at Wednesday's special called meeting. The next regularly scheduled Council meeting is Thursday, February 23.
According to a 2018 resolution approved by council, if Cronk is terminated for any reason other than "conviction of a crime of moral turpitude, or any criminal act involving the performance of his duties", he is entitled to receive a severance package of a lump sum of one year of his base pay, plus six months of COBRA insurance premiums (including eligible dependents). Last year, Council voted to give Cronk an 11% pay raise, pushing his base salary to $388,190.40.
