Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax is resigning as the city’s top administrative official amid pressure by the City Council, elected officials said Wednesday.
Broadnax will leave the city June 3, according to a joint news release from council members Zarin Gracey, Jaime Resendez, Omar Narvaez, Adam Bazaldua, Jaynie Schultz and Gay Donnell Willis.
The move comes two years after a public effort, led by Mayor Eric Johnson, to fire Broadnax and then an about-face when support on the council to boot the city manager waned.
The news release Wednesday said Broadnax’s resignation came “at the suggestion of the majority of the Dallas City Council.”
“After careful consideration, it has become apparent that the relationship between the mayor and the city manager has not been conducive to effective governance and the advancement of Dallas’ interest,” the council members’ statement said. “The dynamic between these key citywide figures has unfortunately hindered the realization of our city’s full potential and it is imperative we address this issue head-on in order to move forward.”
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
In an email statement to city staff, Broadnax confirmed his resignation and said he is proud of what the city has accomplished under his leadership.
“It is my hope that my departure provides the City Council an opportunity to reset, refocus, and transition to a new city manager that continues to move the city forward and will allow for a more effective working relationship with the mayor and City Council moving forward,” Broadnax wrote.
He added that he planned to working into the spring “to ensure the continuity of programs, projects and services to the community are not negatively impacted.”
Broadnax was hired in 2017 after serving as Tacoma, Washington’s city manager for five years before that. He has also worked as an assistant city manager in San Antonio and in Pompano Beach, Florida.
As Dallas city manager, Broadnax oversees the day-to-day operations of the city’s municipal government, with a $4.6 billion budget, around 13,100 employees, and over 40 departments.
Broadnax is the city’s highest paid employee, making $423,246 a year, records show. His contract also includes a $700 monthly car allowance.
According to the terms of his contract, the city has to pay Broadnax a lump sum payment equal to 12 months of his base salary, if there is an “involuntary separation” from his duties as city manager.
An involuntary separation includes his resignation “following a suggestion, whether formal or informal, by a majority of the City Council that he resign,” Broadnax’s contract says. At least eight of the 15 City Council members could have voted to fire Broadnax.
“Dallas city council members are committed to stepping into the void of leadership and working collaboratively to chart a new course for the city,” the council’s statement said. “It is essential to recognize that effective governance requires collective effort and a shared commitment to the well-being of our community.”
The statement also said the city plans a national search for a new city manager “who shares our vision for the future of our city.”
Resendez, Bazaldua and Schultz signed a memo sent to City Secretary Bilierae Johnson calling for a special City Council meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Among the topics the council plans to discuss at the meeting are Broadnax’s resignation and appointing Deputy City Manager Kim Bizor Tolbert as interim city manager.
Among Broadnax’s accomplishments in his seven years in Dallas were pushing for the city to focus on racial equity in its programs and strategies. The City Council approved Dallas’ first racial equity plan in 2022, a citywide guide to addressing disparities in neighborhood infrastructure, racial wealth gaps and other inequalities that Dallas municipal government policies have historically helped create.
The city established a transportation department and an office dedicated to addressing homelessness under Broadnax’s watch. He hired the city’s first Black woman police chief, U. Reneé Hall, and later hired Eddie García, the city’s first Hispanic police chief. The majority of Dallas residents, 42%, are Hispanic.
But there have been some missteps during the city manager’s tenure and public tensions at times between Johnson and Broadnax.
Johnson during the 2020 budget process pushed for the City Council to approve cutting $6.5 million in salaries of Broadnax and other top earners and shifting those dollars elsewhere, including to public safety. The mayor’s proposal failed.
Hall resigned as police chief in 2020 amid criticism of her response to the city’s high number of homicides at the time and police officers’ use of tear gas and less-lethal ammunition on people protesting the death of George Floyd on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.
Broadnax also faced criticism from the City Council in 2021 for the city’s response to a then-city IT employee deleting more than 8 million police department files. Broadnax and several top city officials were aware of the files being deleted that April, but the mayor, City Council and the public didn’t find out until the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announced it that August, fearing criminal cases were at risk.
Issues with it taking months for the city to approve residential and construction building permits, delays in response to 911 calls, growing numbers of homeless encampments around the city, and poor policies and oversight in the city’s IT department were among city problems that lead to Johnson and other council members in 2022 appearing to try to fire Broadnax after he refused to resign then.
Johnson, in an email newsletter to residents at the time, declared, “I made the call” to push for Broadnax’s dismissal.
“It’s time for accountability. That means change at the top of the city bureaucracy,” Johnson wrote. “And if put to a vote, I will vote in favor of terminating [Broadnax’s] contract effective as soon as possible. That is what it means to be the sole citywide elected official in the City of Dallas. Period.”
But some council members removed their support to push for firing Broadnax after the news went public.
Johnson and Broadnax issued a joint statement afterward vowing to work more closely together to address city issues. There was a point where the two didn’t have regularly scheduled meetings.
The City Council later approved giving Broadnax a raise.
Council member Gay Donnell Willis said Wednesday in a statement to The Dallas Morning News that she was grateful for Broadnax’s service to the city and contributions. She said the council has “some important decisions” to make going forward and need to focus on the future.
“This is the best opportunity in the nation and I’m looking forward to new, adept leadership with vision,” Willis said. “Someone who over-communicates with council and the public, and who is ready to roll up their sleeves to help solve some of our city’s toughest issues.”
Chief García, who was hired by Broadnax in 2021, called the city manager “an exceptional leader to me”.
“I don’t know what else to say at this point, but I’d go through a wall for that man,” García said.
Staff writer Kelli Smith contributed to this report.
