djoles@startribune.com Profile of Minneapolis' new city coordinator, Spencer Cronk. The former commissioner for the state Department of Administration also worked for the City of New York and for a nonprofit in California. Still in](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/63J7E3PFJ5MIF3QHJ2AZ2Y76I4.jpg?&w=1080)
Minneapolis City Coordinator Spencer Cronk will likely be migrating south in the new year, after being selected for a job as city manager of Austin, Texas.
The Austin City Council voted Tuesday afternoon to negotiate a contract with Cronk, said David Green, Austin's media relations manager. Once a contract is finalized, the council will formally appoint Cronk to the position.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges appointed Cronk to the city coordinator position in 2014. In that role, he oversaw several city departments including finance, information technology, the Convention Center, human resources and communications. Before arriving at City Hall, Cronk worked as Gov. Mark Dayton's commissioner of the Department of Administration.
Mayor-elect Jacob Frey has not said whether he planned to keep Cronk on as city coordinator.
Cronk was one of two finalists for the Austin city manager job, Green said. The other, Ann Arbor, Mich., City Manager Howard Lazarus, was previously Austin's public works director.
If Cronk takes the job in Austin, he'll oversee a city with a population and budget more than twice that of Minneapolis. He's also likely to get a big raise — the base pay for Austin's previous city manager was $309,441, Green said. In Minneapolis, Cronk's salary is $173,355.
Cronk was not immediately available for comment.
Emma Nelson • 612-673-4509
