AUSTIN, Texas — A former Austin Water program manager allegedly violated multiple sections of city code by misusing his purchasing card, spending over $70,000 on work for private properties, according to an investigative report released by the City.
Nico Hauwert, who managed the city’s Balcones Canyonlands Preserve program, allegedly spent approximately $73,000 on contractor work for private properties and $9,000 on services the city could have provided internally, auditors found. Investigators say he also intentionally split purchases to avoid oversight.
Hauwert resigned from city employment July 8, 2024, after being placed on administrative leave due to a “separate internal human resources investigation.”
The audit found Hauwert allegedly paid contractors roughly $67,000 for work at Roy Creek and Little Bee Creek, both on private property not controlled by the city. He reportedly spent an additional $5,700 testing water samples from these locations and directed staff to collect samples there, the audit said.
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From 2019 to 2023, Hauwert allegedly made split payments to at least 21 contractors to keep transactions under the city’s $3,000 purchasing card limit.
In one 2020 case, a vendor received more than $32,000 through 11 separate payments.
In response, Hauwert disputed the findings and accused city management of fraud and retaliation. He argued all his decisions were in the public interest and that he lacked adequate support staff.
“I tried the best I could to serve the public good with the resources that were available,” Hauwert wrote. He said he was never informed he was misusing his purchasing card during his 24 years of city service.
Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson said the department accepts the report’s findings. The department is implementing mandatory purchasing card refresher training for all cardholders and approvers in fiscal year 2026.