Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax during an interview in his City Hall office, July 2, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
The three high-ranking IT executives abruptly fired by the city last month were terminated after officials discovered they had undisclosed second jobs, including two who were also working for the city of Dallas in similar roles, the American-Statesman has learned.
The terminations included Chief Information Security Officer Brian Gardner and Senior IT Enterprise Architects Hawre Sulaiman and William Snead. At the time, the city said the personnel actions stemmed from “an ongoing review” and were not related to cybersecurity threats or information security issues, but it has declined to provide additional details.
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According to city employees with direct knowledge of the terminations, Sulaiman and Snead worked simultaneously for both Austin and Dallas, while Gardner operated an undisclosed business. City of Austin employees are required to disclose outside employment and potential conflicts of interest.
Public records show all three men previously worked in the IT department for the city of Dallas during the tenure of Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who served in the same role there before joining Austin in 2024. Broadnax did not respond to requests for comment from the Statesman, including questions about whether he knew about the men’s dual employment.
City spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said all three former employees “participated in a competitive hiring process” but declined to offer additional details.
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“This is an ongoing investigation and so we will not be sharing any further information than was provided in our previous statement,” she said in a Thursday statement.
The Dallas Office of Inspector General said it notified Austin officials after receiving an anonymous tip through its confidential whistleblower hotline in November alleging dual employment.
“Interim Inspector General Baron Eliason opened an investigation and notified the Dallas Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert,” the office said in a statement. “The inspector general also alerted the city of Austin, and City Manager Tolbert directed the IT department to take appropriate action.”
The investigation remains ongoing, and Dallas officials said no additional information is being released.
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Two city employees with direct knowledge of the terminations said Snead and Sulaiman worked for both cities for about six months after being hired in Austin last fall. Snead was on family leave from the city of Dallas while also receiving a salary from the city of Austin, one employee said.
Gardner was terminated after officials discovered he had an undisclosed limited liability company, according to the employees, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and feared retaliation.
Gardner and Sulaiman declined to comment, citing advice of counsel. Sulaiman declined to identify his attorney but provided a statement from the attorney saying he was not employed full time by both cities simultaneously and that “any allegation to the contrary is simply false.” Snead could not be reached for comment.
In a prepared statement Thursday, Mayor Kirk Watson said personnel decisions fall under the city manager’s authority.
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“The City Manager is responsible for the day-to-day administrative operations of the City, including the hiring and firing of personnel, a responsibility independent from the Mayor and Council’s input,” Watson said, noting Broadnax informed him of the firing. “I fully support his decision.”
Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University, said the situation raises questions about Broadnax’s judgment, given his prior working relationship with the employees.
“Presumably from Broadax’s perspective, you would bring the people that you know and trust,” Jillson said. “He really does have to expect to be judged on this. It’s not all going to fall on these malefactors here. This is a question of judgment, and insight into character because these folks had worked together before.”
Ethics attorney Andrew Cates said the situation raises broader concerns about professional standards.
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“In terms of the ethical implications, generally speaking, when you’re full time, you’re full time. You don’t have a side gig,” he said. ”Failure to disclose that – I’m not at all surprised resulted in termination.”
Cates said the situation is particularly concerning given the employees’ roles in IT.
“We put a lot of trust in them to find vulnerabilities and patch them up and not exploit them,” he said. “If we can’t trust you to not have two jobs, then what else are you betraying our trust about and what else are you doing with all this sensitive information?”
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Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from a city of Austin spokesperson