Christina Kern, the auditor in charge, told the Audit and Finance Committee on Feb. 19, 2025, that the City of Austin lacks a common definition and written framework for succession planning and that departments vary widely in practices.

Kern said the audit identified five common, actionable elements of best-practice succession-planning models and found Austin comparable to six peer cities, though most peers also lacked well-defined programs. "Although Austin has not been able to implement an integrated approach nor developed a written framework around succession planning, the city has taken some steps to assess city needs, capture knowledge, and train and develop employees," Kern said.

The audit noted that roughly 12% of the civilian workforce is currently eligible to retire and that the number eligible will roughly double over five years. Kern said some managers believe municipal civil service (MCS) rules prevent succession planning, but after review and consultation with the law department staff concluded succession activities are permitted within MCS rules.

Rebecca Kennedy of the Human Resources Department said the city is implementing a new centralized human capital management system, due in summer 2025, that includes succession-planning tools. "This timeline essentially started with us trying to take a look and look at the software and what it can do to help us with succession planning," Kennedy said.

Committee members asked about reasons other cities also lag and about quantifying the loss of institutional knowledge. Kern responded that cities struggle to prioritize long-range planning amid urgent operational demands and that the audit was unable to quantify institutional knowledge loss; she said the consequence is operational gaps when transitions are unplanned.

The audit recommended that Human Resources and the City Manager's Office align the city's approach to succession planning with best-practice elements. Management agreed with the recommendations and committed to report back as the human capital system is implemented.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the audit itself; staff said they would return with implementation timelines and suggested the committee be updated when the HR system rollout is complete.