One Dallas Area Rapid Transit board member spent more than $50,000 of agency funds for trips — including flights to Spain and Canada. She allegedly approved some of those trips herself.
Another used DART funds to travel from a second home in Denver to attend board meetings in Dallas.
Those are among the details that emerged when KERA News examined DART documents obtained through an open records request. KERA found evidence that some DART board members approved their own travel — and may have taken personal trips — at taxpayer expense.
KERA first requested travel records from the agency in September 2023. Redacted copies of records from 2019 to September 2023 were released in February after DART sought a ruling from the Texas Attorney General on what could be made public.
DART revised its travel policy for board members in March.
"The policy was being abused," said Paul Wageman, who represents Plano on the board and chairs its finance committee.
What the records show
The board’s current policy says directors’ travel must be related to transit. The board allocates $6,000 a year for travel.
The board member who traveled the most was former chair Michele Wong Krause, who is one of several Dallas representatives on the board. Krause traveled at least 18 times between 2019 and 2023.
She told KERA in an email that trips to Denver and Washington, D.C. included meetings with federal officials and training opportunities. She also attended transit conferences in Spain and Canada.
"Obtaining training and education is critical to help me have a deeper knowledge of the complex nature of the procurement process and issues at DART," Krause said in an email.
Krause was reimbursed more than $50,000 over the course of five years.
Wageman said Krause's trips weren't against the former policy, which allowed the board chair to approve travel expenses for transit-related trips, but that the cost was questionable.
"I think no one should be able to prove their own expenses...in any setting," Wageman said.
KERA found that board member Flora Hernandez traveled from Denver in July and August 2023 to attend DART board meetings in Dallas. She reportedly has a second home in Colorado. Hernandez, who represents the city of Dallas on the board, was reimbursed more than $2,000 for her trips.
Hernandez told KERA that her travel had been approved well in advance. She said she needed to attend meetings in Dallas last summer in order for the board to have enough members present to conduct business.
"Last year, we had really important things to approve," Hernandez said. "For example, purchasing parcels of land to continue the building of the Silver Line and those things were critical to clear the path so that we wouldn't incur delay or costs associated with delay with our vendor."
Hernandez confirmed she has a home in Colorado but her trips were approved because she was asked to attend the meetings to attain a quorum as required by state charter.
"I didn't do anything inappropriate," Hernandez said. "I was asked to do this and I did it."
Wageman traveled to Austin in April 2023 to testify in front of the House Transportation Committee on House Bill 3146, which proposed greater financial transparency between DART and its member cities.
A video of the hearing shows Wageman testified in front of the committee to represent himself and the city of Plano instead of DART.
While the hearing was related to agency matters, Wageman confirmed he was in Austin to represent himself and was reimbursed by DART for the travel.
He said that trip occurred at a time when DART's travel policy for board members was "porous" and "poorly drafted."
Wageman had previously served as chair of the DART board before Krause during the pandemic when board travel was largely prohibited.
"We never anticipated someone who would take that many trips travel abroad and do other things," Wageman said. "So, shame on us, right?"
DART’s board underwent the audit following a meeting in September, when director Doug Hrbacek said the board’s attorney, Gene Gamez, was responding to a complaint about travel expenses. At the time, Hrbacek said some directors were “traveling around the world” and “approving their own travel."
After that meeting, KERA requested documents related to travel by DART board members since 2019.
Results of the audit
Following several closed door meetings last year, the audit on board expenses was completed in December. The audit found that board members in general adhered to DART's travel policy, but that "internal controls in place for managing Board expenditures can be strengthened." It flagged inconsistencies in travel receipts and record-keeping, and overpayments to travelers for "expenses that were previously paid by DART."
KERA made an open records request for the audit in April and received it in late May.
Auditors found that there were duplicate payments for expenses covered by DART and a lack of detailed receipts. They also found that DART didn’t consistently maintain documentation of board members’ travel, airline upgrades and canceled trips.
As a result, auditors say it was difficult to determine if some trips were approved by the board. There were also significant increases in spending on meals, workshops and supplies.
“Some of the increases can be attributed to inflation over the last five years however, some of the increase can be attributed to a shift in the type of vendors used,” the audit said.
Auditors recommended improved training for staff handling travel expenses, better documentation for trips and cancellations and changes to Rule 7 of the board’s rules of procedure, which sets the policy for directors’ travel.
Jeamy Molina, a spokeswoman for DART, confirmed that the board amended its travel policy in March, and that board members won't be reimbursed for trips that aren't permitted. Molina did not say whether there would be repercussions for board members who allegedly took personal trips using agency funds or approved their own travel.
"Some people didn't think there was any issue here," Wageman said. "But thanks to Doug [Hrbacek] and working with our auditor and our general counsel, we came up with a revised policy that I think provides guardrails so that that kind of thing doesn't happen again."
The findings come during a contentious time for DART as the agency grapples with the possibility of reduced funding from member cities and potentially one less representative for the city of Dallas, according to The Dallas Morning News.
The agency has also been in tense discussions with the union representing its employees, ATU 1338, over safety concerns, pay raises and benefits.
This story was updated June 10, 2024 to include Flora Hernandez' response to questions about her travel.
Reporter Juan Salinas II contributed to this investigation.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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