Members of the Regional Transportation Council are looking to rehire longtime transportation director Michael Morris who was fired Tuesday.
To do that, the group decided Thursday to allocate $5 million for legal expenses as it joins a lawsuit filed by Denton County officials over hiring decisions.
The choice to sue the North Central Texas Council of Governments came during an emergency meeting in Arlington.
RTC members said the suit is intended to change the Metropolitan Planning Organization structure in North Texas. The group would have the ability to hire and fire transportation department staffers, instead of the council of governments as its CEO Todd Little maintains. A proposed agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation still under negotiation would be similar to those used in other Texas metro areas, officials said.
Morris was fired by Little — weeks before the FIFA World Cup games in Arlington start in June.
“We just voted today that the Regional Transportation Council is going to intervene in the lawsuit … to ensure that our regional (decisions) here in transportation, our interests, are protected and taken care of,” Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said.
“The RTC is the policy-making entity for transportation here in North Texas and for someone to come in and unilaterally make a decision to get rid of an individual that has over four decades of institutional knowledge — we’re owed at least an explanation,” Ross said.
Denton County Judge Andy Eads said he was encouraged by the transportation council’s strong show of support to address “the overreach” of the council of governments board of directors.
Eads said the RTC’s actions “reinforces what we have maintained from the beginning.”
“Leaders from all four corners of the county, along with partners across the region, have come together in support of restoration of proper governance and keeping transportation decisions where they belong,” he said.
The 45-member policy committee — which determines how regional transportation dollars are spent — made its decision on joining the lawsuit after an executive session that lasted about an hour and a half.
Denton County’s 376-page suit, filed April 6 against executive board members, stated its purpose “is to stop the executive board of NCTCOG, which is currently unlawfully constituted, from taking continued ultra vires (beyond their legal authority) actions, and to correct its structure to be lawfully constituted.”
Earlier in the meeting, former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley singled out Little for his role in the monthslong conflict that culminated in the firing of Morris.
The transportation council and the council of governments worked collaboratively for more than four decades without the executive board exercising oversight authority, Whitley said during the open comment portion of the meeting.
“The two entities have worked in harmony for over 40 years,” Whitley said. “In less than 12 months, Todd has destroyed that collaborative spirit and created the adversarial environment we are experiencing today. It’s a disgrace the way we treated someone who has dedicated his career to the region. As we move forward, I encourage you to maintain the high road.”
Whitley, a past president of the council of governments and former chair of the RTC, said he supported a new agreement with TxDOT that complies with the current federal statutes and includes the requirements for the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Naming the RTC as the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Whitley said, “solves the issue of who hires, fires and evaluates the MPO director and its staff. This has already been done in Houston, San Antonio and Austin. The (council of governments) can remain as the fiscal agent, but must acknowledge that its only responsibility is to pay bills submitted to it by the RTC.”
Duncan Webb, a Collin County commissioner who once chaired the RTC, also urged members to adopt the new TxDOT agreement as a way to move forward so no council of governments official can dictate transportation policy.
Interim transportation director Dan Kessler was seated at the head table during most of the meeting, a spot usually occupied by Morris.
He said Morris was in good spirits and planned to volunteer his time for regional mobility projects, including the FIFA World Cup, while he is unemployed.
“He is doing well,” Kessler said.
Still, the firing of Morris on Tuesday creates a “hole” in the transportation department. The department, however, will maintain its consistent, professional standards.
“I look forward to getting to know you and working with you,” Kessler told RTC members.
Morris, 70, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Before the executive session, members debated who could attend.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill attended the meeting as a new member but was excluded from the executive session on advice from legal counsel because he is a party to Denton County’s suit. An attorney for the group said Hill’s presence would violate attorney-client privilege and the meeting would be considered illegal.
Three other RTC members — including Fort Worth City Council member Carlos Flores — who serve in dual roles as executive board members recused themselves from the executive session.
With the FIFA World Cup on the horizon, officials are concerned about problems that could arise given that Morris was an integral part of the region’s transportation plan.
Ross said he has tremendous respect for Morris, who has been reaching out to RTC committees to offer his assistance.
“To fire him some 44 days or so before the World Cup kicks off is beyond belief,” Ross said. “To Mr. Morris’ credit, he’s not the type of individual that’s gonna step away from this. … He wants to see a World Cup kickoff with any transportation hiccups, and I believe he’ll stay engaged.”
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
