The executive director of an Arlington-based government organization is out of his job months after he fired an influential North Texas transportation director — a move that spurred legal action and led to the director’s reinstatement.
Todd Little, a former Ellis County judge appointed to lead the North Central Texas Council of Governments in May 2025, left his position Thursday after a meeting of the group’s executive board, which now includes five Tarrant County leaders.
During the meeting, the board “voted to approve a mutually agreed separation of Todd Little’s employment as executive director, effective immediately, with no finding of misconduct or cause,” Caroline Vandergriff, the organization’s spokesperson, said in a statement released late Thursday night. The vote was 8-6.
Little, also a former Red Oak mayor, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The April firing of Michael Morris, transportation director for the 45-member Regional Transportation Council for 35 years, led to a monthslong regional dispute between the transportation body and the board. Morris, reinstated to his role days later by a judge, directs North Texas transportation projects and distributes millions of dollars to cities for road, rail, bus, bicycle and air quality projects.
A settlement in the lawsuit by Denton County officials was approved by the transportation council on Aug. 13.
Little previously told the Fort Worth Report that the organization is preparing for long-term mobility plans and looking for an eventual successor to marshal transportation projects needed to accommodate 4 million people expected to move to North Texas by 2050.
“We’re planning for the future,” Little told the Report.
Little was singled out by former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley at the Regional Transportation Council’s April 30 meeting.
“The two entities have worked in harmony for over 40 years,” Whitley, a past president of the council of governments and former chair of the RTC, said during the open comments portion of the meeting. “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.”
At the Aug. 13 RTC meeting, Denton County Judge Andy Eads said the lawsuit originated because of the actions of a “small handful” on the executive board but many regional leaders banded together to advance a settlement regardless of politics.
That regional effort included new membership on the executive board.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross were among the 17 officials elected to one-year terms on the 2026-27 executive board during the NCTCOG 60th general assembly June 15 at the Hurst Conference Center.
Two other Tarrant leaders — Mansfield Mayor Michael Evans and Hurst City Council member Jon McKenzie — were also elected to the board. Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, who was among the 17 named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was reelected.
Under the settlement, the Regional Transportation Council is designated as the North Texas Metropolitan Planning Organization through an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation. The council of governments board will be the transportation body’s fiscal agent and won’t have oversight over transportation policies, funding or staff employment.
This is a developing story.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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