When is a rule not a rule? At Tarrant water district, officials can override policies
Numerous Tarrant Regional Water District employee regulations include a clause that allows executives and board members to circumvent the district’s own policy “at any time.”
The clause — which allows for expansive exceptions to 17 district policies — has already been linked to turmoil within the district. Earlier this year, former board president Jack Stevens used the exception clause to award two executives an extra $360,000 worth of paid time off. (The board in June revoked those exceptions and officials have said no payments were made.)
But documents obtained by the Star-Telegram through a public information request show that the exception clause isn’t confined to paid leave. A version of it appears on a range of policies, from employee discipline to bereavement flowers. The exception clause technically allows board members or executives to skirt district policy when it comes to harassment, use of district vehicles and retiree health benefits.
Board president Leah King said Wednesday that one of the board’s priorities is to review and, where necessary, update the district’s policies. Among other things, she said, the authority to grant exceptions to the rules should “never be in the hands of a single person.”
“My expectation is that we would take a look at all policies and make the appropriate corrections so that there aren’t such broad exceptions to those rules,” she said.
Board member Mary Kelleher, who has publicly disagreed with the board at times, said she hadn’t been aware of the volume of district policies that include an exception clause. Kelleher said exceptions to the rules may be appropriate from time to time, but that extensive leeway could be problematic.
“I imagine there’s applications in every policy that could give the taxpayer public concern,” Kelleher said. “We’re really going to have to go over each one.”
King added that she doesn’t know of any potentially improper exceptions to district policies, aside from the two paid leave exceptions made by Stevens, but that the board is still on the lookout.
Water district attorneys have been conducting an “inquiry” for several weeks now, spurred by Stevens’ use of the exception clause. The water district’s board announced in late June that Stevens had arranged for outgoing general manager Jim Oliver to receive an extra $300,000 in paid time off. In early July, the Star-Telegram reported that Stevens had made a similar arrangement — worth $60,000 — for Panther Island executive J.D. Granger, the son of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger.
When the board revoked the extra payments in late June, King said Stevens’ action was potentially “unlawful” and “certainly ... ill-advised,” in part because Stevens acted on his own and did not bring the matter to the full board.
However, documents show that Stevens specifically referenced the district’s own policy when he unilaterally directed staff to give Oliver and Granger the extra paid time off.
“Pursuant to the authority granted by the Tarrant Regional Water District Paid Leave Policy ... l hereby authorize the following exceptions,” Stevens wrote in the memos for both Oliver’s and Granger’s arrangements.
Oliver’s attorney, Jason Smith, said in an interview earlier this month that Stevens’ actions were within the bounds of the water district’s rules. He pointed to the clause at the end of the paid leave policy.
“Exceptions to this policy may be made by the General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Assistant General Manager, or Board Members at any time,” the paid leave policy says.
That clause stands in contrast to the city of Fort Worth’s policy, which lays out a more regimented “waiver” process in order to make exceptions to the rules. According to the city’s personnel regulations, department heads must submit a written request and justification for an exception to human resources. The head of human resources would then evaluate the request and approve or deny the exception.
Water district documents show there are 14 policies that include a clause allowing exceptions to be made “at any time” by executive staff or by “Board Members.”
An additional three policies allow exceptions to be made “at any time” by executive staff or the “Board of Directors.” That’s a potentially key distinction from the more commonly used “Board Members,” given King’s assertion that Stevens’ actions were improper in part because he did not bring the exceptions before the entire board.
There are also three other policies that do not include the phrase “any time” but do allow exceptions to be made by executive staff.
Dan Buhman — who became the water district’s new general manager on July 1, after Oliver retired — previously told the Star-Telegram that one of his first goals is to narrow in on policies that need to be updated or rewritten. He said that task will be part of a push toward transparency undertaken by both himself and the recently sworn-in board of directors.
“I would say, let’s look to the future and you’ll see our commitment to openness and transparency will become a reality,” Buhman said earlier this month. “You’re seeing that already signaled and now we’re going to do the hard work to make sure it comes true.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
