Tarrant water board will reimburse members’ legal fees from district attorney inquiry
The Tarrant Regional Water District board voted unanimously Tuesday to reimburse its members for legal fees stemming from an investigation into the October 2021 settlement with former general manager Jim Oliver.
It comes after the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office closed its investigation into the water board after finding no criminal wrongdoing.
Each board member’s reimbursement was voted on separately and each board member abstained from the vote on their own reimbursement. Member Jim Lane did not attend Tuesday’s meeting and did not vote on the reimbursements.
Board member Marty Leonard submitted an invoice for $1,880, a district spokesperson said. Board president Leah King along with Lane and member James Hill have yet to submit invoices.
Board member Mary Kelleher did not retain outside council and won’t submit an invoice.
All payments will be made publicly available on the district’s website after they’ve been processed, said the district’s general council Stephen Tatum speaking at Tuesday’s meeting.
The district attorney’s office began investigating the district shortly after it finalized its settlement with former general manager Jim Oliver. The board agreed to pay Oliver $161,647 in exchange for him dropping a threatened age discrimination lawsuit and any claims to a $300,000 payment revoked by the board July 2021.
Former board president Jack Stevens unilaterally awarded Oliver the payment after the board declined Oliver’s offer to remain employed by the district in an advisory capacity. Stevens directed the district’s human resources manager to award Oliver 2,000 hours of paid time off, which was roughly equivalent to his annual salary.
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