Tarrant Regional Water District considers new rules about nepotism and board duties
The Tarrant Regional Water District considered a set of new policies Thursday aimed at spelling out the roles of individual board members and strengthening protections against nepotism.
The new rules explicitly state that no individual member can act on behalf of the board the unless the board votes to authorize them to do so. This rule would have prevented former board president Jack Stevens from unilaterally awarding 2,000 extra hours of paid time off to then-outgoing general manager Jim Oliver.
The board voted to revoke that payment in June, but Oliver threatened litigation claiming board rules allowed Stevens to authorize the $300,000 payout. The board settled with Oliver on Oct. 8, but in a letter obtained Wednesday by the Star-Telegram, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharon Wilson informed the board she was investigating the settlement.
The rules would also strengthen the board’s nepotism policy. The board defaults to Texas state law, which prevents public officials from hiring anyone they are related to by blood or by marriage up to three degrees of separation.
The new rule would add language expanding that definition to include three degrees of separation from a domestic partnership or dating relationship. This would have prohibited Oliver from hiring his girlfriend in 2019.
Board secretary Jim Lane challenged that proposed language at Thursday’s board meeting. He said people within agencies often date and marry coworkers.
Katie Long, an attorney advising the board on the policy changes, said the policy was intended to prevent conflicts of interest in the direct chain of command.
“You don’t want a mother supervising a daughter or a husband supervising a wife,” Long said.
General Manager Dan Buhman said the board would likely vote to adopt the new rules in November.
