The Regional Transportation Council for North Central Texas voted this week to bring in outside lawyers, turning up the heat in an ongoing governance clash with the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ executive board. At the center of the fight is the future of longtime transportation director Michael Morris and, by extension, how key regional projects are ranked and funded. RTC leaders say hiring attorneys is meant to clarify the council’s responsibilities while the legal wrangling runs its course.
Council authorizes outside counsel
Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey, who chairs the RTC, asked for money so the council could retain independent attorneys to review the body’s authority and to help stop a search for a new transportation director. Meeting records show the council signed off on letting its general counsel carry out a legal review and approve outside legal help to support the RTC, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Legal fight moves to court
The legal push arrives on the heels of a lawsuit Denton County filed this month that names several executive board members as defendants and seeks to block the recruitment of Morris’s successor. As reported by the Fort Worth Report, Denton County secured a temporary restraining order that could freeze the hiring process. A hearing on whether that pause will stand is set for April 21 before state District Judge Jim Johnson.
Who is Michael Morris?
Michael Morris, 70, has led the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ transportation programs for roughly three decades and is widely credited with steering major highway and transit projects across the Dallas-Fort Worth region, according to ENR. Local reporting and agency minutes show that Todd Little was appointed executive director of the council of governments in May 2025 while officials were talking through succession planning for the transportation job, as noted by KERA.
Council hires counsel, lawyers to report monthly
After the council’s previous outside adviser bowed out in March, RTC leaders moved to secure new independent representation that they say can deliver a neutral read on the council’s duties. The Fort Worth Report notes that the attorneys will be paid with local transportation funds and that the council expects a monthly rundown of legal costs, a detail that signals leaders know taxpayers will be watching the tab.
Why this matters for projects
The RTC helps set priorities for billions in federal and local transportation dollars, so any pause or confusion about who is in charge can ripple through construction timelines and grant calls that affect congestion relief, freight movement and transit expansion. Agency records and industry reporting emphasize that regional planning through 2050 relies on steady governance and tight coordination, making this internal showdown more than just inside baseball for bureaucrats, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
A hearing later this month will determine whether the search for a new transportation director can continue while the legal questions are sorted out. Until then, the RTC has its lawyers in place, and regional leaders say they are trying to keep critical projects moving even as the power struggle plays out in court.
