Central Texas RMA directors "cut" to two years
Terms shortened for CTRMA directors
By Kurt Johnson
Taylor Daily Press
Copyright 2005
The terms of two of Williamson County's three directors on the board of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) were shortened to two years as a result of the failure of Prop. 9 to pass in last week's general election.
If the proposition had passed, an amendment would have been made to the Texas Constitution allowing directors on the boards of regional mobility authorities to serve six-year terms.
Controversial differences of opinion surfaced last year when directors on CTRMA's board were appointed by the agency's constituent counties to terms up to six years long. A lawsuit filed by an anti-toll-road group in Austin resulted in a court decision which said the terms could be no longer than two years, based on existing state law. If the constitutional amendment had passed, it would have reversed the court decision and allowed six-year terms.
Williamson County commissioners re-appointed its three directors to the CTRMA board in December 2004. Jim Mills was appointed to a two-year term, Bob Bennett was appointed to a four-year term and David Singleton was appointed to a six-year term.
The appointments were made on a split vote by commissioners, with Pct. 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman and Pct. 3 Commissioner Tom McDaniel voting against the appointments. Birkman and McDaniel took the position that the process should be opened up to consider people who might apply for the appointments, while the other three members of the commissioners court sought to re-appoint the existing directors.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Greg Boatright, Pct. 4 Commissioner Frankie Limmer and County Judge John Doerfler forced a decision without additional consideration and re-appointed the incumbent board members.
CTRMA is responsible for building the US 183-A toll road that will bypass Cedar Park, diverging from US 183 near its intersection with FM 620 and meeting it again near Leander. Other toll roads in the area also will be built by CTRMA.
Doerfler, Boatright and Limmer all said they wanted to keep the same board members to avoid possible problems in selling $128 million in bonds in order to build the initial phase of toll roads.
According to Steve Pustelnyk, spokesman for CTRMA, the failure of the constitutional amendment at the polls simply means that Singleton and Bennett will have two-year terms, just like Mills.
“No action is required to adjust the terms at this point-the appointments will have to be reconsidered when the two-year terms are up in December of next year,” Pustelnyk said.
CTRMA board members appointed by entities other than Williamson County are Bob Tesch of Cedar Park and Austinites Lowell Lieberman, Henry Gilmore and Johanna Zmud.
The failure of the vote on the amendment means that Birkman and McDaniel will get another opportunity to appoint three CTRMA directors other than the incumbents. Even though Limmer and Boatright already have said they won't run for re-election next year and Doerfler hasn't announced his intentions, the three-members who renamed the current board members will still be on the court when the appointments are reconsidered in December 2006.
Copyright © 2005 Taylor Daily Press www.taylordailypress
By Kurt Johnson
Taylor Daily Press
Copyright 2005
The terms of two of Williamson County's three directors on the board of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) were shortened to two years as a result of the failure of Prop. 9 to pass in last week's general election.
If the proposition had passed, an amendment would have been made to the Texas Constitution allowing directors on the boards of regional mobility authorities to serve six-year terms.
Controversial differences of opinion surfaced last year when directors on CTRMA's board were appointed by the agency's constituent counties to terms up to six years long. A lawsuit filed by an anti-toll-road group in Austin resulted in a court decision which said the terms could be no longer than two years, based on existing state law. If the constitutional amendment had passed, it would have reversed the court decision and allowed six-year terms.
Williamson County commissioners re-appointed its three directors to the CTRMA board in December 2004. Jim Mills was appointed to a two-year term, Bob Bennett was appointed to a four-year term and David Singleton was appointed to a six-year term.
The appointments were made on a split vote by commissioners, with Pct. 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman and Pct. 3 Commissioner Tom McDaniel voting against the appointments. Birkman and McDaniel took the position that the process should be opened up to consider people who might apply for the appointments, while the other three members of the commissioners court sought to re-appoint the existing directors.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Greg Boatright, Pct. 4 Commissioner Frankie Limmer and County Judge John Doerfler forced a decision without additional consideration and re-appointed the incumbent board members.
CTRMA is responsible for building the US 183-A toll road that will bypass Cedar Park, diverging from US 183 near its intersection with FM 620 and meeting it again near Leander. Other toll roads in the area also will be built by CTRMA.
Doerfler, Boatright and Limmer all said they wanted to keep the same board members to avoid possible problems in selling $128 million in bonds in order to build the initial phase of toll roads.
According to Steve Pustelnyk, spokesman for CTRMA, the failure of the constitutional amendment at the polls simply means that Singleton and Bennett will have two-year terms, just like Mills.
“No action is required to adjust the terms at this point-the appointments will have to be reconsidered when the two-year terms are up in December of next year,” Pustelnyk said.
CTRMA board members appointed by entities other than Williamson County are Bob Tesch of Cedar Park and Austinites Lowell Lieberman, Henry Gilmore and Johanna Zmud.
The failure of the vote on the amendment means that Birkman and McDaniel will get another opportunity to appoint three CTRMA directors other than the incumbents. Even though Limmer and Boatright already have said they won't run for re-election next year and Doerfler hasn't announced his intentions, the three-members who renamed the current board members will still be on the court when the appointments are reconsidered in December 2006.
Copyright © 2005 Taylor Daily Press
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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