While we continue to watch the legal saga playing out over fraud allegations at the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, another case of alleged fraud has popped up in the public ranks.

Only this time, the officials of the North Texas Tollway Authority have reported it to the authorities, as they are bound to do. 

TWIA officials were not so transparent, according to a review by the state, and tried to investigate alleged fraud on its own, according to a report issued last week.

The tollway authority in a press release said this week that it had found evidence of possible fraud and had turned the matter over to the Plano Police Department.

Meanwhile, NTTA has spoken out against proposed legislation that would make the agency subject to state review in the next two years by the Sunset Advisory Commission. The review would give state officials an idea of the efficiency of NTTA in terms of transparency, business practices and management.

Instead, the agency would prefer a local touch when it comes to assessment and review. Never mind that the Sunset Advisory Commission appears to have an aversion to thick bureaucracies.

From a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story:

"We were created for the local control of counties. We should be subject to local review," [NTTA Executive Director Allen] Clemson said before a Regional Transportation Council meeting Thursday in Arlington.

On that note,  a cadre of North Texas county officials have asked that NTTA pay for an outside review of its business practices, according to a story in the McKinney Courier-Gazette. This allows the agency, though, to choose its reviewer. And since it is footing the bill, a favorable assessment is more likely. It's kind of like the police commission reviewing police abuse. 

So the comment of NTTA Chairman Victor Vandergriff is appropriately upbeat:

"The NTTA does a great job in its construction and management of toll projects in North Texas and I am pleased and happy to participate," Vandergriff said. "Local review speeds the process and brings about any needed change quicker. If it's found that the NTTA needs to work on something, the Authority can only benefit from identifying and responding sooner, rather than later."

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Contact Steve Miller at 832-303-9420 or stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org.

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Photo of 'Dallas North Tollway' by flickr user rutlo, used via a Creative Commons license.