Hillsborough TPO directs staff to keep airport/port seats "off the top" and donate one seat to Pasco in regional MPO talks

The Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization on May 5 instructed staff to respond to Forward Pinellas’ counterproposal by keeping Port and Airport seats "off the top" of a proposed regional board and by donating one of Hillsborough’s population‑based seats to Pasco County, a move the board framed as a compromise to move regional merger talks forward.

The action followed a long staff briefing by Executive Director Johnny Wong, who described a two‑phase study funded in part by a $500,000 FDOT grant to a consultant, and who outlined three apportionment options put on the table by Tri‑County partners. Wong said Forward Pinellas had declined to approve its draft apportionment and instead proposed alternatives that would allocate all 25 voting seats by population, which raised concerns that Hillsborough’s larger population share could dominate decisions.

Why it matters: the TPO’s direction is meant to preserve a path toward a single regional MPO for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco while addressing partners’ concerns about balance and representation. Board members debated whether to guarantee off‑the‑top seats for the Port Authority and Tampa International Airport, whether a supermajority requirement should be written into bylaws for core documents, and how to recognize growth since the 2020 census.

What the board discussed and voted on

Staff described three options: 1) keep airport and port seats off the top and allocate the remaining 23 seats by population (Hillsborough would have about 11 of those 23); 2) keep off‑the‑top seats and Hillsborough donates one of its population seats to Pasco (reducing Hillsborough’s population seats by one); 3) allocate all 25 seats by population, which could remove guaranteed off‑the‑top seats for airport/port.

Commissioner Cohen moved for the option that preserves airport/port off‑the‑top seats and donates one Hillsborough population seat to Pasco; Mayor Kilton seconded. Board member King offered a substitute motion to re‑include transit agencies as voting members and to change county totals (13 Hillsborough / 7 Pinellas / 5 Pasco); that substitute motion was considered and voted on first and did not carry. The original motion then passed; the meeting record notes that board member King and council members Hertack and Clendenin voted against the original motion.

Board members pressed staff for details about population apportionment (using 2020 census figures), the legal reach of any supermajority clause for core documents such as the long‑range plan and the TIP, and how the apportionment would be revisited after the 2030 census. Attorney Clark cautioned that state statute requires a majority of members present to pass LRTP and TIP votes and that any internal supermajority rule could raise legal complications.

Next steps: Johnny Wong said staff will inform Forward Pinellas and Pasco MPOs of Hillsborough’s direction and will move into phase 2 of the study to begin drafting interlocal agreements, bylaws, staffing and transition plans. Wong also reminded the board that the TPO’s next regular meeting on May 13 will address the list of priority projects that feed FDOT programming decisions.

Motion and procedural note: the vote taken at this meeting was the board’s direction back to partner MPOs and staff; staff will return later with suballocation scenarios and recommended creation documents.