Fort Worth needs more money to fight a lawsuit from a former police chief alleging he was fired for his attempts to uncover corruption.

The City Council will vote Tuesday night on a proposal to spend an additional $1.1 million contesting former police chief Joel Fitzgerald’s lawsuit in Dallas County. If approved, the measure would bring the total bill for the lawsuit to $2 million.

The money is needed after a Dallas County judge postponed Fitzgerald’s court date from early January to Oct. 7, according to city documents.

The delay is forcing the outside law firm hired by the city to spend extra time and resources on its defense, the documents said. This includes preparation for what the city expects to be a three to four week trial along with any post trial legal work.

Fort Worth initially allocated $250,000 to fight the case in February 2022. It doubled that amount in May 2022 before increasing it to $900,000 in September 2023.

Fort Worth hired Fitzgerald to serve as the city’s police chief in 2015, however, he lost his job in May 2019 shortly after getting into an argument with a police union leader at a conference in Washington, D.C.

City leaders accused Fitzgerald of having an “increasing lack of good judgment,” citing his mismanagement both of the police department’s budget and his relationships with other city department heads, according to a letter from city manager David Cooke.

However, a July 2019 ruling by the Texas Workforce Commission found there was no evidence Fitzgerald had committed any work related misconduct, and in May 2020 a court ordered the city change his discharge designation to honorable.

Fitzgerald has pointed to the fact that his firing came hours before he was scheduled to meet with federal investigators over concerns the city had violated the Criminal Justice Information Systems Act. He alleged city employees lied about the city being in compliance with regulations needed to access a federal law enforcement database, and that the employees destroyed evidence to cover it up.

The former Fort Worth police chief unsuccessfully sued to stop the city from hiring his replacement. He now works as the chief of police and emergency management for the Regional Transportation District in Denver.