As the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Board braced for possible legal action from four of its own trustees, frustrated Chairman Sam Friar sought retribution.

Friar, in his personal capacity, circulated a resolution among police and fire associations. The document proposed to permanently ban the associations from giving any endorsements or other political support for the council members on the board for their "despicable action."

Association leaders ultimately disagreed with Friar's resolution. But both his maneuver and the council members' request to have a court take control of the pension system have added more friction to the deeply strained relationship between City Hall and active and retired police and firefighters.

Some hope still remains that they'll find a way to save the pension system from insolvency. But so far, talks have gone nowhere, and tensions are running high.

At Thursday's pension board meeting, Jennifer Staubach Gates said she feels bullied, pointing to Friar's resolution as an example.

"I was angry, and at the same time I was disheartened," Gates said in an interview afterward. "This is business as usual ... They're willing to work behind the scenes to get what they want rather than work in a transparent manner to get a fix."

City Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates spoke during a Board of Trustees meeting at Dallas Police and Fire Pension System in Dallas in October. (2016 File Photo/Jae S. Lee)

Gates gave Friar credit for admitting to seeking the resolution. And Friar said he doesn't like dealing in politics and didn't consider the move political.

"I consider the board a family," Friar said. "And when family members are suing each other, you let them know that you don't like it."

Council member Scott Griggs said Friar engaged in "the politics of intimidation." He said the fact Friar spent time and energy on the resolution underscored why the fund needs an independent court-appointed receiver making decisions.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson said he understands why Friar drafted the resolution, even though he was "taken aback" by it.

Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata didn't like the idea of political banishment.

Mata said Friar had "good intentions," but that the idea wasn't "appropriate nor in the best interest of the DPA and the city."

Sam Friar, of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department and chairman of the Board of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, at an October trustee meeting. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)

Dallas Firefighters Association President Jim McDade agreed, but believes city officials are disingenuous.

"They're trying to point fingers at us, but they need to look at themselves and ask whether they are even trying to negotiate a settlement in some way," he said. "Clearly, they're not."

The pension board felt the same way. Police board trustee Tho Tang Ho accused Griggs of just wanting to cast off the pension system and thousands of retirees and survivors without any future pension benefits.

Tho Tang Ho, Dallas Police Dept., is seen during the Board of Trustees meeting at Dallas Police and Fire Pension System in Dallas, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)

The city has suggested such a plan, which would create a new pension system for younger workers, as an alternative option if other efforts fail. But Griggs said the first priority is to save the pension fund.

Retirees have expressed similar complaints for weeks. They've said the council and Mayor Mike Rawlings have made a bad situation worse.

Rawlings filed the lawsuit in which the council members intervened Wednesday. The goal of both legal actions was to shut down large lump-sum payments that threaten the stability of the pension system. Retirees and employee groups have argued that the mayor's rhetoric has been solely to blame for withdrawals of more than $500 million.

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On Thursday, some retirees again faulted the mayor and accused council members of working on a secret plot to weaken the fund and take it over from the mostly autonomous board. One retiree also suggested Gates was part of an opaque conspiracy involving her father, Roger Staubach, the Dallas Cowboys great and real estate developer.

But retired Dallas Fire-Rescue Lt. Joel Lavender came to Gates' defense, saying the situation has been bad for everyone and that he understands the frustrations.

"I think it's important that you all feel how she feels when she was attacked because that's how we feel," Lavender said. "We feel as if someone is turning their back on us. And when we want to put a face on who turned their back on us, this is what we see. We see the board. We see the mayor."

Rawlings and city leaders are still pushing for their plan, which would erase high rates of interest paid over the years on the lump-sum accounts. But pension system Executive Director Kelly Gottschalk said the accountants for the pension system and the city can't agree on whether the numbers will work. Pension officials also believe the plan won't pass muster under the state Constitution.

So for now, the pension system is drafting its own bill, which Gottschalk said is over 100 pages long.

Meanwhile, the system is trying to hold off one of its creditors, Bank of America, which is antsy for tens of millions of dollars of its money back. Pension officials said the bank is worried that a court will appoint a receiver to administer the fund's affairs, which will make it difficult to call their loan.

State House Pensions Committee Chairman Dan Flynn and his staff are looking at a proposal that would pay out the lump-sum payments as annuities over retirees' projected lifespan. The retirees might also be able to sell their stream of payments to private financial institutions in exchange for a lump sum. Such a plan would save the pension fund from potentially losing nearly half its value over several years and save retirees from seeing the interest they earned disappear.

But the board still expressed some reservations about the idea. Still, none disagreed that it would be better than the city's plan.

That is, if the numbers work.