Dallas Area Rapid Transit is seeking support from some of its member cities as a show of strength in Austin, should its funding debate head to the state Legislature.
On Monday, DART's board chair Gary Slagel spoke to the Richardson City Council to ask leaders to pass a resolution to fully support the agency's current funding structure.
“The reason we're here now and asking for this now is because this is the time to do it,” Slagel told the council. “Any help we can get is important.”
DART gets most of its funding from a one-cent sales tax from each of its member cities. For almost a year, the agency has been involved in a debate with other member cities over preserving the penny. Six cities passed largely symbolic resolutions to reduce that funding by 25%.
“One of the things we've been doing is talking with not only those six cities, but the other seven cities as well to determine what we can do better,” said Mark Enoch, who represents Garland, Glenn Heights and Rowlett on the DART board.
Other cities, like Garland and Dallas, have expressed support for the full penny. Last year, Dallas voted to support current funding as part of its legislative agenda.
Any changes to DART’s funding could have a regional impact, and the agency is on a tight deadline. In October, the Regional Transportation Council told DART leaders to resolve the funding debate by the end of this month or it would pull support for the current funding structure in its legislative agenda.
Leaders in Plano, the first city to pass a resolution to cut DART’s funding, have been asking DART to provide additional services and pay back a portion of its funding or it will pursue legislation at the state level. It also requested changes to DART’s governance structure.
Last week, the board voted to give suburban member cities more say in service improvements by requiring a supermajority vote for adding more services. That was an effort by DART to show cities that the agency wants to work with them.
Slagel said the board is also looking into changes to its governance structure to give cities more inclusive representation at DART. He said the board wants to let cities decide on who represents them based on the latest population numbers.
“Let's take those [population numbers] to the cities and let them decide who they would like to team with,” Slagel said. “We'll give it a shot.”
Richardson leaders responded positively to Slagel and Enoch’s request for support. Place 3 Council Member Dan Barrios said he fully supports a resolution to back DART’s current funding.
“It’s something we see not just the short term but the long term effects when we think of what it does for our communities, the services it provides and the economic opportunities that it offers,” Barrios said. “I think we as a city would be foolish to say otherwise.”
Place 5 Council Member Ken Hutchenrider suggested the council pass a resolution at the “earliest opportunity.”
At the end of the discussion, Richardson Mayor Bob Dubey directed city staff to include a resolution to support DART on the council’s agenda next week.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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