Members of Dallas' transportation and infrastructure committee on Tuesday let DART officials know they have the agency’s back in its fight to defend its funding.
The committee voted 6 to 1 to advance a resolution to the city council to support full funding for DART as the agency braces for potential legislative action to reduce contributions from member cities by 25%.
During the meeting, DART CEO Nadine Lee shared the latest updates on how the agency aims to improve its service within Dallas’ city limits.
“There are a lot of opportunities for us to enhance the frequency of our services,” Lee said. “The primary way that we can do that right now is through our bus network.”
Those efforts could fall short, however, if the agency’s funding is reduced.
“We’re about to crank up a Silver Line that may run for a month and a half and then we’ll have to shut it down,” DART Board chair Gary Slagel told the committee. “It is unacceptable that we’re in a position we’re in but we’re in it and our fight is to get out of it.”
The latest vote by Dallas is a show of support for the agency that has the target of fierce criticisms by several of its member cities.
District 6 Council Member and committee chair Omar Narvaez said the effort by suburban cities, led by Plano, to defund the agency could be damaging to the region. In December Plano Mayor John Muns sent a letter to DART requesting the agency return millions of dollars in tax revenue or it would proceed with legislation at the state level to amend a section of Texas' transportation code related to how DART operates.
“This is a cheap way to get funding, which is to destroy a major entity – a non-governmental entity – that we are partners with and it would be to the detriment of our residents in the entire system,” Narvaez said.
The issue has caused a rift among regional leaders, even within the Dallas City Council after the Regional Transportation Council voted to stay neutral in the funding debate. The Dallas delegation on the regional council was split in the crucial decision that sets the stage for a legislative fight.
The Dallas City Council voted last year to support DART in its legislative agenda. District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, the sole no vote on Tuesday's resolution, said the city has already made its stance on DART clear.
But some committee members said it wasn’t enough.
“I think that we've got a lot of mixed signals coming from our city,” said District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua. “It's important for us to take action as a city and then we can allow any type of individual opinions to carry their own.”
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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