Leadership at Dallas Area Rapid Transit could soon shift based on changing population numbers in the agency’s service area.
On Tuesday, a board committee was briefed on its upcoming reapportionment of board members – which happens every five years.
Currently, the 13-member board is made up of seven Dallas representatives and six representatives for surrounding member cities. DART’s legal counsel Gene Gamez told the committee the suburbs are slowly overtaking Dallas in percentage of population in the area the agency serves.
“When DART first started this process in ‘83–84 when the first apportionment came out [Dallas’ population] was a little bit higher," Gamez said. "There’s been a very gradual reduction.
"We’ll see what happens in 2025.”
Gamez said DART is working with Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute to use data on the latest population estimates from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to determine reapportionment.
He said cities have options on how they select their next board member and whether they will have term limits or rotate representatives among cities.
Board chair Gary Slagel said DART should leave that decision up to the member cities.
“Instead of us picking what cities go together, let them based on population and their numbers make their selection," he said. "They also should be able to decide as a group of cities… how they are able to manage their board member."
Not all committee members agreed with Slagel.
“I think it’s important that we have input both from our member cities but also from the board,” said board member Michele Wong Krause, who represents Dallas. “I don’t want to abdicate our stewardship either.”
Wong Krause added there may be unintended consequences to letting cities have full control of their selection process.
The discussion comes after state Sen. Tan Parker floated legislation that would have expanded DART’s representation to one board member per city, instead of partial representation based on population. That bill failed to make any traction during the recently concluded 89th legislative session.
Gamez told the committee there will be more briefings on the DART board's reapportionment, which is to be implemented on Sept. 1.
During the meeting, the committee also voted down a resolution requiring a two-thirds vote to approve the annual budget, an action that was recommended by member cities who say they're not getting fair representation on the DART board.
The next meeting of the DART board is June 24.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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