More than half of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s 13 members cities want to cut funding to the transit agency.
Farmers Branch and Carrollton are the most recent cities to vote in favor of reducing funds to DART by 25%. At its meeting Tuesday, the Farmers Branch City Council voted unanimously on a resolution to reduce their funding for DART; Carrollton City council members also voted 6 to 1 on Tuesday to suggest cutting funds.
Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick said a reduction in sales tax contribution from member cities would give DART an opportunity to think about what it would take for nonmember cities to join the transit agency to spread their fixed cost over a larger area.
“That's why we believe a reduction is required,” Babick said. “But when spread across...we don't believe it will translate to a reduction of cost.”
During Farmers Branch’s meeting, Council Member Roger Neal said that people have been expressing their concerns with DART for some time now.
“The concerns and issues being raised by many are the cleanliness, the safety issues surrounding DART,” Neal said.
Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne said their suggestion is more of a “realignment of participation,” as some of DART’s services may be working better for other cities rather than Farmers Branch.
“We need to evaluate this contribution that we've been making over the past 40 years,” Lynne said.
Lynne also said surrounding nonmember cities can see this as a chance to become part of DART’s membership.
Plano, Rowlett and Irving passed similar resolutions in recent weeks, and University Park postponed a vote on a resolution to reduce its contribution. Dallas city leaders are also eyeing cuts to their contribution as a way to fill a gap in the pension fund.
Seventy-five percent of DART’s revenue comes from a 1-cent sales tax contribution from member cities. The head of the agency has said a reduction in that funding could lead to service cuts throughout the system.
DART board members are in a debate over how to handle the calls from cities to cut funding. Any reduction would have to be authorized by the board.
Community’s Support for DART
But not all member cities want to reduce their contributions. Garland City Council Member Dylan Hendrick is requesting a resolution of support for the city’s current level of funding to DART in the future.
Many Richardson City Council members and residents defended DART at a workshop on Monday, making it clear they do not back calls to cut funding. Council Member Jennifer Justice said she “wholly disagrees” with the recent resolutions in other cities, saying population growth in North Texas will create a higher demand for DART’s services.
“We need to be realistic about the growth that's going to happen in this region and how much we're going to need the transit,” Justice said.
Between 2022 and 2023, North Texas surpassed 8 million residents, adding more than 150,000 people, the largest population increase of any U.S. metro area between that timeframe, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
By 2050, the region’s population is projected to increase by nearly 4 million people, according to the North Texas Central Council of Governments.
“We’re growing to 11 million people in the next 20 years,” Justice said. “The idea that we're going to need less transit public transit is a little bit shortsighted.”
DART Board Chairman Gary Slagle said taking funding away from DART would only create problems in servicing debt and maintaining the current system. He represents Richardson, Addison and the Park Cities on the board.
“I'm hopeful that we as a council or as a DART board group will be able to work with the cities to satisfy some of the issues that they have,” Slagle said. “I'm only one board member, and so I can't control any of this, but I can try to influence it.”
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s news intern. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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