Several North Texas cities have been questioning their contributions to theDallas Area Rapid Transit system and whether they’re getting their money’s worth from the partnership. Now, two more cities have signaled they, too, have doubts about DART.
In votes Tuesday night, city councils in Carrollton and Farmers Branch voted to reduce DART’s funding. As it stands now, every dollar spent in member cities is taxed 1% to help fund the transit system. That’s the way it’s been since 1983. But the two cities approved resolutions Tuesday to support capping DART contributions at three-quarters of a cent for every dollar. They join Plano, Rowlett and Irving, all of which passed similar resolutions. These resolutions are symbolic in nature as only the DART board can vote to reduce funding for the transit system.
Every year, Farmers Branch contributes $22–$23 million, Jawaria Tareen, the city’s deputy city manager, said at a city council meeting Tuesday night. DART’s estimated revenue for 2024 is $870.8 million. Tareen said the city has concerns about the reliability, quality and fiscal responsibility of DART, along with the system’s cleanliness and safety.
“We’re not eliminating DART service.” – Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne
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She said the city was trying to determine whether taxpayers are receiving a value corresponding to their investment and whether Farmers Branch is subsidizing the system for other member cities. If Farmers Branch capped DART contributions at three-quarters of a cent, it could save $5–$6 million every year, which it could invest in other projects.
“The city of Farmers Branch is not dropping out of DART,” Farmers Branch Terry Lynne said at the city council meeting. “We’re not eliminating DART service.” The mayor said he wanted to look at this as a realignment of DART participation. He said some cities use DART more than others, and some DART services work better for Farmers Branch than others. “So, we need to take a good hard look at this,” Lynne said.
There are also some other municipalities that may want to join DART, something that other member cities have been pushing for. “This is not anything new and we are not alone in taking action,” Lynne said.
Farmers Branch voted unanimously to lower its contributions to DART.
Carrollton voted to do the same just hours before. However, there was a bit more pushback on the city council. Carrollton city council member Daisy Palomo wondered if residents who use DART will have to make up for the lost funding. Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick couldn’t say whether or not this would happen.
Mayor Pro Tem Richard Fleming took issue with the DART cuts being part of a broader transportation initiative the city is taking on called Transit 2.0. But the city attorney said Carrollton was just asking for the reduction as part of this transportation initiative. Fleming was the only city council member who voted against the resolution.
DART sent a letter to both cities asking them to defer the vote and saying that reduced funding would only make the transit system worse.
Jeamy Molina, executive vice president and chief communications officer for DART, told the Observer in an email earlier this month that any reductions would have devastating effects on communities, businesses and the most vulnerable populations in cities that rely on the transit system for jobs, healthcare, education and more. The cuts could result in DART employees losing their jobs and increased wait times for service.