The Dallas City Council has officially approved dropping its voting share on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board to 45%, as suburbs negotiate before withdrawal elections in May.
The council passed a resolution 13-2 on February 11 to reduce Dallas’ current dominance of the DART board, in hopes of encouraging suburbs to stay with the agency. As The Dallas Express reported, six member cities – Addison, Farmers Branch, Highland Park, Irving, Plano, and University Park – advanced withdrawal elections for May 2.
“This one act that we’re taking today doesn’t, in and of itself, fix all the things that are challenging DART,” said Mayor Eric Johnson in the meeting. “It doesn’t mean that you will achieve the goal, but you definitely will not achieve the goal if you don’t do what is necessary.”
The resolution supports lowering Dallas’ representation on the DART board to 45% of the total voting power, and seven seats. It also supports giving at least one seat to each member city, and ensuring no single city has a majority share.
Dallas currently has strong control of the DART board, with eight members of the 13-member board. Meanwhile, as The Dallas Express reported, some suburbs are forced to share a single representative – as former Board Chair Gary Slagel represented Highland Park, University Park, Addison, and Richardson.
During the council meeting, DART Board Chair Randall Bryant asked members to approve the resolution. He said Irving is also considering a measure to support board reforms this week, and other cities have seen similar resolutions.
“We need a clear direction from the city and from DART,” Bryant said.
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Tolbert also asked members to pass the resolution. She said Dallas was in its best position in six months, and it took “rolling up our sleeves” to reach this point.
“Cities expressed an urgent need for reform,” Tolbert said. “We’re not done, we do ask the council today to consider what we’ve requested.”
DART member cities have been growing increasingly frustrated with the agency’s service and governance, as The Dallas Express reported. Meanwhile, DX found the agency gave its executives more than $2.4 million in bonuses from 2020 to 2024 – then made historic service cuts in fall 2025.
The council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed an early version of the resolution in January, as The Dallas Express reported. At the time, officials hoped this would send a message Dallas is willing to work with others.
The Debate
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn emphasized Dallas’ role in DART, and opposed the resolution. She cited the need for more comprehensive agency fixes.
“Today we’re being asked to give up majority control, and in return, we receive no structural reform at DART, no guaranteed service improvements, no safety improvements, no measurable performance standards, and no financial concessions,” she said. “Our responsibility is to the Dallas residents and taxpayers.”
Mendelsohn called for accountability, pointing to the fact that Dallas accounts for 75% of DART ridership, as The Dallas Express reported. As of December 2025, the agency’s ridership was still down from pre-COVID levels.
“These are not small issues, these are the structural changes and challenges,” Mendelsohn said. “If we’re going to save DART, the answer can’t be simply by reducing Dallas’ representation without securing measurable reform, improved service delivery, and accountability standards.”
Councilman Chad West also said he planned to vote no, citing “gut feelings” other member cities would not cooperate.
“I would rather move forward with just our city and just our municipal partners who want a strong public transit system, rather than potentially weaken the system to appease other priorities,” West said.
While Councilman Paul Ridley asked Tolbert to continue discussions on other governance reforms, he said he supported the resolution.
“This is an important expression of Dallas’ willingness to show that we are flexible and that we are willing to be collaborative with our neighboring cities,” Ridley said.
Councilwoman Paula Blackmon also backed the resolution, saying she thinks Dallas can work with others to gain a majority on the DART board where necessary.
“Being a DART board member is not for the faint of heart,” she said. “It’s going to require cultivation and collaboration to ensure that, while we may not have the majority in number, that we have it in philosophy and spirit and alignment with others. And in having that, we do have a majority.”
Still, Blackmon said she hoped the move would encourage suburban member cities to stay with DART.
“I hope this collaboration is going to invite others to avoid one-offs and want to eventually join our regional transit system,” she said. “So I hope they’re really taking this message of Dallas’ flexibility on this very seriously.”
Numerous suburban cities have been paying tens of millions of dollars more into DART than they have been receiving in services, as The Dallas Express reported. For example, a 2023 study obtained by DX found Plano gave $109.6 million in sales taxes to the agency but only received back $44.6 million in services. Meanwhile, Dallas only gave $407.8 million and received back $690.5 million.
The cities that advanced withdrawal elections have until March 18 to rescind them. DART has been negotiating in the meantime, promising to pause taking on new debt until November elections.
Member cities may opt out of DART once every six years. If voters decide to stay with the agency, the next window to leave would be 2032.