The city councils of Farmers Branch and Addison voted on February 24 on whether or not to cancel their DART withdrawal elections.
Farmers Branch canceled the upcoming election, opting to stay with the agency for another six years. Meanwhile, Addison left the matter up to voters.
Six cities – Addison, Farmers Branch, Highland Park, University Park, Irving, and Plano – had originally scheduled elections for May 2 to let voters decide whether to withdraw from DART, as The Dallas Express reported. Plano has already voted to cancel its withdrawal election, and the Irving City Council will vote on the matter on February 26. The agency has been negotiating with cities ahead of their March 18 deadline to cancel these elections.
The March 18 deadline spurred negotiations between cities and the agency for potential reforms. Specifically, DART approved a new General Mobility Program to return funding to cities, and a proposed reform that would reduce Dallas’ weight on the DART Board and provide at least one seat to every member city.
Member cities may opt out only once every 6 years.
Farmers Branch
The Farmers Branch City Council voted 4-1 to remove the DART withdrawal from the ballot. However, Councilman David Reid expressed concern that this decision deprived residents of their ability to voice their opinions.
“Now the pressure is off DART. The only reason they came to the table was because of the threat that us and the other five cities posed, in regards to our desire to bring it to a ballot,” Reid said. “Once it’s over, all leverage is gone. We cannot do anything for another six years.”
Reid pointed to a 2023 study, exclusively reported by The Dallas Express, that showed imbalances in funding and services between Dallas and other member cities. While Farmers Branch contributed $24.3 million that year, it only received back $20.8 million in services.
Due to concessions offered with the recent reform package, Reid said DART could potentially reduce its services even further.
“We’re going from a level of a less-than-optimal level of service, to an even lower level of service,” he said. “How does that benefit our residents?”
In contrast, Councilwoman Elizabeth Villafranca cast the negotiations in a positive light.
“Meaningful progress has been made. DART has begun working toward concessions, and the City of Dallas has offered us a seat at the table – something many of us believed would never happen,” she said. “Thankfully, Plano rescinded their election last night… Here is the reality: if we proceed to an election and lose, we will lose our funding.”
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Roger Neal similarly pointed to progress in negotiations with DART.
“I think we’ve affected some change. Is it all that we wanted? Probably not, but we’ve made some movement in that direction,” Neal said.
Still, he questioned the opposition to a DART withdrawal election.
“I’m frequently told that I need to listen to the residents,” Neal said. “I’m then somehow surprised that they don’t want this opportunity, or they don’t want us to allow the voters to do that… Nonetheless, I’m hopeful that we can continue to hold DART’s feet to the fire.”
Mayor Terry Lynne emphasized the complexity of dealing with DART. While he expressed optimism about negotiations, he pledged to continue seeking accountability because “the present model isn’t working.”
“I believe there are fundamental issues with DART that need to be fixed. Those issues may take many years to fix, but we have to start someplace, and I believe we already have,” Lynne said. “By taking a pause, we have the opportunity to again be part of regional growth.”
“The pressure will be on DART to reform,” he added. “I will not relent until I see fundamental changes that go all the way to the core of the organization.”
Addison
Meanwhile, a different story played out in the next town over. The Addison City Council voted 5-2 to keep the withdrawal on the ballot.
Before the vote, DART Board Chair Randall Bryant appealed to the council.
“Your manager has met every two weeks at 7:30 a.m. on a Wednesday with the other city managers across this network to try to find compromises,” he said. “We’ve done huddles, we’ve done meetings – with almost all of you individually – to get us to this point.”
Councilman Howard Freed applauded Bryant and all others involved in negotiations. Still, he emphasized the importance of an election.
“We don’t have the power to vote, this board, to stay in DART,” he said. “We have the choice to call an election or do nothing.”
He took issue with speakers at the meeting who opposed an election.
“Those people who are begging, pleading, encouraging us to not call the election or to cancel it,” Freed said, “What I’m hearing is, ‘Listen to my voice and don’t listen to the rest of the people. Just listen to me.’ And I have a problem with that.”
Freed expressed concerns about governance and funding negotiations, noting that the proposed GMP would still return less than half of what cities originally requested. He indicated support to go through with an election.
“If the citizens of this town, should we call this election and they vote to stay in DART? I 1,000% respect that decision and I would support it,” he said. “If the citizens vote to get out, I would respect that one, too. But I think this decision is too big for this board.”
Mayor Bruce Arfsten emphasized the importance of working toward a functional transit system across the region. Councilman Dan Liscio likewise thanked Bryant for his efforts but pointed to outstanding issues and called for open dialogue.
“Thank you for the work you’ve put in with your board, because I know you’re fighting tooth and nail,” Liscio said. “The governance, the finances, the legislation – the legislative side of things is completely broken… In my opinion, it is not something that should wait another six years. This should have been addressed years ago, generations ago.”
Liscio said the council would find solutions for all residents. “We will not leave people hanging,” he said, “regardless of the election’s outcome.”
