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City officials in Farmers Branch and Addison will consider cancelling the May 2 DART withdrawal elections at special-called meetings, Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The cities are two of six service area cities, which include Plano, Irving, Highland Park and University Park, that called special elections to give voters the decision of whether each city should remain a member of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which is funded by a 1-cent local sales tax.
However, city officials now are considering a new funding agreement offered by DART that returns a portion of those tax dollars to the city for local transportation projects. The decision could affect up to $11.6 million for Farmers Branch and $8.2 million for Addison in future funding by DART and the Regional Transportation Council (RTC), as well as impact both cities’ ability to influence regional transit policy and how long residents continue to pay the DART sales tax.
Farmers Branch Terry Lynne encourages everyone with an opinion on DART to attend the meeting and speak during citizen comments. "Whether you are pro-DART or anti-DART, you are more than welcome to to come speak at our council meeting Tuesday night," he said.
In January, both the Farmers Branch City Council and the Addison City Council voted to call for special elections asking voters whether the city should continue participating in DART after city leaders and residents expressed concerns about safety, service levels and whether each city receives sufficient value from the sales tax it contributes.
Under Texas law, cities may hold an election to withdraw from DART, but are limited on how often elections can be held. Cities that cancel or lose a withdrawal election may have to wait several years before trying again.
Of the original DART member cities, only Coppell and Flower Mound have voted to exit, both in 1989.
On Feb. 20, DART approved a framework known as the General Mobility Program, which would return a portion of sales tax revenue to member cities through individual interlocal agreements.
Under the proposal:
Farmers Branch officials have estimated the city could receive roughly $11 million to $15 million over that period, depending on sales tax collections and additional regional funds.
DART estimates Addison would receive $8.2 million over six years. Irving is estimated to received $54.5 million, Plano $61.3 million, Carrollton $24.3 million and Dallas $211.1 million. If all the DART member cities sign the agreement, DART and RTC would return $434.8 million to the cities over six years.
The agreement allows cities to use the funds only for transportation-related purposes, including:
Cities must submit proposed projects to DART for review. The agreement includes deadlines requiring DART to approve or deny requests within a specified timeframe.
The agreement includes several key provisions:
The agreement also includes a “most favored nation” clause, meaning participating cities would receive the same or better terms as any other member city.
The Farmers Branch City Council meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, and will hear public comments before convening closed executive sessions to consult with the city attorney about DART and seek legal advice about the general mobility agreement. When they reconvene, they will discuss and consider approving an ordinance to cancel and rescind the special election for withdrawal from DART. If the council votes to table the vote about the election, another meeting will be called for Friday, Feb. 27.
The Town of Addison’s regular work session begins at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 24, followed by a regular city council meeting at 7 p.m. The council will consider an ordinance to cancel the election to “dissolve” DART in Addison.
Lynne said he's attended more than 50 meetings with and about DART in a little less than three years. "This is an intricate and involved issue," he said. "It's just not that easy."
The Farmers Branch city attorney did confirm that if Farmers Branch cancels the election to withdraw from DART in May, the council cannot call another election on the same topic in November.
On Feb. 11, Dallas City Council voted 13-2 to change DART governance, moving from 8 seats to 7 seats on the 15-seat board of directors. The City of Farmers Branch and the Town of Addison approved resolutions accepting that change of governance last week, but the change must be approved by the Texas Legislature in its 90th session, which is scheduled Jan. 12, 2027, to May 31, 2027.
Editor's note: DART is an advertiser with Branch Herald. Branch Herald's editorial independence policy does not allow advertisers to affect editorial content.
