North Texas leaders urge DART and member cities to resolve funding debate

Regional transportation leaders are giving Dallas Area Rapid Transit and its member cities a February deadline to resolve discussions over possible funding cuts.

At a Regional Transportation Council meeting Thursday, local leaders debated the council's priorities for the upcoming state legislative session.

The draft program included language that would support the protection of “existing dedicated Transportation Authority funding.” Elected officials from member cities who have called for cuts to DART funding have pushed for that line to be scrapped.

“DART is our most expensive service in Irving. I think we put over $100 million into it,” said Irving Councilman Brad LaMorgese, who introduced the motion. “Our residents, I think, are not seeing the efficiency that they would like to see.”

LaMorgese added that he does not believe non-DART member cities on the RTC council should vote on an issue if they are not part of the agency. DART serves 13 member cities.

Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick supported LaMorgese's motion, calling it “premature” to provide RTC staff with legislative direction before an upcoming study on DART's cost and revenue forecast, called Transit 2.0.

Both Irving and Carrollton are among six cities seeking to reduce their funding to DART.

“My concern is that this body is stepping in to provide legislative leadership on issues where only 13 cities are members, while the region is not,” Babick said. “(The region) should allow the DART board and member cities to continue to have these discussions and work through them.”

DART board chairman Gary Slagel responded by asking RTC council members to vote against LaMorgese's motion.

“We are working diligently with our cities to try to reach a resolution on financing, and we are having discussions about economic development and ways we can become better partners with our member cities,” Slagel said. “It is difficult to ask for reduction and improvement.”

Dallas Councilmember Omar Narvaez reminded the council that the city voted last week to fully fund DART in its own legislative agenda.

“We are not in the same boat as our other member cities,” Narvaez said. “We are not produced with the plan.”

Narvaez, who also chairs the city of Dallas' transportation committee, added that his city has not been part of conversations involving other DART member cities.

“We weren't at the table in terms of what the other member cities are doing,” Narvaez said.

Collin County Commissioner Duncan Webb said he understands both sides of the issue, as both DART member and non-member cities fall under his jurisdiction.

“I'm torn,” Webb said. “I have member cities that are part of DART, and then I have a lot of fast-growing cities that are not part of DART but are looking for transit options.”

He proposed a compromise – add language to support the “status quo” on transit funding, with room for the RTC to change its position if member cities and DART come up with a resolution or if there is other recommendations are from cities, DART officials or Transit 2.0 advisors.

“If we can't reach that consensus by February, we'll take the whole thing out,” Webb said.

The RTC ultimately voted to approve the draft legislative program with Webb's amendment and plans to discuss it at a future meeting.

Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA's growth and infrastructure reporter. Do you have a tip? Email Paul at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.

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