The New DART Funding Proposal: A Deeper Dive
We all left that board meeting scratching our heads.
Before the DART special board meeting on February 10th, the Chairman, Randall Bryant, had everyone guessing on what he planned to present. People in attendance and watching online had one question: will this prevent the pull-out elections from happening? With an absolute deadline of March 18th, and a symbolic deadline of February 23rd (Collin and Denton County’s date to finalize paper ballot language), time was running out fast for cities to rescind their ordinances.
Even if the electorate had voted to remain in DART, the city governments would have gone back to the legislature in 2027 to renew their efforts at reducing DART’s funding. This would be the fourth time they would go to Austin with this goal. Something had to be done to stop this cycle of attacks on the authority.
I subsequently threw up my hands and stopped writing my series.
Step 1: Give Cash
The first item in the plan is to give General Mobility Program funds to ALL of the member cities, not just the cities that are ostensibly paying more than they receive in services (the methodology behind this calculation is disputed, and I may write more about that in the future - but it seems less relevant now with this plan).
According to the chart above, each member city will get a sum of cash back every year for the next 6 years - first year will start at 5%, second year 6%, and so on until in Fiscal Year 2031, every city will get 10% back in what they contribute to DART. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC), the transportation governing body for the 16 county North Texas area, will contribute a portion of this lump sum on a yearly increasing scale.
With the RTC approving this plan on February 12, this payoff plan is all but assured to happen. This act buys time for the next 6 years by making the member cities happy and getting them to rescind the calls for election. Plano’s Mayor, John Muns, has all but confirmed this.
Step 2: Weather the Storm
DART has already suffered through service cuts with just 5% of its revenue dedicated to a GMP over 2 years, targeted at specific cities. What will service look like with a GMP that increases year over year? For 2026 and 2027 the GMP is already built into the budget and won’t affect current service levels. But between 2028 to 2031 they will have some very difficult choices to make without any new money coming in.
Step 3: Convince Austin
Starting in 2027, DART will go to Austin. They are hoping that the RTC representatives and the DART member cities will join them in requesting an action from the legislature: Provide or authorize a taxing or fee-collecting vehicle to fund a Regional Mobility Authority (RMA). This agency will take on the responsibility for all commuter rail in the 16-county region.
Currently, DART funds the capital and operating costs of the newly-built Silver Line, and half of the Trinity Railway Express (about half of the stations of TRE are in Irving and Dallas). This equals to around 15% of the total budget. By divesting from these costs it may be be possible to free up a chunk of money that can go back to the cities. It is assumed that the commuter rail lines operated by Trinity Metro and the Denton County Transportation Authority will fall under the same umbrella, freeing up their budgets to focus on local transit in their cities.
This step may be the most excruciating one. DART itself took at least 2 legislative sessions to be written into law, and that was a time period when everyone wanted to have a public transportation system in a major metro area. But we don’t know what the political landscape of 2027 will be and even less so for 2029.
Step 4: Give MORE Cash
No matter what happens in Austin, DART has committed to finding a way to return 25% of sales tax revenue back to the cities after 2031. With a 10% GMP and a 15% reduction in budgetary needs by divesting their regional rail costs, they may be able to meet that commitment. This commitment is binding even if the RTC won’t fund their 2.5% portion of the 10% GMP past 2031.
In addition to creating the RMA, DART will need to procure alternate funding sources to ensure that there won’t be a reduction in service 2-3 years from now. Will that mean DART finally manages to get state funding to cover that 5% gap? Will it come from TXDOT funding (this requires a rewrite of state law)? It would certainly fall in line with their Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan. Maybe they’re able to utilize the Transit Oriented Development Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) agreements to bridge that gap which would also incentivize cities to develop around transit. A TIRZ agreement would not need state approval.
Some state legislators have also floated the idea of an increase in the gas tax, which hasn’t been updated since 1991. Or will there be just a line item added to the semi-annual budget? This would be the least preferable, because a line item can be easily struck out during the budget process, putting the service in jeopardy until the next legislative cycle.
In any case, it’s expected that for every two years until 2031, advocates, DART, and local leaders will need to go to Austin in a multi-layered effort. People will need to advocate for the RMA, state or local money to cover the funding gap in DART, and any other measures that will make this plan a success.
Step 5: Transit Utopia?
Since the inception of the three major transit authorities in North Texas, none of them have been successful in expanding their service area in any meaningful way. The cost of joining a transit authority was too high as every city has already allocated their sales tax to different purposes.
It’s hoped that these cities will be more willing to join an RMA that won’t dig into their sales tax, thus improving public transportation connectivity for the entire region. The RMA would take responsibility for expanding out lines to cities such as McKinney, Weatherford, or anywhere else in the region. Meanwhile, DART, Trinity Metro, and DCTA would concentrate their efforts with buses and light rail.
If the stars align, everyone gets the transit they want, service improves as the transit authorities focuses on their respective core aspects, and DART member cities receive 25% more sales tax than before. Everyone is happy!
We Have a Lot of Questions
On the night following the RTC vote regarding this plan, DATA put out a statement. Our main concern was that during all levels of discussion, no one was talking about the impact to the riders. Nadine Lee, the CEO and President of DART, mentioned that service cuts may be needed to meet the GMP commitments. Irving also commented that they intend to use a portion of the GMP to restore bus lines that were cut this year. But that was only a few lines out of hours of discussion by the people who purportedly represent us.
There are so many questions, and I will list the ones off the top of my head:
If service cuts are needed in 2028, what will they prioritize?
Will riders get a say on what’s cut?
Do they have a plan to restore or maintain service?
The 2026 service changes have already wreaked havoc on the ridership. Will they ever plan on improving service, or do we expect further cuts to pay the cities?
If the RMA measure fails to pass by 2031, is there any backup strategy?
How can we be assured that the entire region and member cities will work diligently in Austin to get state funding for DART, and the creation of a new RMA?
When DART divests from commuter rail, how can we be sure that it’s exactly 15% of the budget?
What kind of scheduling cooperation will be in place between the transit agencies and this theoretical RMA?
Will this new RMA maintain current levels of service or improve them?
So on and so forth.
Join Us in Asking Questions
On Tuesday, February 17th, DATA will have an online meeting to discuss this new plan and have an open forum for questions. After that, join us at DART’s special board meeting on Friday, February 20th, 3 PM, to ask questions directly to the leadership of the agency.
We are not just numbers on a spreadsheet.
We are the reason the transit agency was created.
We deserve answers and a seat at the table.