Plano Mayor John Muns announced that the city is poised to cancel its scheduled May 2 election to withdraw from Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), pending successful negotiations on funding and governance reforms.

Speaking to The Dallas Express, Muns indicated the Plano City Council will vote on pulling the election during its February 23 meeting, where officials will also review proposed changes.

“We’ll have that vote to pull that election down if all goes well,” Muns told The Dallas Express.

Similar discussions are underway in Addison (council consideration set for February 24) and other DART member cities, amid ongoing talks to address long-standing concerns about funding and regional transit governance.

Six cities – Plano, Addison, Farmers Branch, Highland Park, University Park, and Irving – have already called elections on leaving DART for May 2, as The Dallas Express reported. These elections would let voters decide whether to keep funding the agency or to withdraw to other options.

Deadline Looms: Cities Have Until March 18 to Halt DART Withdrawal Votes

Officials repeatedly emphasized the need for citizens to decide their future with DART, but some cities like Plano and Irving are now suggesting they could cancel the elections in exchange for concessions. Cities have until March 18 to call off their withdrawal elections.

The recent withdrawal efforts follow years of mounting frustration with governance and funding among member cities. The last time cities left DART was in 1989, when Coppell and Flower Mound withdrew, as DX previously reported. 

If member cities fail to leave in May, the next window to opt out falls in 2032. 

The Plano City Council will consider canceling its DART withdrawal election the evening of February 23. During the same meeting, officials will also consider governance and funding reforms.

Mary Rosenbleeth, Addison marketing director, told The Dallas Express the city council will consider canceling the DART withdrawal election on February 24.

“Addison has been in discussions with DART and regional partners regarding funding and service considerations, and those discussions remain ongoing,” Rosenbleeth told The Dallas Express. 

Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer was unavailable to answer questions from DX, but staff members pointed to the city’s webpage about its relationship with DART.

Plano’s Withdrawal Vote: Serious Threat or Leverage for Reform?

Muns told The Dallas Express that negotiations may have reached a point where Plano could vote to cancel its withdrawal election. 

The agency and member cities have been working on an “interlocal agreement” (ILA) with the DART Board for governance and funding reforms, according to Muns.

“We’ll also vote in agreement on the details of the ILA,” Muns told The Dallas Express. “Then we’ll also vote on whether or not we pull that off the ballot in May.”

Muns stressed that the agreement must be fair to the agency and member cities.

“Obviously, we’ll have that vote to pull that election down if all goes well,” he added. 

The Dallas Express asked Muns if officials truly intended to let residents vote on keeping their 1% sales tax that funds DART, or if the withdrawal elections were a negotiation tactic.

“I don’t think we were using it as a negotiation tactic, but I think we felt compelled this was the sixth year – every six years you can put this on the ballot, whether you want to stay in DART,” he explained. “This was one of those last resorts we had, and we didn’t know whether or not we were going to have discussions and negotiations to be able to come up with a solution.”

Muns said officials were serious about a May election, since they had been dealing with DART issues for six years and three legislative sessions. 

“I’m glad it resulted in this,” Muns told The Dallas Express, “but at the same time, I think we had every intention to take it all the way to May.”

Governance Reform: Rebalancing Power

DART and member cities are also working on an interlocal agreement for governance reforms, according to Muns. He said this would reduce Dallas’ power on the agency’s board and provide at least one representative to each member city. 

Currently, Dallas holds a majority on the board, while some cities are forced to share a single seat.

Dallas approved a measure on February 11 to reduce its share on the DART Board to 45%, as The Dallas Express reported. 

“The Dallas City Council meeting was really important for them to agree on being able to have a percentage of the votes, and still give the other 12 member cities a vote and a place at the table,” Muns told The Dallas Express.

The state legislature would need to sign off on final governance reforms, but these negotiations set the stage by getting all parties on board, according to Muns. He said member cities will vote on an agreement in the coming days.

“A lot of dominoes had to fall in a certain order,” Muns said. “As far as the governance goes, we really had to make sure that everyone was on board.”

Funding Reform: Returning Sales Tax Revenue to Member Cities

Muns also said member cities and DART have developed a funding structure to return some sales tax revenue, though he could not offer a specific percentage.

“It’s the beginning of creating some value for those of us that feel like we haven’t had a reasonable value and in what we contribute and what we receive,” he said.

Under the existing structure, Plano gave $109.6 million to the agency but only received back $44.6 million in services, according to a 2023 study obtained by The Dallas Express. Meanwhile, Dallas contributed $407.8 million and received $690.5 million in return.

DART and the Regional Transportation Committee of the North Central Texas Council of Governments are working to develop funding reforms, according to Muns. He referred to the proposed change as a “stair-stepping structure” for each year.

“I think it’s a good beginning to really having what I believe is a much better relationship with DART and its member cities,” Muns told The Dallas Express. “Not only does this solve some of the issues, but I think it kind of breaks the ice of being able to talk about ridership and efficiencies.” 

The RTC voted February 12 to approve $180 million for regional transportation projects, according to KERA. This backs DART’s funding reform, helping the agency return sales tax revenue to member cities. 

“We’re still kind of waiting on what that number will be. But obviously, when you’re trying to compromise on some solutions, no one’s going to get everything they want,” Muns said. “We’re hoping that it’s a beginning of being able to create better ridership and efficiency for all 13 member cities.”

“At the same time, it’s not going to be the panacea of everything that we feel like we should get back, because we understand it’s a regional system,” Muns added.

“We’re all encouraged, but at the same time, we know there’s still a lot to agree to,” Muns told The Dallas Express. “We’re hopeful. That’s about all I can say.”