Farmers Branch decided Tuesday night to join Plano in calling off an election to cut ties with Dallas Area Rapid Transit — but Addison and the Park Cities are going forward with their plans to put membership in DART on the May ballot.
Plano leaders voted Monday to cancel their referendum and Irving will decide on Thursday. Highland Park announced Tuesday it will keep its May election to let voters decide the town’s future with DART, joining University Park in the decision.
Negotiations to find compromises to DART’s funding, governance and service have succeeded in convincing two of six cities with scheduled votes to cancel their elections just days away from deadlines to finalize ballot language.
Proposed deals to convince its member cities include giving smaller cities more representation on DART’s governing board and returning some sales tax back to cities for transportation-related uses.
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“No one’s going to walk away from this happy,” Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne said before his council voted 4-1 to cancel its election. “Both sides have to give … it gives us a starting point that we’ve never had before.”
Farmers Branch resident Christian Gomez, 31, walks back to his seat as attendees applaud him after speaking in favor of keeping DART during a special called city council meeting regarding a DART withdrawal election, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Farmers Branch.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
More than 50 people packed the Farmers Branch council chambers and dozens of speakers addressed City Council members, with most in favor of keeping DART.
In Addison, more than 30 people addressed the council, many in favor of keeping DART but many in favor of letting town voters decide the city’s future with the transit agency.
The Park Cities did not consider an ordinance to cancel elections.
Nearly half of DART’s 13 member cities — six total — had scheduled an election this spring to leave the system after citing concerns with its funding, governance and subpar services compared to the cost of a one-cent local sales tax that each member pays to the agency.
The opportunity to hold an election to leave DART comes every six years, per state law.
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Addison asks: To vote or not to vote?
In Addison, public comment lasted nearly two hours Tuesday night before leaders voted 5-2 to proceed with their May election on cutting ties with DART. Leaders cited concerns that compromises did not go far enough, that deals were not firmly defined or guaranteed and that voters should choose the outcome.
Some residents urged city leaders not to put a complex question on the ballot.
“That’s why we elected you, to make decisions,” said Neil Resnik to the Addison City Council, urging them not to throw the question to voters. “I hope you will consider all the benefits DART brings to Addison and to the region.”
Addison resident Jane Frances Robinson and several others disagreed and asked the council to keep the choice in the hands of constituents. “The right to vote is a privilege and a blessing,” she said.
“Let us vote,” Addison resident Robert Kantner said to his council.
DART Board Chair Randall B. Bryant listens to public comment during a special called city council meeting regarding a DART withdrawal election, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Farmers Branch.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Addison’s council originally considered scheduling an election to leave DART in December but couldn’t come to an agreement on the matter until a second meeting in January.
Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten said DART’s compromises weren’t perfect but he celebrated the agency’s proposed funding agreement that would refund cities a chunk of sales tax.
Addison council member Howard Freed said he was still concerned about agency’s governance and funding, even with DART’s proposed agreements.
“I think this decision is too big for this board to make,” Freed said. “The right to vote is important … I am on this board for Addison.”
Council member Randy Smith said many of the reforms on the table are not guaranteed and still have to get approval in the Legislature. He disagreed with taking the measure off the ballot.
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Addison plans to consider other transportation vendors and possibly tour transit options in other cities this spring to consider an agreement for mobility services contingent on election results.
“We will not leave people hanging,” council member Dan Liscio said.
Addison now joins Highland Park and University Park in their plans to put DART membership to a vote despite efforts to reform the agency in time to stave off elections.
“Discussions with DART regarding the value of transit services and the Town’s overall sales tax contribution are ongoing,” Highland Park said in a statement Tuesday. “A May election is planned in which voters will decide whether continued participation in DART aligns with community priorities.”
University Park announced the same earlier in February.
“The city of University Park continues to engage in ongoing discussions with DART regarding the value of transit services within the community and the city’s overall sales tax contribution,” the city’s statement reads. “At this time, the city plans to move forward with a May election, allowing voters to determine the best path forward for our community.”
Farmers Branch council member Elizabeth Villafranca speaks to DART Board Chair Randall B. Bryant during a special called city council meeting regarding a DART withdrawal election, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Farmers Branch.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Farmers Branch in bitter battle
In Farmers Branch Tuesday, residents, leaders and transit advocates debated DART withdrawal elections for hours in respective meetings in debates on regional connectivity, investments and accountability.
Some criticized the council for discussing their vote in private. Others urged the council to let voters decide DART’s fate in the city.
Christian Gomez, 31, lives in Farmers Branch and has used the buses and trains since he was a kid who used DART to get to school. He asked his council to cancel the May election.
“This station doesn’t belong to one person. It belongs to the community,” Gomez said of the DART stop near his house. “It connects our city to the region. This isn’t about nostalgia, it’s about staying connected.”
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Former Mayor John Dodd led the city when it first joined DART and spoke to the current council members Tuesday. “To have a world class city, you must have world class transportation,” he said. “Forget the vote.”
Dallas County Commissioner Andy Sommerman spoke to the Farmers Branch council and encouraged them to rescind the vote.
DART Board Chair Randall Bryant told the Farmers Branch council his agency is committed to continued efforts on working with the city. He later in the evening addressed the Addison City Council before its members voted on the proposal.
“The residents of Addison have given the greatest perspective on how valuable DART is to them or not,” he said after several other speakers had expressed their opinions.
Not everyone thought DART’s last-minute plan to compromise with cities is a good deal.
“DART put us in a predicament … and we can’t let them do that,” Farmers Branch resident David Koch told the council, urging them not to accept the agency’s agreement. “They forced our hand and put us in a corner.”
But at the end of the day, Koch said he thinks his council made the right call in cancelling the vote.
Farmers Branch leaders called for accountability from DART and were concerned the compromises presented weren’t firm, thorough or adequate — some said it felt like an ultimatum or a threat. The debate among the city’s council grew heated in a nearly five hour meeting.
“I still have a lot of doubts with DART,” Farmers Branch council member David Reid said before voting to keep the May withdrawal election, the sole no-vote. “There’s a lot of trust issues … We’ve been reaching out to them for years to improve the service, to work on the financials … It is important for our residents to have a voice.”
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The deal on the table
In cities whose voters decide to cut ties with the agency, DART service would stop almost immediately, but cities would continue paying the one-cent local sales tax that funds DART for years to pay off debt associated with their contributions. The feared cuts to service and connectivity if cities leave have concerned residents and transit advocates for weeks.
To prevent shrinking its system, DART has presented a multifaceted plan that includes pursuing several reforms through the state Legislature and asks for help from other agencies, including a new revenue stream for DART and an independent management authority for regional rail.
Plano was largely convinced to call off the vote by a funding reform agreement that gives 10% of sales tax contributions back to cities over six years with the help of the Regional Transportation Council — $75 million from the RTC and $360 million from DART — for cities to use on their own transportation projects.
Individual cities have not yet announced which specific transportation projects they’d use their funds for.
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Farmers Branch stands to gain nearly $11.7 million over the next six years through the sales tax refunds DART has proposed. The City Council has not yet voted to agree to accept the funds. The city of more than 37,000 residents paid about $23.5 million in sales tax to DART in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the agency’s data.
Addison stood to gain $8.2 million over the next six years through the sales tax refunds DART has proposed. But if voters choose to remain in DART at the ballot box in May, Addison would not be eligible to participate in the agreement, according to the city’s presentation Tuesday.
The city of more than 17,000 residents paid about $16.7 million in sales tax to DART in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the agency’s data.
The Plano City Council voted Monday to accept those funds, cancel their election, contract with a separate on-demand transportation provider to fill in the service gaps they say DART has not filled and support a new governance structure for DART’s 15-member board of directors.
Some smaller, suburban cities, including Farmers Branch and Addison, have decried the agency’s governing structure, which gives only Dallas, Irving, Garland and Plano at least one board member all to themselves. Dallas leaders voted earlier this month to agree to give up power on the board to ensure no one city has majority representation over DART.
Attendees pack council chambers during a special called city council meeting regarding a DART withdrawal election, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Farmers Branch.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Mayor Lynne outlined in a letter late last year several conditions for what he said it would take to call off the election. On the list were requests to improve safety at DART stations, reform the agency’s board structure, increase transparency on debt and ridership data, and return some of the city’s sales tax.
Addison had similar requests, including reforming the governance structure of the DART board, addressing safety and cleanliness concerns, changing service, returning some sales tax and more.
While the funding proposals proved convincing enough for Plano and Farmers Branch to cancel elections to leave DART, residents and transit advocates are concerned it gives up too much for DART and its riders.
DART leaders have said the funding loss from refunding cities will still deliver a significant financial blow to the agency that already faces budget concerns, potentially rendering the system more ineffective.
Irving considers recalling their DART withdrawal election on Thursday evening.