TX: ‘Premature and irresponsible’: Addison leaders undecided on holding election to leave DART

Breaking from a pattern among North Texas suburbs, Addison’s town council could not agree on scheduling an election to leave the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, citing a need for more public input and negotiations with the public transportation system.

At a special council meeting in Addison on Tuesday night, several motions failed or died after hours of heated debate and passionate public comment, but leaders did not reach a decision on when or whether to ask voters if the town should exit DART. Council members considered postponing their discussion but ultimately could not come to an agreement.

“I want us, as the council, I want staff to have a lot of really good conversations with DART,” said Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten following the meeting. “They have a lot of work to do … because what we’re doing isn’t working right.”

Leaders in Plano, Irving, Highland Park and Farmers Branch are holding referendums next May, jeopardizing a system already fraught with budget and service concerns.

Over 100 people packed into Addison’s town hall Tuesday night and dozens spoke to the council mainly in opposition to scheduling a vote on exiting the DART system.

“This is premature and irresponsible,” Addison council member Chris DeFrancisco said about scheduling a vote. “Leaving DART today would be one of the most damaging, short-sighted decisions Addison can make. … We’re not a town that walks away from major regional investments just when it’s finally starting to pay off for us.”

Many residents decried the potential loss of DART after the opening of the long-awaited Silver Line. The $2 billion, 10-stop route between DFW International Airport and Plano stops in Addison and opened in October. Several residents asked the council to reevaluate DART’s value now that the line stops in the town.

“This is a real important regional matter, and it isn’t one city versus another city at all. It is, what are we doing for the whole region?” asked Addison’s DART board representative Gary Slagel, who also represents Richardson, University Park and Highland Park. “We need to make it work better.”

Speakers highlighted the importance of regional public transit for people with disabilities.

“The idea of Addison leaving DART doesn’t just concern me, it scares me,” said Garland resident Madison McNair, who has family in Addison and rides DART. “Because for disabled people like me, that decision … would change our lives. It would take away freedom, opportunity, and connection — the very things that make Addison a community. It’s a step backward.”

The special meeting in Addison was called by three council members, not the mayor or city manager, Arfsten said.

Other North Texas city leaders have cited concerns with DART’s service, costs and a lackluster return on investment in their support of a withdrawal from DART.

The agency’s 13 member cities contribute a one-cent sales tax to fund DART. Addison, a town of about 17,000 people in northern Dallas County, contributed $16.7 million in sales tax to DART in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the agency’s data. A 2023 study by the firm EY showed that DART spent $9.5 million on services in the town. The study didn’t consider the economic impact of the Silver Line.

“We’re paying in more than we’re getting, and it’s going to Dallas, and I think that something should be changed,” said Addison council member Howard Freed. “We all want public transportation.”

“DART’s not the only answer,” he added.

Addison staff outlined goals for DART — including a revised financial model to support growth, a lower cost for member cities and an individual DART board member representing each member city.

A decision at the ballot box in the four cities who have scheduled elections could still be avoided; cities have until 45 days before the scheduled votes to call them off. Plano leaders submitted a proposal to DART offering to call off its election if the agency agreed to refund the city sales tax and discontinue some non-rail transit services.

It’s not yet clear when Addison’s council will next consider scheduling an election to leave DART.

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