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Plano officials say DART’s value study falls short; staff to monitor transit proposal and options
Summary
Plano staff told City Council that a DART-conducted value analysis did not answer the city’s quantitative questions about where its 1¢ sales-tax dollars go; staff will monitor DART’s pending proposal and bring options to council in coming months.
Plano City Council received an update Monday night on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit funding analysis and legislative efforts after city staff said the agency did not provide the quantitative return‑on‑investment information the city requested.
Andrew Fortune, the city’s director of policy and government relations, told the council that DART supplied a mostly qualitative document instead of the detailed numbers Plano requested and that a 2023 study showed Plano was “by far the most underwater” in a comparison of what member cities paid versus what they received in DART spending.
The difference for 2023, Fortune said, was stark: Plano contributed about $109,000,000 in sales tax to DART that year and received roughly $44,600,000 in spending back in the city — about 40 cents on the dollar — leaving an implied net transfer of about $65,000,000 to other communities. Fortune told the council the city’s current annual contribution is closer to $115 million to $117 million.
Why it matters: Council staff said the figures suggest a persistent pattern of Plano being a “donor” city, and that without structural changes to DART’s funding methodology the imbalance could continue. The status of state legislation and DART’s own proposal will affect whether any changes occur.
What staff recommended: Fortune said staff will continue to monitor DART’s proposal, coordinate with the other concerned member cities and present options to the council over the coming months — including continuing with DART as a partner or pursuing other transit partners.
Public comment and council reaction: Shelby Williams, who identified herself as a Plano resident and said she has pushed for DART reform for more than five years, urged the council to recognize “how upside down the city of Plano is” in the DART funding relationship and thanked staff for their legislative work. Mayor Pro Tem Andrea (first name only in the transcript) thanked staff and asked for clarification about the timeframe and figures in the study; Fortune said the analysis represented a single‑year snapshot (2023) that staff and consultants view as indicative of a pattern.
Background and recent legislation: Fortune said the city pursued legislation (Senate Bill 1370, referred to in the meeting as “senate bill 13 70”) seeking a structural funding change that would have returned 25% to certain cities; the bill passed in parts of the legislature but ultimately failed to become law after stalling in the House calendars committee. Fortune also said DART had engaged Ernst & Young for a value analysis and later produced a proposal similar to what Plano asked for, but the city had already engaged the legislature and committed to pursuing structural changes.
What the council did: No formal action or vote was taken on DART at the meeting; staff asked for direction and said they will return with options.
Quotes: “Plano was by far the most underwater in terms of what we put in as an investment versus what we received in spending,” Andrew Fortune said during his presentation. Shelby Williams said, “For three legislative sessions in a row, we have gone to bat trying to have meaningful dialogue…Promises are made, then as soon as the legislative session is over, it evaporates.”
What’s next: Staff will continue monitoring DART’s proposal and coordinate with other member cities; council can expect a formal set of options in the coming months for further consideration.
