Commissioner Webb: RTC will redesignate roughly $105M for two DFW transit projects, tie $75M package to DART

Commissioner Webb reported to the Collin County Commissioner's Court that the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) discussed a plan to reprioritize about $105,000,000 in transit funds to support two major regional projects and a separate $75,000,000 package aimed at supporting DART.

Webb said the $105 million would be redirected from general transit allocations toward connecting DCTA's A-train to the Silver Line and linking Trinity Metro's system to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. "Those 2 projects are huge projects, are very well supported by the region," Webb said. He added the reprioritization has "no time limit" attached, meaning the funds could be applied over several years.

Webb described the separate DART support package as a multi-year commitment that would reduce a member-city assessment from 1¢ to 0.75¢ and help persuade cities considering withdrawal to remain in the transit district; he characterized the $75,000,000 as a transportation-dollar package to be delivered primarily in the fourth and fifth years of the plan. Webb said the transit funds discussed are monies the region already receives and that the redesignation would impose deliverable responsibilities on the recipient agencies.

The court asked questions about whether the funds are already earmarked for transit and whether they would have to be returned if not spent on schedule; Webb said these are transit monies that typically flow through the RTC to agencies and that, in this instance, the region would designate $105,000,000 for the two projects and the DART package would be contingent on member cities calling off scheduled withdrawal elections. "When we get them as a transit monies ... that money is proportioned between the 3 transit agencies and for general purposes, generally," Webb said. The court did not take a vote on the RTC action during this meeting; the item was presented as an informational update.