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Dear Community Partners:
As many of you know, the end of February saw two bills filed in the legislature that called for reducing DART funding from the current 1% to a proposed .75%. In addition to this, the remaining funds that DART collects would be restricted, leaving less than 25% of what remains for the critical services that our team works to provide.
While our teams are working diligently to understand the full impact these bills could have, what we do know is that HB 3187 and SB 1557 would mean fewer stops, longer rides, and reduced services throughout our entire region. Beyond the 180,000 daily riders most directly affected, our region stands to lose out on billions of dollars and thousands of jobs generated by transit and transit-oriented development, should these bills pass.
While each of our 13 member cities has its own unique service needs, DART, at its core is an organization committed to moving our region forward, and we will continue to do so in the coming days, weeks, and months. Outlined below are key actions that our agency has taken to ensure that each of our member cities has a voice in the future of our transit system. We’ve been hard at work fostering stronger relationships with leaders within our respective cities, meeting with each of them multiple times in recent months to discuss how DART can help them achieve their goals.
Throughout these meetings, one theme recurred from city to city: the need to revisit the current governance structure at DART. To that end, our Board recently took a significant step to provide greater equity in the way our cities participate in decision-making.
The Board passed a measure that requires a supermajority vote to implement changes to DART service. This new structure guarantees that each member city, regardless of size, will have a more equitable voice when it comes to shaping the future of transit in the DART Service Area. This is just one example of how this ongoing dialogue with our member cities will be vital to continuing DART services that reflect the diverse communities we serve.
At DART, we are also encouraging each city to evaluate its current representation on the Board. The number of Board members representing each city and town is currently based on population size. Cities with partial seats are grouped together and should have the ability to select their grouping. This process is designed to ensure fair representation based on population, and we also want to make sure that it continues to meet the evolving needs of our communities. For example, a city could decide they want to share their board seat with a different city or group of cities. We’re working closely with local leaders as they consider their current groupings.
This effort is part of DART’s ongoing commitment to creating a more inclusive and collaborative transit system. We believe that when all our cities are well-represented and actively engaged, we can make the best decisions for the future of public transportation in our region.
I am incredibly grateful for the ongoing support and advocacy from our community partners as we continue to move forward, together. We hope you will also consider signing up for our newest email newsletter, Legislative Update, sent monthly from our Government Relations team. Subscribe here.
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Thank you for your partnership and commitment to a better, more connected future for all our communities.
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