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Dear Community Partners:
With the 2025 legislative session officially closed, I wanted to provide an update and to offer my most sincere thanks for your support.
Throughout recent months, riders, community members, and business leaders from across North Texas shared the many ways that DART contributes to the success of this region. This advocacy and testimony – along with the continued dedication of our agency staff – were powerful contributors to the defeat of HB 3187, SB 1557, and SB 2118.
While the session is over, our commitment to working closely with the communities we serve remains as strong as ever. As always, we want to ensure that we are working in tandem with our city partners and providing the best transit solutions possible.
In the meantime, DART is in the throes of budget development for Fiscal Year 2026. Adding to the typical inflationary pressures and contractual cost increases, the DART Board of Directors in March approved the creation of a General Mobility Program (GMP) in an effort to resolve member city issues locally and collaboratively. The GMP proposes to transfer 5% of annual sales tax collections to seven eligible cities.
While this program aims to address some member city concerns, funding it will require significant financial adjustments. A 5% budget reduction will impact all modes of service with initial changes considered for implementation starting as early as January 2026.
It is important to note that all proposals remain subject to revision based on ongoing financial modeling, public input, and Board deliberations. For this reason, we strongly encourage riders, stakeholders, and community members to participate in one of 16 in-person pre-public hearing community meetings or the virtual town hall meeting, taking place through July 7, 2025. These sessions will provide an opportunity to learn more about the potential service changes and share your feedback ahead of the Public Hearing, scheduled for July 8. Please read on for further details about the proposed GMP and to see a link to the full schedule of meeting dates and locations.
In this edition, you will also find introductions to two of DART’s newest board members: Anthony Ricciardelli, representing the city of Plano, and Maureen Milligan from Dallas. These board members replace longtime board members Paul Wageman and Rodney Schlosser, respectively. In addition to these new members, we will also bid farewell to Flora Hernandez and D'Andrala Alexander, who are transitioning off the DART Board. The appointees replacing Directors Hernandez and Alexander will be officially welcomed to the board in July, and we will share more about them in future editions of this newsletter. We thank the departing board members for their service.
The DART staff and I look forward to building upon the legacy that has been established to continue to strengthen North Texas.
We are in a critical period for the future of public transit in North Texas. Your partnership, your voice, and your advocacy are more important than ever. Thank you for standing with us and for continuing to help shape a stronger, more connected region through transit.
With appreciation,
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