Plano, and Farmers Branch, Highland Park, and Irving have all called spring elections for their voters to decide whether to withdraw from DART. According to WFAA, Plano "has until 45 days before the election to call off the vote, and Mayor John Muns says he's hopeful they'll do just that after negotiating a better deal with DART. And the Mayor has an offer: Let us pay half a penny of every dollar collected through sales tax instead of the current full penny, and we’ll get rid of the buses, but keep the rail."
At first, it surprised me that Plano values rail over buses, but then I learned that it's not that they don't value buses, it's that they think they can do buses better than DART can, and do it at less cost. Plano wants a half-penny of sales tax back to pay for their own bus service (with some left over to pay for other Plano needs). Because there is no alternative for DART's light rail, Plano wants to keep the rail service, paying a half cent for that.
According to WFAA, "DART CEO Nadine Lee has called the potential withdrawals 'heartbreaking,' noting they come just after the opening of the new Silver Line." Trying to pull on the heartstrings may be smart as a way of generating public support, but it's a losing strategy as a way of negotiating with the Plano city management. Cities are going to look at it with a beancounter's eye only. According to a study by Ernst and Young, Plano pays $110 million into DART each year, and receives $40 million in services in return. The City of Dallas, which controls 8 of the 15 DART board seats, is just the opposite, receiving much more value in services than their contribution. It looks to me like Plano has a strong argument, one that I might vote for if I lived in Plano.
In a way, this reminds me of the beef that Richardson and Plano and other long-time members of the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) had over the pricing formula used by NTMWD for supplying cities with water. The formula was outdated and counterproductive. Richardson's conservation practices made it so Richardson was paying for water we no longer needed or wanted to use. Eventually, a renegotiation with NTMWD resulted in a new formula. This time, on this matter, Richardson might be content with the status quo with DART, but Plano needs a new formula. Richardson should be urging DART to compromise with Plano.
This game of chicken DART is playing with Plano has to stop. If DART refuses to compromise and takes its chances with the voters, and loses, Plano might lose light rail but DART risks much more. Plano will survive in any case, but DART might not. However painful it might be to DART, a fairer formula is not only right, but accepting Plano's offer is the smart play for DART. DART is the punk staring down the barrel of Clint Eastwood's gun as Dirty Harry says, "Do ya feel lucky?"
"At the DART crossing,
a chance to yield or collide—
partnership or death."
—h/t ChatGPT
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