8 July 11 - 17, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents member cities is taxed 1% to help fund DART. According to The Dallas Morning News, DART contributions are expected to amount to more than $870 million this year. But Plano wants the DART board to con- sider allowing member cities to instead pay three-quarters of a cent for every dollar to go toward the transportation service, which would represent a 25% decrease. Plano alone could keep $30 million annually if it reduced its contribution. According to The News, the city of Plano estimates it contributes about $115 million to DART every year. In its esti- mation, Plano argues that DART should try to cut costs and bring in more member cities if the tax contributions are reduced. Other cities are considering altering their payments to DART as well. Both University Park and Rowlett took up the issue last week. The Rowlett City Council approved the measure unanimously. University Park delayed the vote without much discussion. But both are considering capping DART contributions to three-quarters of a cent, similar to Plano. On June 22, Rowlett Mayor Blake Margolis took to Facebook to an- nounce he would introduce a council reso- lution regarding the change. He said in the post that between 2020 and 2025, Rowlett will have dedicated over $50 million to DART. He cited a significant drop-off in rid- ership of about 30% since the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns of Rowlett residents about cleanliness, safety and overall condi- tion of DART services. Even though DART faces these chal- lenges, Margolis said sales and use tax reve- nue has continued to grow, surpassing $200 million over the last five years, a roughly 35% increase. “In contrast, ridership has re- mained well below pre-pandemic levels,” Margolis said in his Facebook post. “It is es- sential that we ensure our contributions to DART are fair and equitable, reflecting both the financial needs of DART and the inter- ests of our city.” He said he’s been discussing this issue with the mayor of Plano for years now. “Our goal is to ensure that the services provided to our taxpayers are commensurate with our contributions to DART,” Margolis said. Before the city approved reducing its contributions, Margolis said at the meeting that he is not anti-DART. “This is about DART’s, in my opinion, flawed business model and the desire to incentivize an effi- cient operation that will benefit the riders, member cities and DART,” Margolis said at last night’s meeting. Jeamy Molina, executive vice president and chief communications officer for DART, told the Observer in an emailed statement that no one city has the authority to unilat- erally reduce its tax rate. Any such action would have to go through the 15-member DART board and would impact all service area cities, Molina said. “Any reduction in the voter-approved 1% use tax that funds Dallas Area Rapid Transit would have devastating effects on our com- munities, businesses and the most vulnera- ble populations in all cities that rely on DART to access jobs, health care, education and more,” she wrote. According to Molina the reductions that Plano, Rowlett and University Park want to see would equate to a $6 billion reduction in system revenues over the life of DART’s cur- rent 20-year financial plan. Such reductions could result in severe cuts to bus and rail access across the whole system, possibly leading to service times of 30 minutes. Service times currently hover around 15–20 minutes. The cuts could result in staff reduc- tions and changes to service in large areas of South Dallas, West Dallas, Inland Port and Legacy West. Molina noted that DART’s member cities lowering their contributions could also cause major ripple effects through the local economy with the reduced need for services and construction contracts. “We recognize that, in the face of state- mandated revenue caps, our cities are look- ing for new ways to make up budget shortfalls so they can continue to build com- munities where people want to live, work and play,” Molina said. “A well-funded pub- lic transit system is key to their success. We have the capacity for problem-solving as a region, and DART has demonstrated that we are a ready and willing partner in that endeavor.” ▼ HOMELESSNESS NO SLEEP FOR THE HOMELESS SUPREME COURT ALIGNS WITH DALLAL PUBLIC SLEEPING BAN. BY EMMA RUBY A Supreme Court ruling made on June 28 grants municipalities the right to criminalize sleeping in pub- lic, confirming Texas’ statewide camping ban and affirming what has been a contro- versial policy in Dallas since its implementa- tion in the ‘90s. The ruling was split along ideological lines, with the conservative majority opin- ion stating that an ordinance enacted in an Oregon town making sleeping in public a fineable offense is constitutional. The ordi- nance allows an individual to be fined even if shelter space is at capacity. In the dissent- ing opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the decision “unconscionable,” due to the “biological necessity” of sleep. Advocates who work in the housing and homelessness sphere believe the ruling will do little to aid unhoused individuals. “[The] ruling does nothing to support our community to resolve homelessness,” Sarah Kahn, CEO of the North Texas branch of Housing Forward, said in a statement. “We will remain laser focused on strategies that provide meaningful solutions – those that end homelessness for our neighbors and ad- dress public health crises on our streets.” While Dallas has made some recent gains in reducing the number of homeless individuals on its streets — last month, sev- eral federal agencies declared Dallas and Collin counties have “effectively ended” vet- eran homelessness — nationwide data shows tens of thousands more individuals were homeless in 2023 than in 2022. In Dallas, crackdowns on sleeping out- doors and homeless encampments have his- torically been fueled by higher populations of homeless individuals. Since 1995, Dallas Police have doled out thousands of tickets to individuals caught sleeping on the city’s streets or in its parks. When we checked in 2015, the punishment for sleeping outside was a $146 ticket. The Dallas Police Department could not be im- mediately reached to verify the current ticket cost, but a statewide ban on sleeping in pubic put into place by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2021 allows for tickets up to $500. The department also did not respond to the Observer’s inquiry into how seriously the ban is being enforced, but a 2021 state- ment released by Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned failing to en- force the law would result in “costly litiga- tion and a loss of state grant funds.” City Council member Chad West, who sits on Dallas’ Housing and Homeless Solu- tions Committee, told the Observer he is “appalled” by the Supreme Court’s deci- sion. He feels the ruling is a “failure to un- derstand the root of the problem or political implications” of criminalizing homelessness. “In a time when our nation should be banding together to address the lack of housing, we’re instead penalizing and incar- cerating individuals who don’t have safety nets in place when they lose their homes,” West said. He believes the decision “opens a dan- gerous door” by shifting the burden and cost of homelessness to law enforcement, rather than encouraging cities to explore afford- able housing options, fund shelters and in- vest in resources for the homeless. Mandy Chapman Semple, whose firm consults with cities on homelessness solu- tions, said she expects the Supreme Court’s ruling to result in an “onslaught” of laws criminalizing public sleeping in states that did not already have them. “[Dallas and Houston] are proving that it is rehousing with the services people need to stabilize and recover, not criminalization, that reduces unsheltered homelessness,” Semple said in a statement. “We cannot en- force our way out of this crisis, but we can meet this moment. No one should have to sleep outside.” Unfair Park from p6 Jacob Vaughn The Supreme Court’s ruling sided with a statewide camping ban signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2021. >> p10 Illustration by Sarah Schumacher A reduction in funding could cut jobs and services, DART says.