Highland Park residents deserve to decide whether a broken, inequitable system is still worth more than $8 million of our sales tax every year.
For over 40 years, Highland Park has faithfully funded DART. The return on that investment — in service, representation, and value — has steadily eroded. Here is the case for change.
Per a 2023 independent financial analysis commissioned by DART itself, Highland Park contributed approximately $6.3 million and received approximately $1.9 million in services — a return of roughly 30 cents on the dollar. Since joining in 1983, the town has paid over $114 million total. A separate 2026 DART study identifies 86% of DART's services as "regional" in nature — and does not list Highland Park as a location of any regional transit infrastructure.
Prior to 2014, four fixed-route bus services operated in Highland Park. Today, only one remains — a single route along Preston Road with approximately 12,000 annual boardings, averaging 33 riders per day. No light rail serves the town. Community survey data shows only 4–5% of residents report using DART even occasionally. The town also receives GoLink on-demand and paratransit service — modest additions that do not justify a $9 million annual contribution.
Highland Park has historically shared a single DART board seat with three other cities — Addison, Richardson, and University Park. DART's proposed new governance model gives the town its own dedicated seat, but with a weighted vote of just 0.44 — about 2% of the board's total voting power. We contribute nearly 1% of DART's total sales tax revenue yet hold a fractional voice over how it is spent. DART's proposed General Mobility Program would return approximately $4.4 million to Highland Park over six years — less than half of one year's contribution.
State law capped property tax revenue growth at 3.5% in 2019, making sales tax the only meaningful flexible revenue for cities like ours. Dedicating half of our sales tax capacity to DART severely constrains the town's ability to fund public safety, emergency services, and aging infrastructure.
DART's model was designed in 1983 for a region that no longer exists. No new city has joined in over 40 years. Two original members withdrew. The current structure locks 13 cities into funding a system covering a region of millions, with no mechanism for genuine regional reform without state legislative action in 2027 at the earliest.
The Town Council did not make this decision unilaterally — they placed it before the voters at the explicit direction of the Legislature. This election ensures the issue is decided openly, locally, and democratically by the residents who fund every dollar of the town's budget. A vote no is a vote for self-determination.
The May 2 election ensures the issue is decided openly, locally and democratically by the residents who, through their elected Town Council, are accountable for every dollar allocated in the Town's budget.
Read what journalists, policy analysts, and community leaders are saying about the DART withdrawal election.
Official neutral information about the election, DART finances, service levels, governance, and withdrawal mechanics is published by the Town of Highland Park at hptx.org/599/DART-Transportation-Information. The Town is required by state law to remain neutral — that page is your objective reference.