Leaders in Plano want voters to decide next year whether or not to withdraw from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system.

The Plano City Council voted 8-0 Wednesday to hold an election next May, following a similar move made Tuesday by Highland Park and Farmers Branch.

All three cities have raised concerns that they pay more into the system than they get out. Plano is one of seven cities DART calls “donor cities” that were recently eligible for a return of funds as part of the agency’s General Mobility Program .

"Supporting a withdrawal election doesn't mean abandoning public transportation," said council member Steve Lavine. "It means giving Plano citizens, all of them, the right to decide whether DART as it exists today is the best way forward."

Andrew Fortune, Plano's director of pol

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