Category Archives: Massachusetts Municipal Association

This was the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s “alert” sent to me this afternoon –

MMA REPORT: Cities & Towns Face a $362M Funding Gap to Maintain and Repair Local Roads

• MMA Calls for $100M More in Annual Chapter 90 Funding for Local Roads

• Investing in Chapter 90 Strengthens the Economy, Saves Taxpayers Millions 

Earlier this afternoon at a State House press conference, the MMA released a comprehensive report documenting that cities and towns across the state face an annual shortfall of $362 million in the funding needed to maintain municipal roadways in a state of good repair, the industry standard for ensuring well-maintained roads in good condition.  The MMA immediately called for a $100 million-a-year increase Chapter 90 funding, the state-backed program that funds local road repairs.  This is an essential step to invest in the state’s economic future, and necessary to save taxpayers millions of dollars in more costly projects when roads fail.

DOWNLOAD THE MMA REPORT BY CLICKING HERE

For the past several months, the MMA has been collecting data from cities and towns across the state, and that information confirms that communities in Massachusetts need to spend $562 million every year to rebuild and maintain local roads in a state of good repair, but communities spend far less because of inadequate resources.  The result can be seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.

Chapter 90 provides just $200 million a year, or only 36% of the actual need, resulting in a massive local funding gap of $362 million a year.

PLEASE SHARE THE MMA’S CHAPTER 90 REPORT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS, AND REMIND THEM OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Cities and towns are responsible for 30,000 miles of roads in Massachusetts, and Chapter 90 funding must be increased to prevent these roads from deteriorating and crumbling.  Economists and transportation experts all agree – cities and towns must have enough funds to maintain and rebuild local roads so that we can build a stronger economy, create jobs, ensure safe roadways, and enhance our quality of life;

• Funding for local roads across the state is dangerously low, and now is the time to invest – the more we delay, the more this will cost taxpayers in the long run.  The MMA and local officials across the state are calling for a $100 million increase in annual Chapter 90 funding, asking state leaders to commit to $300 million a year over the next 5 years to help close the gap and get local roadways in Massachusetts much closer to the good repair standard;

• Chapter 90 funding is the most reliable, appropriate and effective way to close the local transportation funding gap and invest in improved roadways in all communities across the state;

• The state created the Chapter 90 program in 1973 to share a portion of gas tax revenues with communities to ensure adequate resources for local road construction needs.  But almost 40 years later, funding for the Chapter 90 program is far short of the actual need, because construction costs have escalated sharply, in great part due to significant increases in the cost of fossil fuels, which drives up the price of construction materials such as asphalt and steel;

• Investing more in Chapter 90 funding to improve the quality of local roads will actually save taxpayers millions of dollars a year.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, once a local road is in a state of good repair, every $1 dollar invested to keep it properly maintained will save $6 to $10 dollars in avoided repair costs that become necessary to rebuild the road when it fails;

• Under Proposition 2½, cities and towns are unable to increase the amount of local funds to supplement Chapter 90 unless they cut other important services such as public safety or education, or pass a tax override, increasing local reliance on the already overburdened property tax; and

• The MMA and local officials across the state are also members of the broad coalition of stakeholders calling for a comprehensive state and local transportation finance plan, recognizing that the entire Commonwealth will benefit greatly from increased revenues to invest in local and state roadways and highways, and regional and mass transit systems.

CITING “CRUMBLING” ROADS, MUNI GROUP SEEKS BIG HIKE IN STATE AID

By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 18, 2012…..There is a $362 million funding gap between what Massachusetts cities and towns require to maintain roads in a “state of good repair” and the amount of state funding currently available for local roadways, according to Massachusetts Municipal Association survey results released on Tuesday.

“The MMA’s survey results reveal that cities and towns in Massachusetts need to spend $562 million every year to rebuild and maintain local roads in a state of good repair, but communities spend far less because of inadequate resources,” the report states. “The result can be seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.”

State funding for local roads, known as Chapter 90, is currently at $200 million per year. The MMA, which represents cities and towns, is asking for a 50 percent funding increase to begin more aggressively addressing the gap and to bring the annual allocation up to $300 million per year for the next five years.

In January, the Patrick administration and the Legislature are planning to discuss a new transportation financing proposal, a discussion that was speeded along by a funding crisis at the MBTA last year that was solved with fare hikes and a state bailout. Chapter 90 strategies will likely figure into the discussion.

With spending on track to outpace revenues, Gov. Deval Patrick this month outlined a $540 million budget-balancing plan featuring across-the-board cuts and drawing heavily from the state’s reserves. Economic experts say slow growth means tax revenue growth will only slightly improve next year.

Every year, the Legislature allocates funding to municipalities for local roads projects, and the $200 million disbursed to cities and towns was a record high last year. This year the state kept the same funding level.

For the past two years, the Legislature has delayed the final approval of Chapter 90 funds, leading to some frustration from local officials who often can’t afford to undertake road projects without the assurance that the state will foot the bill.

“There is today a deep level of frustration with what is happening with Chapter 90, frustration around what should be a good story,” Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivann said in June, months after the April 1 notification date called for in state law.

Providing adequate funding to keep roads in good repair prevents them from turning into more costly projects, according to the MMA, which said each $1 spent to keep roads properly maintained results in savings of $6 to $10 in avoided costs of more extensive repairs.

“If Massachusetts fails to pass a comprehensive transportation finance plan to address the critical funding needs at the local and state levels, taxpayers will face massive bills over the next 20 years to reconstruct a deteriorating system,” the MMA report said.

Cities and towns are tasked with maintaining 30,000 miles of road throughout the state.