MMA extends Chapter 90 survey deadline

The MMA is sending out its biennial comprehensive statewide survey to determine the local road funding needs of cities and towns.
 
Survey questions will be mailed to chief municipal officials and public works directors in all 351 municipalities. Communities can expect to receive their surveys sometime after Labor Day, and responses are due back to the MMA.

The deadline for Chapter 90 surveys has been extended to Nov. 4.
 
Local officials are urged to respond to the survey, as the results will help the MMA develop an accurate assessment of annual costs for communities to keep their roads in a state of good repair, the industry standard for cost-effective road maintenance. Nearly 90 percent of communities responded to the 2014 survey, and the MMA hopes to achieve a similar response rate this year.
 
The MMA will use the survey results in its continuing campaign for increased Chapter 90 funding so that cities and towns have the resources they need to maintain safe roads and support local economies. The MMA will use the results of the survey in conversations with the Baker administration and the Legislature, especially in making the case for a multi-year transportation bond bill with cities and towns receiving funds by April 1.
 
The MMA’s Chapter 90 survey allows the MMA and local officials to have a concrete figure to use when lobbying the Legislature for more Chapter 90 funding. Previous survey data has been cited in publications statewide.
 
In addition to local road funding needs, the survey asks about capital plans, pavement management systems, and supplementing Chapter 90 funds with appropriated local revenue or borrowing.
 
Included with the surveys is a page of information that is specific to each community, including the community’s response to the 2014 MMA survey and its Chapter 90 authorization for 2016. This information may be a helpful starting point for answering the survey.
 
Officials are asked to return completed surveys to the MMA as soon as possible.
 
For more information, contact Victoria Sclafani or Vanessa Calaban at the MMA.
 
• Download 2016 MMA Chapter 90 survey (106K PDF)