MMA letter to the House urging support for $300M Ch. 90 bond bill

Please Support H. 3379 to Provide $300 Million for Chapter 90; Passage is Essential to Repair Crumbling Roads in Every City & Town
 
Dear Representative,
 
On behalf of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association respectfully and urgently asks you to support H. 3379, legislation to provide $300 million for the Chapter 90 program to maintain and repair local roads. Communities are depending on passage of this vital legislation now, so that the important work of rebuilding and restoring our local roads, bridges and infrastructure can begin now, and communities can make full use of the entire 2013 construction season.
 
We are deeply grateful to Speaker Robert DeLeo, Chairman Brian Dempsey, Chairman William Straus, Chairman Antonio Cabral and the members of their committees for embracing a much-needed 50 percent increase in Chapter 90 funding, and for placing the fiscal 2014 Chapter 90 authorization on a fast track.
 
Under state law and custom, the intent is to enact Chapter 90 funding and provide cities and towns with official notice of their allocation by April 1 of each year, to give communities adequate time to plan and use their Chapter 90 funds during the entire construction season. Municipalities cannot sign contracts or borrow against their anticipated Chapter 90 funds until they receive these official letters of authorization, and any delay can stall projects and dramatically shorten the construction season for every community across the state. When the construction season is shortened, important projects are delayed until the next year, driving up costs and adding to the deterioration of local roads.
 
Thus, H. 3379 is very timely, and we respectfully urge you to swiftly enact the bill to allow important local projects in your communities to move forward right away.
 
The Need for Funding Chapter 90 at $300 Million a Year
As you know, cities and towns are responsible for 30,000 miles of roads in the Commonwealth – approximately 90 percent of our state’s roadways – and communities depend on the Chapter 90 reimbursement program to maintain and repair their roads, making Chapter 90 a vital element in any transportation funding plan. 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 40 years later, even at $200 million a year, funding for the Chapter 90 program is far short of the actual need, because construction costs have escalated sharply over the decades, 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.
 
In December 2012, the MMA released a 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. Funding the Chapter 90 program at $300 million a year will close a portion of this huge gap.
 
The MMA collected data from cities and towns across the state, and that information revealed 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 and because, for most localities, Chapter 90 is the only source of funds for road maintenance. 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. The result is seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.
 
Chapter 90 Provides Regional Equity and Immediate Results Across the State
In addition, increasing Chapter 90 to $300 million a year will yield immediate benefits and address a major goal of transportation reform – regional equity. The Chapter 90 program is the most effective and efficient way to ensure regional equity and regional access to increased transportation tax revenues. Cities and towns receive their funds through a tried-and-true formula that shares revenues in a fair way in every corner of the Commonwealth. Plus, cities and towns face such a backlog of need that the increase will immediately result in visible and necessary construction and repair projects on local roads across Massachusetts.
 
Further, 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 dollar invested to keep it properly maintained will save $6 to $10 in avoided repair costs that become necessary to rebuild the road when it fails due to a lack of maintenance.
 
Embracing Long-Term and Comprehensive Finance Reform
The MMA applauds the leaders of the House and Senate for their announcement on April 2 outlining an impressive plan to address our state’s transportation finance needs now and into the future. Speaker DeLeo, President Murray and your Ways and Means, Transportation and Bonding committees have crafted a comprehensive framework of revenues and legislative actions designed to solve the immediate and long-term transportation crisis facing Massachusetts.
 
Unlike the gridlock we see on Capitol Hill every day, we can be proud of the legislative cooperation and collaboration on Beacon Hill reflected in yesterday’s announcement. Investing in transportation is essential for our state’s economic growth and competitiveness, and our leaders in the House and Senate are embracing this task together, which is good news for every resident, taxpayer, business owner and community in the Commonwealth.
 
We look forward to working in partnership with the Legislature to advance all components of a balanced and sweeping transportation package, including new tax revenues, maintenance and repairs to our current infrastructure, program expansion, and proposed reforms. H. 3379 is an outstanding start to fixing the state’s transportation finance crisis.
 
Thank you very much.
 
Sincerely,
 
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA