Friday, March 29, 2013

From the State House via Afganistan


deadline approaches and still no clear message from Beacon Hill except that there may be tax increases and or fees (tax by a different name) looming down the road.


Subject: FW: CONSTRUCTION SEASON POISED TO START WITHOUT ROAD FUNDING ACCORD

From: State House News Service
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2013 2:22:52 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: news@statehousenews.com
Subject: CONSTRUCTION SEASON POISED TO START WITHOUT ROAD FUNDING ACCORD


CONSTRUCTION SEASON POISED TO START WITHOUT ROAD FUNDING ACCORD

By Michael Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 28, 2013……State law calls for cities and towns to be formally notified of state aid for local road and bridge repairs on April 1 of each year, a deadline intended to facilitate construction during the warmer months.


But Chapter 90 funding levels for fiscal 2014 remained a mystery Thursday as the House gaveled out of session for the week with talks continuing behind the scenes on a large transportation financing package.

And even if the outline of an accord on road and bridge repair funding levels is reached soon, as some speculate, cities and towns can’t forge ahead on contracts until authorization legislation is signed into law, a situation that caused months of delay last year when local road fix funding got hung up in red tape.

Gov. Deval Patrick this year wants to boost Chapter 90 funding to $300 million a year, up from $200 million, and to raise taxes to help pay for those and other transportation investments. The spending authorization for Chapter 90 is tied up in a 10-year bond bill filed by Patrick seeking $19 billion in long-term spending.

House and Senate Democrats want to raise revenues for transportation too, but are having difficulty agreeing on a consensus plan, an effort that has consumed the attention of legislative leaders during a new annual legislative session that is off to a slow start.

Auburn Republican Rep. Paul Frost, who attended Thursday’s brief House session, said afterwards that all transportation financing issues are “up in the air” and speculated that House Democrats might roll Chapter 90 funding into a larger financing package and use the popular program to justify higher taxes.

House Minority Leader Brad Jones said Thursday that House Republicans are considering Chapter 90 as they develop their own proposals for the anticipated transportation financing debate.

Jones said the House GOP was “still in conclave” and not ready to discuss their ideas, but that members in reviewing proposed transportation spending are considering “what is need versus want versus wish.”

Jones said Republicans are looking for signs from House Speaker Robert DeLeo about the House’s direction on transportation financing and speculated that given the Winthrop Democrat’s recent statements on the topic “it sounded like it may not happen.”

DeLeo has committed to tackling transportation financing but said after a political caucus with House Democrats on Wednesday that he wasn’t sure where the House was heading on the issue.

As for missing the funding notification deadline again, Frost said, “We don’t control the schedule. We don’t control when things come up.”

Noting cities and towns still have Chapter 90 funds left over from last year since the monies were also delivered late, Jones said local officials have not contacted him with concerns about Chapter 90. Local officials, he said, are currently focused on cleaning up streets and sidewalks after the rough winter.

Geoffrey Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, was not overly concerned about the April 1 deadline on Thursday and said he’s sensing “possible action” on transportation financing legislation in the next two weeks.

“We know that Chapter 90 is a top priority of legislators,” Beckwith said. “We believe that there’s a real desire and receptivity to get this done in one package.”

END
03/28/2013

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5 comments:

  1. I guess it is never a good idea to count your chickens before they hatch!! We just may have dirt roads one of these days. Towns have gotten to count on Chapter 90 funds, to fix their roads. Lets hope the people at the state house can stop playing games so the towns can get projects done. Politicians just need to do their jobs!! That is what the rest of us do!! Bev.

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    Replies
    1. One way to have more local control would be to LOWER state taxes and then the citizenry could vote to raise their own taxes to fix their own roads.

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  2. No worries. If GS gets back in office we'll be taking out a 40 yr USDA loan to repair all the roads in town. No need for Ch. 90 money. lol

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  3. If small towns like this cant get their acts together how can you expect the state to! Agenda, Agenda, Agenda!!! You will all run it in the ground with petty complaints and selfish greed! Oh not to mention Gosip!

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  4. In order to get any traction for an increase in taxes, Chapter 90 $$ will be held hostage until the legislators can come to a compromise.

    At the MMA meeting the session on the transportation bond bill passage depends on an increase in taxes.

    The construction season will be half over before the compromise occurs.

    In Templeton most of our Chapter 90 money is already committed to the Baldwinville Rd reconstruction project and CDBG grant for Back Bay (Fisher St.) If we do get the grant for Memorial St. it will need to be bid out for next year.

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