Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
For immediate release
For more information, contact Geoff Beckwith at (617) 426-7272
On behalf of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association applauds the leaders of the House and Senate for announcing an impressive plan to address our state’s transportation finance needs now and into the future. Speaker DeLeo, President Murray, Chairman Dempsey, Chairman Brewer, Chairman Straus, Chairman McGee and their colleagues have crafted a comprehensive framework of revenues and legislative actions designed to solve the immediate and long-term transportation crisis facing Massachusetts.
In particular, we deeply appreciate and praise the commitment to increasing the Chapter 90 program to maintain and repair local roads up to $300 million a year, a 50 percent increase. Communities maintain 90 percent of the roadways in the state, and this is a timely and essential investment to fix crumbling roads in every corner of Massachusetts. With the local construction season starting this month, Chapter 90 funds are desperately needed as soon as possible.
From the municipal perspective, increasing Chapter 90 funding to $300 million a year meets a need that has been clearly documented by the MMA’s study released last year revealing that the current funding level is simply not enough to meet the annual cost that cities and towns need to spend to have their roads maintained in a state of good repair. Further, every city and town in the state receives a fair share of Chapter 90 dollars, which means that increasing the program is the most effective way to ensure that the residents of the Commonwealth receive an immediate and equitable share of funds to repair their local roads.
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 today’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.