MMA letter to House members: Cities and towns support major transportation package

Solving the state’s transportation finance crisis will strengthen our economy and save taxpayers millions

Dear Representative,

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association strongly urges you to pass a comprehensive transportation finance reform package as soon as possible. State and local officials and stakeholders know the depth of the problem – we face a massive funding gap to maintain our existing infrastructure and lack the ability to expand our system in important ways to invest in our future.

The MMA and local leaders across the state are members of the broad civic and business coalition calling for a comprehensive transportation finance plan that addresses state and local needs, and we support the revenues and management reforms necessary to enact that plan, recognizing that the entire Commonwealth will benefit greatly from increased revenues to invest in local and state roads and highways as well as regional and public transit systems. A solid, well-financed, multi-modal transportation system will save taxpayers much more in the long run, because maintaining our infrastructure in good condition is up to 10 times less expensive than paying for the major repairs and reconstruction forced by neglect and poor upkeep. Further, modern and well-maintained roads, bridges and transit systems are essential in order to attract and keep families and businesses in the state, foster economic development and investment in our communities, create jobs, ensure public safety, and build a higher quality of life for our residents. We are very much encouraged by “The Way Forward: A 21st Century Transportation Plan,” the outstanding framework offered by the Patrick-Murray administration.

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, 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. (A copy of the report is attached to this letter.) To close a portion of this huge gap, the MMA and local officials from across Massachusetts have called for funding the Chapter 90 program at $300 million a year. This investment is essential for the state’s economic future, and necessary to save taxpayers millions of dollars in more costly projects when roads fail.

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 2 1/2, 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.

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, our report demonstrates that 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 single 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.

Cities and towns look forward to standing with you and your colleagues as partners in addressing the state’s transportation finance crisis and providing adequate revenues and resources to invest in our crumbling roads, bridges and transit systems all across the state. The future of our Massachusetts economy will depend on a solvent and modern transportation system, of which Chapter 90 is a part, and this is a major goal that can be achieved with strong state-local collaboration. We look forward to working in partnership with you in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA

• Download MMA report that identifies Chapter 90 funding needs for cities and towns (175K PDF)