Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Dear Senator,
On behalf of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association urges you to support S. 1766, critically important legislation to provide the necessary revenues to close the massive funding gap that plagues our transportation finance system. Communities are depending on passage of this important legislation now, along with H. 3379, the companion bill pending in the House to provide $300 million in Chapter 90 funding, so that the important work of rebuilding and restoring local roads, bridges and infrastructure can begin now and make full use of the entire 2013 construction season.
We applaud Senate and House leaders for advancing a strong and balanced revenue package and overall plan to secure the funds that are necessary to make our transportation system solvent. Cities and towns across the state are deeply grateful to President Therese Murray, Chairman Stephen Brewer, Chairman Thomas McGee and the members of their committees for embracing the much-needed 50 percent increase in Chapter 90 funding as a key component of their framework, and for placing the fiscal 2014 Chapter 90 authorization on a fast track. We also praise the provisions to forward fund all regional transit systems.
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.
S. 1766 presents a powerful, fair and balanced package of new tax revenues, funding allocations, legislative actions and reforms to finance vital maintenance for and improvements to our state and local transportation system. The legislation embraces an overall plan that would raise or allocate $800 million in transportation-related funds by fiscal 2018. As Senate and House leaders and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation have stated, this is clearly enough to fully fund Chapter 90, close the state’s transportation funding gap, and significantly increase the state’s bonding capacity to meet future needs.
During your deliberations, we ask you to support the amendment filed by Sen. DiDomenico, which would clarify the ability of cities and towns to tax for-profit businesses on MBTA property. This amendment was also adopted by the House earlier this week, and would ensure fairness and consistency, since commercial entities on all other MassDOT lands are clearly subject to property taxation, except for the MBTA. While many of these for-profit businesses on MBTA land currently pay property taxes, and MassDOT’s enabling statute clearly identifies for-profit entities located on MassDOT property as subject to property taxation, the MBTA’s older enabling legislation is less clear, creating an ambiguity that must be addressed to protect cities and towns, ensure fairness across the entire system, and prevent a shift in the tax burden to homeowners and other businesses in communities that host MBTA properties.
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 an essential 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. S. 1766 will achieve this same savings dynamic for the Commonwealth, too.
Embracing Long-Term and Comprehensive Revenues and Reform
President Murray and her leadership team have crafted an impressive framework of revenues and legislative actions designed to solve the immediate and long-term transportation crisis facing Massachusetts. The next steps are swift enactment of S. 1766 and H. 3379 and passage of the multi-year transportation bond bill you will consider later this year.
We look forward to working in partnership with all stakeholders to advance all components of a balanced and sweeping transportation package, including these new tax revenues, maintenance and repairs to our current infrastructure, program expansion, and proposed reforms. We respectfully ask you to vote for S. 1766.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA