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Franklin County and the North Quabbin City Road Authority are poised to receive even more state funding thanks to additional allocations that Sen. Joe Comerford (D-Northampton) calls the “rural factor.”
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced this week that it will provide an additional $100 million in Fair Share funds in Chapter 90 appropriations. These funds are available through a new 4% tax on income over $1 million. This new tax was created by last year’s “fair share” referendum.
“When all of us in Western Massachusetts think about the Fair Share Amendment, we talk about fighting to get our fair share. This is one of the many ways we could have made it happen. One of them,” said state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield.
According to a budget summary released by the Massachusetts government, the “billionaire tax” funds can only be used for transportation and schools. A total of $1 billion was available for spending from FareShare in FY24, which went to various programs. $333 million was earmarked for a revolving minimum fund balance to be used in the event of significant revenue declines. Estimates of future collections of this tax are uncertain and highly volatile.
The $100 million in Fair Share Amendment funds for roads will be distributed according to two formulas. The first $50 million will be distributed using the traditional Chapter 90 formula based on local road miles (58.33%), population (20.83%), and employment (20.83%). The second $50 million will be distributed using a new formula based on each municipality’s share of road miles.
The traditional Chapter 90 system is known for favoring urban areas over rural areas. Comerford and Brace explained that they fought for a road mileage formula to help local cities get the funding they need.
“Traditional formulas need to be tweaked to ensure rural areas receive their fair share,” Comerford said. “With additional funding for rural schools and this new type of road funding, Congress is acting to demonstrate that it understands that rural communities are different and require different formulas to get an equitable return on public investment.” It is clearly shown.”
Blaise said when the Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP) was first implemented in 2014, he saw first-hand how regional cities could benefit from a formula based on road miles traveled. Brace and Comerford have been fighting for additional funding based on this formula ever since, they said. This includes funding received from the Fair Share Amendment and House Bill 3273, the Local Road Investments Act. This bill would work similarly to the funding we just received, providing additional funding based on road miles driven.
Each community receives a different total amount depending on how the two formulas allocate the amount. For example, Bernardston received an additional $69,451 from the road mileage formula and $45,098 from the traditional Chapter 90 formula. Orange received an additional $144,676 from the road mileage formula and $100,950 from the traditional Chapter 90 formula.
“It means we can do more roadwork. That’s a really good thing,” said Ashfield Highway Superintendent Tom Poisant. “For the past two years, we have not been able to meet our mileage goals due to rising material and labor costs.”
Poisant said these additional funds will move the town closer to achieving its goal of resurfacing seven miles of dirt roads each year.
“Chapter 90 provisions have changed communities like ours in a short period of time over a long period of time,” said Athol Expressway Superintendent Richard Kilhart.
He explained that the additional funding will increase Chapter 90 allocations by approximately 50%. The town attempts to repave about a mile of road each year, which costs about $600,000 to $800,000, Kilhart said.
Buckland Town Administrator Heather Butler explained that the town will use these funds for road construction that normally would not qualify for grants. It has not yet been determined which roads will undergo construction.
This allocation will be automatically incorporated into the municipality’s existing Chapter 90 contract with MassDOT without any additional action by the municipality. All community allocations are available online at www.mass.gov/chapter-90-program. This funding is now available to municipalities.
Communities may use fair share proceeds for construction, preservation, and improvement projects to create or extend the life of capital facilities. This includes the cost of highway projects and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Eligible projects include the installation of sidewalks, bike lanes, new pavement, sidewalks, sidewalk maintenance, traffic lights, and other transportation infrastructure equipment.
The fair share amount for 2024 by municipality can be viewed here.
“We know that fair share money can only be used for transportation and education,” Comerford said. “The addition of $100 million of baseline capital into this fair share fund shows we are off to a good start. Fair share is expected to be between $1.6 billion and $2 billion. I can’t say how it will be funded, but I can tell you that we are going to fight for local spending.”
Contact Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.
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