This year the house and senate passed the transportation bond bill which authorized $300 million in Chapter 90 funding for municipal road projects. For the second consecutive year, the Patrick administration has released $200 million of Chapter 90 funding to the cities and towns of the Commonwealth. The administration has indicated in the past that 5 year transportation finance plan signed in 2013 is insufficient to support $300 million in borrowing.
Chapter 90 funds are appropriated to all cities and towns based on a formula that uses population, road miles and jobs as criteria. The Chapter 90 FY2015 totals for the 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex Communities are as follows:
Belmont: $533,012
Boston: $14,439,069
Watertown: $737,470
As Senator Brownsberger noted in his post above, the state has not increased the amount of money that it has sent to the towns at all in the last four years. Below are the totals for the last 10 years:
2006 – $175 million
2007 – $120 million
2008 – $150 million
2009 – $150 million
2010 – $150 million
2011 – $155 million
2012 – $200 million
2013 – $200 million
2014 – $200 million
2015 – $200 million
There is hope for higher levels of chapter Chapter 90 funding in the future, there is $200 million in authorized funds that have yet to be released, the legislature may continue to authorize a higher amount and the next administration may decide that revenues are sufficient to support a higher level of borrowing.
Andrew Bettinelli
Legislative Aide
Office of State Senator William N. Brownsberger