Date: Fri 17-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

roads-budget-state

Full Text:

Spring Road Repairs Must Wait For The Budget

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Newtown Public Works Director Fred Hurley said local road improvements cannot

continue until the proposed budget is approved and his agency receives money.

The $59.3 million budget will be the subject of a town referendum on April 28.

"There's very little capital construction in the spring. We're waiting for

money," Mr Hurley said Monday. "We have to wait and see what happens with the

budget. We can't presume we'll be funded."

The Public Works Department's $2 million request for road improvements was cut

by $200,000 earlier this spring.

When and if the town's proposed budget is passed, Mr Hurley said his crews

will concentrate on roads in certain areas of town, including Boggs Hill,

Hanover, Great Ring, Walker Hill Roads and Arrowhead Lane.

Newtown received some good news earlier this month when the state announced it

planned to give the town $216,000 for road repairs for 1998-99. That is

$72,000 more than the town anticipated. The state reportedly has a $300

million surplus and is passing its extra money on to the towns and cities.

This year's state budget proposal made its way out of the Appropriations

Committee with $10 million more for local roads, bringing the total grant for

Newtown's roads to $30 million for 1998-99.

But as a recent study by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM)

points out, this upturn in funding may not last long.

The study details the continued deterioration of Connecticut's town roads over

the past decade. One reason, according to CCM, is that traffic has increased

during that time, while state aid has decreased.

"It's our long-term view that while this is a step in the right direction,

there would need to be a longer-term funding commitment in place to address

the needs that are out there," said CCM spokesman Kevin Maloney.

Hartford used to kick in nearly $30 million to towns around the state for road

repairs, but has been handing out only about $20 million in recent years,

according to Mr Hurley.

Between 1988 and 1995, state aid for local road repairs declined by 38

percent. In addition, the CCM study showed that the total spending by state

and local governments for local road and bridge repairs dropped by 19 percent

between 1987 and 1994, as local governments and taxpayers have been unable to

offset the reduction in state assistance.

As for federal money, the state uses that to fix its own roads. According to

CCM, state spending (1987 to 1996) on state-owned roads increased by more than

30 percent from $791 million to $1.04 billion.

According to CCM, the total number of miles of local roads in the state has

grown to 20,500, accounting for more than 80 percent of all road miles in the

state and more than 25 percent of all motor vehicle travel.

The Gas Tax

About 60 percent of the money the state provides for road repairs comes from

the gas tax -- a tax state lawmakers have tried hard to cut out. The gas tax

is expected to take in $484 million next year.

An additional $328 million goes to road repairs from car sales, permits, and

other sources, so Mr Maloney said $10 million a year for communities should

not be too hard to find.

"We think they can accomplish the gas tax cut and still provide assistance for

local road repairs," he said.

Dean Pagani, spokesman for Gov John Rowland, agreed there is money to go

around, but he also said the final funding amount must be negotiated.

"The reason the governor proposed to cut the gas tax is he thinks money is

there to cut the gas tax and continue to fund programs like town road aid," Mr

Pagani said.

Without state funds, communities must rely on property taxes to make up the

difference -- a tax CCM has long argued is an ineffective way to raise money

for schools and other needs.

These roads end up costing Connecticut motorists $400 million to $1 billion

more annually, because of poorer gas mileage and more repairs, the study said.

The study was done for CCM by the Washington, D.C., firm Apogee/Hagler Bailly

Inc.

(Associated Press reports were used in this story.)