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Date: 1/9/2024
SOUTH HADLEY — With towns receiving their Fair Share Amendment and Chapter 90 Funding for 2024, South Hadley has received a total of $264,243.
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced in mid-December that the state would deliver a total of $100 million generated by the Fair Share Amendment, a new 4% surtax on income exceeding $1 million, to its 351 cities and towns to support local infrastructure.
“Our administration said from day one that we were going to make sure that Fair Share revenue was used to improve transportation and education for our communities, as the voters intended,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “This funding is particularly impactful because we are empowering cities and towns to decide how to use it to address their unique needs. We are grateful to the Legislature for making this funding available and look forward to seeing how the municipalities will use it to strengthen their communities.”
The Fair Share Amendment funds are being distributed according to two formulas. The first $50 million is being distributed using the traditional Chapter 90 formula based on local road mileage (59.33%), population (20.83%) and employment (20.83%). The second $50 million is being distributed using a formula based on each municipality’s share of road mileage.
Communities may use Fair Share revenue for construction, preservation and improvement projects that create or extend the life of capital facilities. This includes costs for highway projects and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Projects that are eligible would include installing sidewalks, bicycle lanes, new pavement, sidewalks, retaining walks, crossing signals and other transportation infrastructure features.
South Hadley is receiving $140,604 in road miles, $123,639 in Chapter 90 funds, totaling $264,243 for this year.
South Hadley DPW Director John Broderick told Reminder Publishing that the Chapter 90 funds will go toward road paving and that while any money received from the state is always welcomed, but never enough. He added he would guess this combined funding should be close to what the town received in 2023 with Chapter 90 and winter recovery assistance funding, also known was WRAP.
The town’s main goal, according to Broderick, is to utilize this money in the most efficient way for residents, something that remains the same with this new year of funding.
“Keeping up with aging infrastructure repairs and rising costs of fuel, materials and labor is every municipality’s challenge. Putting the money that we receive in the correct projects and maximizing its value for all the residents is our goal,” Broderick said.
According to the governor’s office, the amount of revenue generated by the Fair Share amendment will vary each year, which will then inform how the revenue can be distributed as part of the annual budgeting process.
The fiscal year 2024 operating budget signed by Healey last August makes strategic use of $1 billion in new revenue generated from the voter-approved Fair Share income surtax for the first time. This establishes a blueprint for how this revenue will be tracked and spent in future years on priorities in education and transportation, as directed by the voters.
For FY24, $524 million of these funds will go toward education, while $477 million will go toward transportation.
“As a former mayor, I know how much our cities and towns rely on state funding to support their infrastructure needs of their communities,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “This funding will be a critical boost for them to move forward on projects like bridge preservation projects, improving regional transit authority service and expanding on multi-modal pathways.”
Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in the state’s release that investments in transportation benefit all as it increases travel options and improving roadway safety for all modes of transportation.
Reminder Publishing Staff Writer Cliff Clark contributed to this report.