Immigrants were told American streets were paved with gold. Last week, Charlie Baker sent Bay State towns some extra greenbacks to simply pave the streets.
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, on his first full day in office, the newly-installed Massachusetts Governor released an additional $100 million of Chapter 90 funding to Massachusetts communities.
Belmont’s share comes to an extra $266,000 for the town’s roadways and sidewalks.
Chapter 90 reimburses cities and towns for costs incurred for eligible transportation projects. Cities and towns must submit receipts to the state’s Highway Department which verifies if the expenditures qualify for reimbursement..
The money comes from an initial $300 million Chapter 90 funding in the state’s the fiscal year 2015 transportation bond bill that passed the legislature last year.
But then-Gov. Patrick said state revenues would be insufficient to support the entire borrowing and released $200 million.
According to Belmont Town Administrator David Kale, the town received $534,000 from the state for transportation-related projects.
While the money will be coming to town, a question remains when to spend the funds. Kale said he was in discussions with town counsel to determine if the money is required to be spent as part of the current fiscal year 2015 budget or allocated towards the fiscal 2016 town budget.
Whether it will be used today or towards the 2016 budget, “the money must be used for transportation purposes,” said Kale.
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