Appendix D: Summary of Survey Results in the Report on Public Infrastructure in Western Massachusetts

Local Cost Impacts of Necessary Maintenance and Replacements of Public Infrastructure in Western Massachusetts.

Overview

Please note this summary does not include the response of the city of Springfield, as this municipality is a significant outlier and is analyzed separately in a case study in Appendix E.

Total municipalities responding: 45

State population living in responding municipalities: 340,692 (41.09% of Western Massachusetts’ 829,072 total population), which is an estimate from 2018¹⁷⁷

Approximate number of full time employees in respondent municipalities: 3964

Median number of employees in respondent municipalities: 15

Comments reproduced below are recorded verbatim from survey submissions.

 

[1]     DOR Income, EQV, and Population. Department of Revenue. 2020. Retrieved from: https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/‌reports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=DOR_Income_EQV_Per_Capita

Survey Results by Question

Q1: Does your municipality have a capital plan?
              Yes: 24
              No: 21

Q1a. What is the time frame for this capital plan?
              Median time frame: 5 years

Q1b. Does your municipality follow the priorities laid out in the capital plan?
              Yes: 24, almost all report being conditional on funding.
              No/no answer: 21

Q1c. How much, as a percentage, does your municipality fund the capital plan in a given year?
              Median percentage: 10%

Q1d. On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the impact of revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic on your ability to follow your capital plan?

Rating	Number of Responses
0/1	23
2	7
3	7
4	5
5	3

 

Q1e. On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the impact of uncertainty over local aid from the state budget on your ability to follow your capital plan?

Rating	Number of Responses
0/1	22
2	0
3	9
4	10
5	4

 

Q1f. We are looking for annual estimated capital plan costs of repair, renovation or replacement. Please provide an amount ($) estimating your annual cost for infrastructure repair, renovation, or replacement for these categories:

Category	Repair	Renovation	Replacement
Administrative Buildings (e.g., town hall)	Total: $9,926,024 Average: $220,578	Total: $15,269,876 Average: $339,331	Total: $36,500,000 Average: $9,125,00
Libraries	Total: $759,175 Average: $16,871	Total: $5,902,000 Average: $131,156	Total: $75,000,007.70 Average: $1,973,684.41
Public Works Facilities	Total: $3,276,675 Average: $72,815	Total: $38,536,500 Average: $856,367	Total: $56,000,000 Average: $1,400,000
Public Safety Buildings	Total: $2,604,177 Average: $57,871	Total: $14,116,372 Average: $313,697	Total: $120,300,000 Average: $3,251,351.35
Communications Facilities	Total: $2,500,000 Average: $55,5556	Total: $1 Average: $0.022	Total: $0 Average: $0
Broadband Infrastructure (e.g., wires, equipment)	Total: $30,091,198 Average: $668,693	Total: $201,001 Average: $4,467	Total: $36,500,000 Average: $7,300,000
Roadway Infrastructure (e.g., roads, streetlights, sidewalks)	Total: $41,447,820 Average: $921,063	Total: $17,253,881 Average: $383,420	Total: $41,447,820 Average: $921,062.67
Electric Infrastructure Excluding Internet Services (if municipally provided, e.g., television services, electricity)	Total: $0 Average: $0	Total: $25,000 Average: $555.55	Total: $0 Average: $0
Council on Aging Buildings	Total: $161,675 Average: $3592.77	Total: $0 Average: $0	Total: $44,506,000 Average: $1,141,179.48
Other Buildings or Facilities (excluding school facilities)	Total: $11,543,072 Average: $256,513	Total: $3,000,000 Average: $66,667	Total: $0 Average: $0

 

Q2. For the following infrastructure categories, please provide a letter grade to rate your infrastructure (A, B, C, D, or F) and a brief explanation as to why you assigned that grade:

Category	Rating
Administrative Buildings (e.g., town hall)	A: 5, B: 8, C: 20, D: 11, F: 1
Libraries	A: 10, B: 10, C: 16, D: 3, F: 6
Public Works Facilities	A: 7, B: 10, C: 15, D: 11, F: 2
Public Safety Buildings	A: 6, B: 19, C: 7, D: 7, F: 6
Communications Facilities	A: 11, B: 6, C: 13, D: 3, F: 12
Council on Aging Buildings	A: 10, B: 12, C: 12, D: 1, F: 10
Other buildings or facilities	A: 5, B: 8, C: 9, D: 9, F: 14

 

Q3a. What is the ratio between Chapter 90 state funds and local funds appropriated for roadway repairs (e.g. 50% state funds, 50% local funds)?
              Average split: 63% state, 37% local

Q3b. What is the annual estimated cost of repairing and rebuilding local roads?
              Median cost: $775,000
              Total cost: $42,919,000

Q3c. What is the estimated gap between your annual spending on local roadway repairs/rebuild/replacement and the total needed spend for those repairs/rebuild/replacement? (e.g., You project $100,000 annually for the total cost of needed roadway work, but you can only spend $50,000 in a given year, so the gap is $50,000.)

              Median gap: $312,500
              Total gap: $31,044,000

Q3d. Please assign a letter rating to the condition of roadways in your municipality (A, B, C, D, or F), and a brief explanation as to why you assigned that grade.

Rating	Number of Responses
Blank	1
B	8
C	27
D	9

 

Q4. What is the ability of your municipality to afford these aforementioned infrastructure expenses on the local level? Please assign this ability a number from 1 to 10, with 1 being not at all and 10 meaning your municipality can meet all infrastructure expenses.

Rating	Number of Responses
0/1	16
2	10
3	6
4	5
5	4
6	2
7	1
8	1
9	0
10	0

 

Q5. Would a state agency similar to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, but focused on municipal infrastructure, be helpful for maintaining infrastructure in your municipality?

Municipality	Would a state agency similar to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, but focused on municipal infrastructure, be helpful for maintaining infrastructure in your municipality?*
Adams	The fundamental problem in maintaining aging infrastructure in the Commonwealth is there simply is not enough local money available. Moreover, in many Western Massachusetts towns and cities, there is a lack of tax capacity to address this need – even if residents were willing to pay for it. When there is little or no growth in the tax base and no additional state or federal funds provided, there simply is no way to pay for the high cost to maintain and replace very old infrastructure. It is unclear how something like the State School Building Authority aimed at infrastructure will help, without associated dramatic amounts of associated funding. The Town of Adams is fully capable to expeditiously and professionally advance infrastructure projects. We do not need State assistance to perform that function; what we do need is significant increases in State financial assistance to enable us to address infrastructure needs.
Agawam	Any program that brings more funding to municipalities for roadway improvements and maintenance programs would be extremely helpful
Alford	Probably not. We are a very small town and get looked over on most State funded projects
Amherst	A State agency to help pay for some of the large infrastructure needs would be very helpful.
Ashfield	Would need the details of such a program
Becket	Yes
Bernardston	Yes.
Blandford	Definitely and my Highway Superintendent agrees.
Charlemont	Yes if it was to help with things like funding.
Chester	The question here is why wouldnt you expand DOT instead of creating a new agency. There is no reason why DOT cant handle this. The communities need the money not another state agency. And which ever way it goes, we need people versed in rural areas. A road in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield is honestly an easy fix. But work on a road that the elevation changes 1000ft from bottom to top, plus with curves, waterways, now that is the challenge. It really isnt hard to create a division in DOT with specialties depending on the district.
Chicopee	Yes, it would be very helpful as many buildings are not given the attention that they should to maintain them, sometimes until it becomes a safety risk. Also if there could be grant funds available like the MSBA that would be a major help!
Clarksburg	Yes
Colrain	Possibly
Conway	Probably not.
Cummington	No
Egremont	Not sure. A lack of people is not the problem - its a lack of available funds.
Granby	I WOULD NEED MORE DATA ON THE FUNDING AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROPOSED AGENCY. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROCESS FOR GETTING INTO THE PIPELINE WOULD NEED TO BE EXPLAINED. WHILE IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA, I HAVE CONCERNS OVER THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE AGENCY.
Great Barrington	No, we just need more money.
Greenfield	Absolutely! Massachusetts School Building Authority and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commission serve a very good purpose in helping fund schools and libraries. There absolutely should be one focused on the Public Safety sector of municipal government. As we have learned from fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, our public safety departments and structure serve a much greater function in our overall health and safety than just fighting fires and keeping our streets and residents safe from crime. They are the beating heart of safety for our entire infrastructure and residents. We had to locate our Emergency Operations Command Center in our Council on Aging/Community Center as our EOC in the 90 year old fire station could not be safely used for such a lengthy and overwhelming purpose. As for other municipal buildings (City Halls, Community Centers, etc.), specified assistance grants would be welcome.
Hadley	The Town feels MASS DOT could feel this role for the state.
Hampden	Yes.
Hawley	Very likely
Heath	Yes.
Hinsdale	No. The Mass School Building Authority recently led our regional school (the CBRSD) into a 30-year new high school, when enrollment was declining and four of seven towns voted against the plan. Here, the States School Building Authority model is not viewed as successful.
Leverett	yes, if they are willing to undertake small projects, i.e. under $100,000, and the overhead paperwork is not too arduous.
Leyden	Possibly, except for mandates they may impose that are unfunded or not possible. Prevailing wage laws are sometimes outrageous as to the actual cost to build. In small towns the infrastructure is on a smaller scale and sometimes local labor could take care of the build/rebuild or repair at a cost that is much less than prevailing wage laws.
Montague	I think it is essential that structures such as MSBA, providing funding and technical expertise/planning, be considered for wastewater treatment, collection systems, and bridges. I think communities can do a good job with basic road repair and maintenance, though the limitations of Ch 90 and available local funds always leaves us falling a further step behind each year.
Monterey	I am not familiar with the MSBA so I can not say
North Adams	Helpful and absolutely necessary, especially for supporting capital investment in public safety facilities.
Northampton	Very much so.
Northfield	If it could help with funding. The state has tried the small bridge and culvert programs. They would be more helpful if they had more funding. It can cost $50,000 - $100,000 or more to just engineer and permit a good sized culvert - then it can cost hundreds of thousands more to actually build. There just isnt enough funding in these well meaning, competitive programs to fund all the needed infrastructure in Western Mass.
Otis	Yes
Peru	Not sure how to answer that question. It comes down to funding, and I am not sure another state agency is the answer. The Governor and Legislature have to provide more funding to small rural towns to maintain their roadways. It comes down to funding, and we have been stuck on 200 million for Chapter 90 for to many years. We dont get adequate payment for state owned land, we have to provide transportation & tuition for vocational education, because the regional school district doesnt provide it. There is a unfunded mandate for you! We finally designated one vocational school instead of two to cut transportation cost in half, but tuition & transportation for 9 children 220,000!
Pittsfield	YES..especially in the are of public safety buildings. The estimate cost of out new police station is $50 million which is way beyond our ability to fund that locally.
Plainfield	MassDOT ( District 1) and MassWorks are two agencies already working with state funding for infrastructure. Adding another might add unnecessary hurdles to the processes already in place. However, any new agency should work closely with MassDOT district offices.
Richmond	No
Savoy	This May Work? Mass DOT needs some independent body to oversee thier projects and decisions. Someone to anwser to. They beat to their own drum.
South Hadley	We do as much as we can but doing all the work needed in unaffordable
Southwick	yes very much so since mass dot does not plan for helping towns.
Stockbridge	Yes.
Ware	If funded, absolutely.
Warwick	Perhaps but my expeniernce with MSBA is they make things more expensive. If the entity envisioned provided grants / loans for highways based on infrastructure conditions and financial need that might help.
Washington	Yes!
Whately	Possibly, so long as the process for accessing these funds is not cumbersome and time consuming; however, this may provide a disincentive for towns to carry out preventative maintenance with town funds and just wait until the state comes in with funds to replace the infrastructure when it gets too bad. Any new program needs to require communities to show good faith efforts at maintenance before accessing funds.
Windsor	Yes

*  These answers are quoted directly from survey responses and are not edited.

Q6. What other state relief could be implemented that would most assist your municipality in infrastructure maintenance? (e.g., direct appropriation, capital bonding, grants etc.)

Municipality	What other state relief could be implemented that would most assist your municipality in infrastructure maintenance (e.g., direct appropriation, capital bonding, grants, etc.)?*
Adams	Grants - We would recommend a significant expansion of the existing Small Town Rural Assistance Program (STRAP) within the MassWorks Infrastructure Program to help address the needs of municipalities. Raising STRAP’s population threshold (currently communities 7,000 or less in population) to 20,000 and more aggressively funding the program could be a huge help to many more small municipalities (our population is 8,400 so STRAP is never an option for us). Broaden the focus of the MassWorks program on general transportation improvements so that the Commonwealth is not just assisting private developers to complete projects that they would likely do anyway. Maintaining a municipalities infrastructure overall is critical to economic development objectives.
Agawam	Any form off state relief that could increase the funding available to municipalities for infrastructure maintenance would be useful. Increasing funding to Chapter 90 would have the most immediate and useful impact. Increasing TIP funding would allow more regional significant projects to be funded annually. this would reduce the time municipalities have to wait for larger infrastructure projects to be completed.
Alford	Direct appropriation.
Amherst	A program similar to Chaper 90 but more flexible to be used on all municpal infrastructure would be easy to administer and allow municipalities to use the money where it is needed most. Low or no interest loans for certain municpal infrastructure projects.
Ashfield	Small Bridge and Culvert Replacement grants
Becket	More chapter 90 funding. Having to wait 2-3 years to \
Bernardston	We find that the reduction or outright elimination of prevailing wage demands would be beneficial. Bernardston is strapped enough and our ability to afford even the most basic maintenance is often impossibly expensive for us. Elimination of prevailing wage restrictions would free us to hire contractors at a significantly more reasonable rate, thus giving us the ability to utilize a better overall road maintenance plan.
Blandford	Grants are always good. Also, a much more equitable formula for distribution of Chapter 90 for small towns.
Charlemont	Funding is a big issue for a town of our size, we have more bridges (42) and road miles than we are able to financially keep up with. The last few years we have been trying to get projects done through some advanced planning and grants we were able to obtain, but any help in funding would be a relief.
Chester	Grants , direct appropriation, anything that would help us out. In Chester our school budget is going to be over $2million, my town budget at roughly $1.6million , we cant catch up.
Chicopee	All of the above....
Clarksburg	Increase appropriations (chapter 90) and make grant programs on a county basis. We are competing with both towns across the state and our area towns; yes we do have the opportunity to submit for some grants with a neighboring town, but why cant the northern berkshires have xx amount of dollars available, split between the towns in that county so we arent competing with the entire state simply because of the size of our town. Another option, if infrastructure improvements are needed for Emergency Operations Center, if 3 towns in a nearby area all need Police/Fire and/or DPW facility improvements, why not have (a county) facility(ies) that serve those 3 towns. I realize MOUs and/or Agreements etc must be in place and its not a simple solution.
Colrain	exemption from prevailing wage rates, reduced permitting requirements and fees, large scale projects that incorporate multiple municipalities.
Conway	Expanding MassWorks to include infrastructure not tied directly to immediate economic development would help. For small towns, including non-road infrastructure in the STRAP grant program would help tremendously, though the $1M limit is obsolete and should be raised.
Cummington	Direct appropriation, capital bonding and grants are all great and would be appreciated.Also, gas taxes collected should be used for their original purpose: to maintain our roads.
Egremont	Increase Chapter 90 funds. Remove economic development component from many of the infrastructure grants.
Granby	WE HAVE HAD CAPITAL PROJECTS INCLUDED IN PAST CAPITAL BILLS. WHILE IT IS A FEEL GOOD EXERCISE, IT NEVER GETS FUNDING APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR. GRANTS, DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED BUT THE FUNDING OF THESE WOULD HAVE TO BE IDENTIFIED AND COMMITTED TO. TOO MANY TIMES IN THE PAST HAS A PROGRAM STARTED ONLY TO BE ABANDONED DUE TO LACK OF REVENUES TO FUND THEM.
Great Barrington	More Chap 90 funding , Massworks Grants, and TIP funding.
Greenfield	We attempt to utilize all of the above examples and have met with some degree of success in recent years due to due diligence on the part of the Executive Branch of the City and our State Legislators. Earmarks in bond bills tend to be a bit short of a joke on municipalities.
Hadley	Increase in Chapter 90 funds and state grants from MASS DOT, MASS DEP, DCR, ETC.
Hampden	A special local aid allocation for regionalization of services.
Hawley	Direct appropriation and grants (which require minimal staff time for application and reporting). Our full time employees are our treasurer and 2 highway staff. Our administrative staff of 1 person (excluding the Town Clerk) works 17 hours a week.
Heath	Greater amount of Ch. 90 funds, capital bonding, grants for equipment.
Hinsdale	A better model might be something more akin to the Franklin Regional County of Governments procurement office. Each time I call their office for help or advice, they deliver. They listen to the problem and help or put me in touch with someone who can get things done. We need a county-wide culvert and bridge replacement program, with some central oversight, working with all the county towns, and prioritizing the needs, funding, and priorities. Wed be happy to wait so that a bridge in North Adams or Sheffield gets repaired ahead of one in Hinsdale if we knew ours were going to get done in a year or two. The time and energy we all spent planning for and trying to secure a large grant, and the $15-20K we each spend on all the different engineering needed to apply, makes it almost impossible for a small town to keep up. We should have several County engineers on retainer or staff, rather than pay so much project by project, town by town. The entire process needs to be examined and redesigned to be more efficient, productive, and cost-effective. (Sorry, you asked!)
Leverett	the old STRAP program (which has been enfolded into massworks) could be recreated just for small town road projects and funded, the small bridge program restrictions could be loosened so that more bridge repairs would qualify for it. grant funds (vs. loans) for municipal building and infrastructure projects could be made available. we have a $3 million water construction project that is only eligible for loan support right now and construction projects on buildings, such as new roofs or new heating systems would be completed before they fail if grant funds were available. I am not sure why you have excluded the schools, since their infrastructure problems become those of the towns to figure out how to fund and finance and they are 2/3 of our budget and expenses.
Leyden	Grants - there should be accountability. Direct appropriation could be used in a wasteful manner unless there was a mechanism for reporting. I think grants makes departments prioritize what needs to be done. looking back at the homeland security money that was given to municipalities years ago it was spent in a wasteful manner.
Montague	Wastewater treatment and collection systems represent MASSIVE liability from an environmental and financial perspective. Small user base that is not expanding makes needed investment close to implausible. With a 1:3 debt to operating budget ratio, it must be grants. A well-funded and strategic bridge investment program is long overdue. The cost of engineering and complying with design requirements makes even a single bridge project a \
Monterey	More chapter 90 funds, grants
North Adams	Permanently increased funding of Chapter 90 to at least $300 million; multi-year chapter 90 allocations; more funding for dam, bridge, culvert, flood control systems; dedicated funding mechanism for IT infrastructure ( e.g., a Chapter 90 for IT and cybersecurity).
Northampton	Direct appropriation. We have no problem bonding - we have a AAA bond rating. Direct appropriations would allow us to do more and borrow less.
Northfield	See answer to #5 above. Also help with the costs of engineering and bidding.
Otis	Unsure at this time
Peru	More funding for schools. We pay over 65 percent of the town annual budget on schools. It isnt sustainable! We have a very high tax rate because we have almost no businesses (commercial or industrial) We have only 815 people, mostly elderly, only 400 homes, with a significant number being trailers, so the actual real estate value is low, and it is a detriment to someone wanting to build a new home in this town, because the tax rate is high because of the cost of schools. It isnt a pretty picture! and now we are building a new high school which will increase taxes more! We need help! We also need to upgrade the town office building, the library is in terrible condition, and we have limited funds to just operate the town on yearly basis.
Pittsfield	direct grants
Plainfield	All of the above might work, but experience has shown that consistency in the application and reporting processes for any/all grants, etc. is a necessity.
Richmond	raise the transportation bond percentage to focus more on small towns. Especially those with out the use of public transportation.
Savoy	Less red tape in obtaining funds, small communities under 2,500 residents should have reduced requirements from larger ones. Generally increased funding for the DCR would help Savoy, possibly for a roads program along State Forest land. Increased recognition at the state level of the need to protect undeveloped areas in the state for the environmental benefits they provide like clean air and water thru increased funding of state land. Massachusetts is not very big, not making more land. The underfunding of state owned land can make folks bitter towards DCR and state owned land.
South Hadley	Sewer infrastructure, especially in older sections of town, sidewalks (more people are seeking pedestrian ways), parks
Southwick	all other sources would be great. direct federal dollars like in the 1960 and 1970.
Stockbridge	zero interest loans, more grants, direct appropriation.
Ware	Grants for water/sewer. Increase the Chapter 90 pool to $300 million. Flexibility on the small bridges program participation
Warwick	$6M statewide for STRAP is WAY TOO LITTLE FUNDING>
Washington	Direct appropriation with a long-term budget guarantee.
Whately	Financial assistance with culvert replacement. The new stream crossing standards make it extremely expensive to replace culverts. In the past, culverts could be replaced within a day... now it takes months and tens of thousands of dollars between design, permitting and construction for open bottomed culverts.
Windsor	Grants: STRAP, MVP PILOT - changes to this policy,. Direct appropriation - similar to Ch90

*  These answers are quoted directly from survey responses and are not edited.

177. DOR Income, EQV, and Population. Department of Revenue. 2020. Retrieved from: https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/‌reports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=DOR_Income_EQV_Per_Capita