Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-12-04

SoAS A~No S0Aty AZ NAS PAA
and to get a good start on all of this
work early next season.
There is an apparent tendency on
the part of the people of this State
to constantly give more RESPONSE
bility for highways into the hands
of the State Highway Commission.
The latest indication Of this ten
dency is seen in the passage Of the
Granville Bill. SO called. BY the spe-
cial session OF the legislature. This
act is designed to in a measure equal
ize the highway burden in the follow
Ing way: The average rate of taxa
ton for highway purposes in all the
cities and towns of the State is about
four mills The act provides that
any city or town which makes an
appropriation for ways and bridges.
exclusive of its appropriation for
State aid road, Or for assistance I'M
der the general bridge act. and that
appropriation is not less than the
average amount raised for ways and
bridges during the preceding five
years and the amount equals four
mills on the valuation of the town,
may receive from the State $1,000 for
each mile OF wrought highway in the
town. and for each one mill which
the tax rate for highways increases
the town shall receive an additional
s1.00 per mile for each mile of
wrought highways The act pro-
yides hat the municipal officers Of
the town and the Highway Commits
sion shall agree upon abroad to be
improved and upon the type OF i'm
! provement which maybe made. Pro-
vision is also made that roads built
under this act shall be properly
maintained or towns will forfeit the
right Of future benefits under the
act.
This looks like providing for "a
| second State aid road in a way, ex-
expense of improvement. This. as
ISOLATION should take it's share OF
credit for the passage Of this act.
In closing l just want to touch on
one point in connection with the work
Of the Commission which to my mind
| appears quite serious at the present
! moment. That is the question OF
funds for properly carrying out our
| maintenance work. The new bond
! issue is to be financed out of auto
mobile license fees, the same as the
! original bond issue has been handled.
should think a conservative esti-
/ mate of the amount of money need
| ed n-1s2o against this new bond is
sue would be $4,000. possibly the
| amount will run to 100000. 1t is
, probable that fees next year will IN
! crease $4,000 over the mou re-
, ceived this year. SO that the new
| bond issue will take substantially. all
Of the increased fees which we may
! expect to receive during 1920.
During 1918 we had an actual
! deficit in u maintenance account OF
500, 900. ON the first day of Decem-
Der this year the deficit was 100000
| and expenditures will be made every
day during the balance Of the year
which must be charged to this &C
| count. Next year we shall have an
increased mileage of improved read
to be taken care of. Maintenance
/. costs are increasing every year. We
| may take about $4,000 from the mill
! tax highway fund. which was estab-
| lished in 1917 for construction pur-
poses u all of which has already
, been designated by the legislature,
with the exception Of $4,000. for
specific The point l am
/! trying to bring out is that during
1918 and 1919 we have had insult
| fcient funds to carry on our main
| tenance program and I fear that in
1920 we shall have a much larger
| deficit if we are allowed to carry on
| our work to the end of the season
than we have had this year or last.
| 1t seems to me that this association
| a do no better work during the
| next yea than to lay plans Tor pre-
| senting to the text legislature some
definite program which will provide
sufficient funds for carrying on the
| maintenance of State and State aid
| roads. have always taken the posi-
| ton. and am ready to reassert 1t,
| that when we can no longer afford to
| maintain roads we should stop our
| construction program. II
! seems to me it is the height OF folly
| TO increase our investment in i'm
proved roads without at the same
| time seeing that sufficient funds are
provided for properly conserving the
investment. We could probably use
so per cent more maintenance money
than we have had in any n year.
Most of our patrolmen have ten
! miles of road to take care of and it
goes without saying that they could
look after six miles or seven miles
much better than they can ten miles.
I might say that we often receive
criticism about the condition OF a
certain piece Of road. The only rea-
son for it's condition is that we have
not sufficient funds to make it bet
ter.
I hope every member of this as
ISOLATION will think seriously about