The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-08-08

Monies considerably in excess
 of those provided as Connecticut's $2,865,740 share of the National Industrial Recovery act highway appropriation is likely to become available to the state and its 169 towns for highway improvement if the Conencticut Federal Public Works Advisory board interprets the general public works section of the MIRA as Highway Commits sioner John A. Macdonald did at a hearing of the board in New London yesterday.
 Commissioner Macdonald told
 the board that in his opinion these
 additional funds can be obtained for the state and it's town under
 the MIRA provision that political subdivisions of the United States
 may receive federal financing for
 public works and need pay back to
 the federal government only 70 per cent of the total amount ad- | vanced.
 He explained that the state had available in addition to all allot- ments by the federal government for federal aid highways, both regular and emergency, together with the state funds necessary to meet the federal. requirements in the expenditure of such funds, ap- proximately $3,500,000; and that 1t was his opinion that a federal grant of about $1,500,000 would be available under the MIRA, as- suming that the $3,500,0 be con- strued as 70 per cent of the pro- gram and that the federal govern ment would grant the remaining 30 per cent.
 This section, he explained, is to be distinguished entirely from the highway section of the MIRA which provides .$400,000,O00 appropria- tion to be divided among the states specifically for use on the high ways. Thus, the highway section
 provides an absolute outlay of funds, while the public works sec-
 30 per cent of the money expend-
 ed.
 Commissioner Macdonald feels that inasmuch as highways are public works they may be financed
 under the public works section in
 the same manner as might the
 erection of public building or
 any state or municipal improve
 ment. He contends, moreover, that
 if state or any of its sub-divi-
 sions has money already appropri- ated for public works, such as the
 state highway fund, it may apply
 to the federal government to in-
 crease this amount by outright
 grant. In other words, instead of
 borrowing money from the federal government to finance public
 works and paying back over a
 period of years 70 per cent of the
 total outlay, the staet should now
 be able to establish its highway
 construction funds as that 70 per cent and obtain an outright in-
 crease of 30 per cent.
 To illustrate in round numbers,
 if the state has $3,500,000 appro- | priated for road construction and
 the projects are to cost $5,000,-
 900, it may under the MIRA pro- visions ask the federal govern
 ment for the necessary. addition $1,500,000. This, in effect, is the same as if the state borrowed $5,- 000,000 from the federal govern ment and immediately paid back $3,500,000 or 70 per cent of the total. The balance of $1,500,000
 would thus be an outright grant and 1t shouIud make no difference to the federal government whether 1 the 70 per cent is borrowed and paid back or whether it is avail able without such borrowing. Towns May Gain.
 The individual towns in Connec- ticut, as explained by State Aid Agent w. B. Hulse of the highway department, should be able to deal with the federal government under the public works section even more advantageously than the state in general.
 Connecticut several years ago decreed through it's general as- sembly that $1,000,000 per year. to- gether with certain other funds, aggregating approximately $1,250,- 900 should be set aside from the highway fund for the construc- ton of state aid highways Gown roads not on the Trunk Line or primary system). The legislature provided that the money would be used to pay the larger part of the cost of this construction and that the towns would pay only a small part of the cost. This an- nual allotment is divided among the towns which apply for 1t and used by the state to pay seven- eights of the cost of road con-. struction in towns whose annual tax returns are less than $30,000
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