April 16th, 2014 by WCBC Radio
Mayors, council members and county commissioners from across the state spent much of the recently completed 2014 Maryland General Assembly session lobbying for the restoration of Highway User revenues- however those efforts proved unsuccessful. League members unanimously voted to make full funding of Municipal Highway User revenues as its top priority during the 2014 session of the Maryland General Assembly. The last time the cities and towns received full funding was 2008. The user fee revenue at its peak was $45 million. By fiscal year 2011 the allocation statewide had dwindled to $1.6 million. That challenges many smaller towns when it comes to funding such essential services as road and sidewalk repair and snow removal. Locally, Allegany County used to receive more than $4 million from the state for bridge and road maintenance but the drastic cuts have had a devastating impact on the budget. Allegany County Finance Director Jason Bennett says the cut in state highway funding has caused issues for the county…
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