October 16th, 2012 by WCBC Radio
Cities, towns and counties across Maryland are repeating calls for the state government to restore transportation funding to municipal coffers after three years of the money going toward balancing the state budget. At the recent Maryland Municipal League fall conference, representatives of the 157 member cities and towns voted on two priorities for the 2013 General Assembly session, both reflecting tight municipal budgets the past few years. One priority is to get the state to share the Highway User Fund with municipalities as in previous years, and the other is to allow cities to stop having to post legal notices in newspapers. Highway user funding comes from fuel taxes and other transportation fees, and historically the state has shared that money with municipalities. In 2008, municipalities across the state received $45 million from the fund. By 2011, that number dropped to $1.6 million, then inched back up to $6.5 million in 2012. Allegany County Commissioner Mike McKay said "local governments are banding together to lobby for the return of those funds."
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