HADLEY — Getting funding for repairs to the dike and levee system along the Connecticut River, which protects Hadley center and a portion of Route 9, remains a priority for Sen. Jo Comeford, D-Northampton.
Yet both a $60 million bond authorization in the environmental bond bill, to cover some costs of this work, has not been appropriated, and a new commission to examine the needs of communities up and down the river has not yet made it out of committee.
“One of the conference bills that is pending is the Connecticut River Commission, that we call the Hadley Commission,” Comerford told the Select Board at its Nov. 4 meeting. “That’s because we need a state focus to help Hadley with the levee.”
As part of a conversation about legislative priorities, Comerford said this commission is critical for a unified plan, because what happens in Hatfield affects Hadley, just as any actions Hadley takes will affect Northampton.
“We have to act like one river, and this is going to allow us to act as one river, and to hopefully provide some focused support,” Comerford said.
Town Administrator Nate Malloy said estimates indicate there are $2 million to $3 million in immediate repairs needed to the levee system, which could get the structure accredited, and would allow the town to go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional assistance.
Currently, updated FEMA flood maps make it appear as if the town has no levee, which could drive up insurance rates for property owners.
Malloy said he is talking to Hatfield officials about cooperation and whether there are programs they could jointly seek funding from.
On other issues, Comerford said she has confidence that regional equity and support for rural communities is gaining traction in the Legislature.
“We have lots of opportunity to push harder and more strategically in this coming session for real gains,” Comerford said.
She said the funding formulas have been broken for way too long for Chapter 90 roads funding, Chapter 70 school funding, the payment-in-lieu of taxes on state-owned land and the Unrestricted General Government Aid. In each case, Comerford said the formulas were created without communities like Hadley in mind.
For Chapter 90, miles are now in the formula, which is an improvement, but “we’ve been shortchanged for too long,” Comerford said.
Both the targeted local contribution formula, the mandatory share of public school funding that a city or town is expected to raise locally under the Chapter 70 law, has not been opened in 18 years, while the Chapter 70 law hasn’t been opened since 2015.
On the former, Comerford said she anticipates there will be revelations. “It will deliver what I believe will be a blistering report, in terms of the algorithm,” Comerford said.
She said this will show that wealthier communities in Massachusetts could be paying 20 to 30 times more for education, while Hadley and other area cities and towns continue to struggle to get to the full funding requirements.
At a recent meeting with rural superintendents, including Hadley Superintendent Anne McKenzie, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials, Chapter 70 was discussed.
Comerford will be on a panel examining the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes on state-owned land. That could lead to better payments for what Hadley is doing to protect the unique ecosystems, creating biohabitat, sinking carbon and growing food.
Comerford characterized Unrestricted General Government Aid as “an abomination” and has no relationship to need or fairness, but the Legislature didn’t get a commission over the line for this to be studied.
Comerford said she appreciates the Healey administration has competitive grants available, and has been making revisions for broken formulas and scoring criteria.
She encouraged residents to get involved, that there are hundreds of spots on state boards and commissions, where people can actually have a voice. She said she is trying to get them held virtually or held in the region, so people don’t have to trek out to Boston.
