The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 19 : Highways

Chapter 003 : Town Highways

• § 306. Appropriation; State aid for town highways

  (a) General State aid to town highways.

  (1) An annual appropriation to class 1, 2, and 3 town highways shall be made. This appropriation shall increase over the previous fiscal year’s appropriation by the same percentage change as the following, whichever is less, or shall remain at the previous fiscal year’s appropriation if either of the following are negative or zero:

  (A) the percentage change of the Agency’s total appropriations funded by Transportation Fund revenues, excluding appropriations for town highways under this subsection (a), for the most recently closed fiscal year as compared to the fiscal year immediately preceding the most recently closed fiscal year; or

  (B) the percentage change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

  (2) For purposes of subdivision (1)(B) of this subsection, the percentage change in the CPI-U is calculated by determining the increase or decrease, to the nearest one-tenth of a percent, in the CPI-U for the month ending on June 30 in the calendar year one year prior to the first day of the fiscal year for which the appropriation will be made compared to the CPI-U for the month ending on June 30 in the calendar year two years prior to the first day of the fiscal year for which the appropriation will be made.

  (3) The funds appropriated shall be distributed to towns as follows:

  (A) Six percent of the State’s annual town highway appropriation shall be apportioned to class 1 town highways. The apportionment for each town shall be that town’s percentage of class 1 town highways of the total class 1 town highway mileage in the State.

  (B) Forty-four percent of the State’s annual town highway appropriation shall be apportioned to class 2 town highways. The apportionment for each town shall be that town’s percentage of class 2 town highways of the total class 2 town highway mileage in the State.

  (C) Fifty percent of the State’s annual town highway appropriation shall be apportioned to class 3 town highways. The apportionment for each town shall be that town’s percentage of class 3 town highways of the total class 3 town highway mileage in the State.

  (D) Monies apportioned under subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection (a) shall be distributed to each town in quarterly payments beginning July 15 in each year.

  (E) Each town shall use the monies apportioned to it solely for town highway construction, improvement, and maintenance purposes or as the nonfederal share for public transit assistance. These funds may also be used for the establishment and maintenance of bicycle routes and sidewalks. The members of the selectboard shall be personally liable to the State, in a civil action brought by the Attorney General, for making any unauthorized expenditures from money apportioned to the town under this section.

  (b) Supplemental State aid for multilane class 1 town highways. There shall be an annual appropriation for supplemental aid to municipalities having class 1 town highways with more than two lanes. The Agency shall distribute this aid on the basis of its measurement of the additional class 1 town highway lanes. The Secretary may adopt rules to govern apportionment of supplemental aid.

  (c) State aid for town highway bridges. There shall be an annual appropriation for town bridge engineering services and for aid in maintaining or constructing bridges having a span of six feet or more on class 1, 2, and 3 town highways. Annually, the Agency shall expend these funds according to the Transportation Program approved by the General Assembly. With the approval of the Agency, funds may be used for alternatives that eliminate the need for a bridge or bridges, including construction or reconstruction of highways, purchase of parcels of land that would be landlocked by closure of a bridge or bridges, payment of damages for loss of highway access, and substitution of other means of access.

  (d) State aid for nonfederal disasters. There shall be an annual appropriation for emergency aid in repairing, building, or reconstructing class 1, 2, or 3 town highways and for repairing or replacing drainage structures including bridges on class 1, 2, 3, and 4 town highways damaged by natural or man-made disasters. Eligibility for use of emergency aid under this appropriation shall be subject to the following criteria:

  (1) The Secretary of Transportation shall determine that the disaster is of such magnitude that State aid is both reasonable and necessary to preserve the public good. If total cumulative damages to town highways and drainage structures are less than the value of 10 percent of the town’s overall total highway budget excluding the town’s winter maintenance budget, the disaster shall not qualify for assistance under this subsection.

  (2) The disaster shall not qualify for major disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121 et seq., or from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under the 23 C.F.R. Part 668 Emergency Relief Program for federal-aid highways.

  (3) Towns shall be eligible for reimbursement for repair or replacement costs of either up to 90 percent of the eligible repair or replacement costs or the eligible repair or replacement costs, minus an amount equal to 10 percent of the overall total highway budget, minus the town’s winter maintenance budget, whichever is greater.

  (4) For towns that have adopted road and bridge standards, eligibility for reimbursement for repair or replacement of infrastructure shall be to those standards. For towns that have not adopted these standards, eligibility for reimbursement for repair or replacement of infrastructure shall be limited to the specifications of the infrastructure that preexisted the emergency event; however, the repair or replacement shall be to standards approved by the Agency of Transportation.

  (5) For a drainage structure on a class 4 town highway to be eligible for repair or replacement under this subsection, the town must document that it maintained the structure prior to the nonfederal disaster.

  (6) Such additional criteria as may be adopted by the Agency of Transportation through rulemaking under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25.

  (e) State aid for town highway structures.

  (1) There shall be an annual appropriation for grants to municipalities for maintenance (including actions to extend life expectancy) and for construction of bridges and culverts; for maintenance and construction of other structures, including causeways and retaining walls, intended to preserve the integrity of the traveled portion of class 1, 2, and 3 town highways; and for alternatives that eliminate the need for a bridge, culvert, or other structure, such as the construction or reconstruction of a highway, the purchase of parcels of land that would be landlocked by closure of a bridge, the payment of damages for loss of highway access, and the substitution of other means of access.

  (2) Each fiscal year, the Agency shall approve qualifying projects with a total estimated State share cost of $7,200,000.00 at a minimum as new grants. The Agency’s proposed appropriation for the Program shall take into account the estimated amount of qualifying invoices submitted to the Agency with respect to project grants approved in prior years but not yet completed as well as with respect to new project grants to be approved in the fiscal year. In a given fiscal year, should expenditures in the Town Highway Structures Program exceed the amount appropriated, the Agency shall advise the Governor of the need to request a supplemental appropriation from the General Assembly to fund the additional project cost, provided that the Agency has previously committed to completing those projects.

  (3) Funds received as grants for State aid for town highway structures may be used by a municipality to satisfy a portion of the matching requirements for federal earmarks, subject to subsection 309b(c) of this title.

  (f) State aid for federal disasters.

  (1) Towns receiving assistance under the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program for federal-aid highways shall be eligible for State aid when a nonfederal match is required. Eligibility for aid under this subsection shall be subject to the following criteria:

  (A) Towns shall be responsible for up to 10 percent of the total eligible project costs.

  (B) For towns that have adopted road and bridge standards, eligibility for reimbursement for repair or replacement of infrastructure shall be to those standards. For towns that have not adopted these standards, eligibility for reimbursement for repair or replacement of infrastructure shall be limited to the specifications of the infrastructure that preexisted the emergency event; however, the repair or replacement shall be to standards approved by the Agency.

  (C) Such additional criteria as may be adopted by the Agency through rulemaking under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25.

  (2) Notwithstanding 32 V.S.A. § 706 and the limits on authorized program spending in an approved Transportation Program, the Secretary may transfer appropriations between the Program created in this subsection and the State Aid for Nonfederal Disasters Program created in subsection (d) of this section.

  (g) [Repealed.]

  (h) Class 2 Town Highway Roadway Program. There shall be an annual appropriation for grants to municipalities for resurfacing, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of paved or unpaved class 2 town highways. However, municipalities that have no State highways or class 1 town highways within their borders may use the grants for such activities with respect to both class 2 and class 3 town highways. Each fiscal year, the Agency shall approve qualifying projects with a total estimated State share cost of $8,600,000.00 at a minimum as new grants. The Agency’s proposed appropriation for the Program shall take into account the estimated amount of qualifying invoices submitted to the Agency with respect to project grants approved in prior years but not yet completed as well as with respect to new project grants to be approved in the fiscal year. In a given fiscal year, should expenditures in the Class 2 Town Highway Roadway Program exceed the amount appropriated, the Agency shall advise the Governor of the need to request a supplemental appropriation from the General Assembly to fund the additional project cost, provided that the Agency has previously committed to completing those projects. Funds received as grants for State aid under the Class 2 Town Highway Roadway Program may be used by a municipality to satisfy a portion of the matching requirements for federal earmarks, subject to subsection 309b(c) of this title.

  (i) Municipal Mitigation Assistance Program. The Agency shall administer the Municipal Mitigation Assistance Program. Through the Program, the Agency shall provide assistance and grants to municipalities for environmental mitigation projects related to stormwater and highways and for the establishment and operation of stormwater utilities. Municipalities shall match grants with local funds sufficient to cover 20 percent of the project costs, except that the Agency may issue grants for the establishment or operation of stormwater utilities without requiring a local match. From the operating expenses appropriated for the Program, the Agency is authorized to pay costs billed to the Agency by municipal stormwater utilities.

  (j) Annual town plan. Within 60 days of adoption of the town’s municipal budget, the selectboard of each town shall forward to the Agency on forms provided by the Agency a plan for the maintenance and construction of all highways under the selectboard’s control for the following year. The plan shall be made with the advice of the district transportation administrator. (Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 1993, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 17, 1994; 1995, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. May 22, 1996; 1997, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. April 27, 1998; 1999, No. 95 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2001, No. 64, § 13, eff. June 16, 2001; 2001, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 30; 2003, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 18, 51, eff. June 9, 2004; 2007, No. 75, §§ 18, 19; 2011, No. 62, § 19; 2011, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. May 16, 2012; 2015, No. 40, § 21, eff. June 16, 2015; 2015, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 6, 23; 2017, No. 38, § 10; 2017, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 2019, No. 59, § 17; 2019, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2021, No. 20, § 88; 2021, No. 55, § 15; 2023, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. July 1, 2024.)