State Rep. Richard Smith (R-108, representing Danbury, New Fairfield and Sherman) has called for the state to release $30 million in Town Aid Road Grants to address damage caused by the recent series of nor”™easters.
The TAR grants have been withheld since December due to the Special Transportation Fund”™s budget shortfall.
“If state officials do not release TAR grants to municipalities now, it will have devastating effects on the condition of local roads in the spring,” Smith said. “Northern Fairfield County has experienced three nor’easters in the past month, with another one possible this week.”
Smith accused Gov. Dannel Malloy of using the TAR grants as “a political football,” noting that the state had budgeted $60 million in TAR grants for the fiscal year, but that Malloy had decided to suspend half of the funding due to the shortfall.
“We cannot put Connecticut drivers at risk this spring and summer because of a spending dispute,” Smith said. “The governor needs to release these funds immediately.”
Smith also asked Malloy to put TAR grants on the agenda for the next State Bond Commission meeting this spring to ensure towns have sufficient funding for infrastructure projects.
