Construction projects snagged in dispute between LePage and state treasurer

File Photo / Amber Waterman Matthew Marks, CEO of Associated General Contractors of Maine, says the state's road and bridge construction season could be lost if a dispute between Gov. Paul LePage and the state's treasurer over the state's bonding agent isn't settled soon.

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A dispute between Gov. Paul LePage and the state’s treasurer over the state’s bonding agent is putting approved transportation and other public projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars at risk just as this year’s construction season is revving up.

The Portland Press Herald reported that the dispute between LePage and state Treasurer Terry Hayes centers on the selection of a Dallas-based law firm to oversee the state’s bonds as they go to market. LePage alleges Hayes ignored a recommendation of the state’s procurement division and wants her to resubmit the RFP for the job, the newspaper reported. Hayes, who recently announced she is running for governor in 2018, said she handled the selection properly and is waiting for the governor to identify how much the state will be putting out to bonds in June.

The newspaper reported that LePage said if bonds aren’t issued, upwards of $600 million could be at risk in transportation projects the Maine Department of Transportation has lined up for the rest of the year.

“You have the potential for losing a whole year on road and bridge projects,” Matthew Marks, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, told the newspaper.