Opportunity knocks | Maine should embrace federal and state stimulus packages even with the deficit
On Jan. 27, voters in Dover-Foxcroft decided to increase the debt limit of their local water district, overturning a vote taken in November. Their action allows for the replacement of a water main in the center of town before the Maine Dept. of Transportation rebuilds the road it runs through later this spring. The water main is 121 years old and feeds Foxcroft Academy, the local hospital, a nursing home and many businesses.
To their credit, the citizens of Dover-Foxcroft realized saying “no” to the water main replacement wasn’t an option. Statewide, Maine’s water and wastewater utilities require $35 to $50 million in maintenance and capital improvements annually.
Transportation infrastructure is similarly challenged and Maine DOT officials tell us the system is underfunded to the tune of $200 million per year. This means highway reconstruction and required bridge repairs aren’t happening as needed. While public officials at all levels of government grapple with revenue shortfalls, it is important to remember steel, concrete and 100-year-old pipe don’t care about the ups and downs of our economy.
Stimuli and change
Officials in Washington, D.C., have been talking for months about the importance of passing an economic stimulus package, and many Maine business owners are checking their watches waiting for some relief to land. While the federal stimulus package is being sold as an effort to revitalize the economy by ostensibly injecting hundreds of billions into much-needed infrastructure repair, the reality is that only a small percentage of the package, as it was crafted at press time, will result in anything at all being built. The U.S. Senate version of the bill includes fewer than $30 billion out of $825 billion) for roads and bridges. This is less than 4% of the entire package.
The federal stimulus package is certainly a step in the right direction, but the reality is that Maine’s share of transportation funding, about $140 million as the bill is currently crafted, is less than our existing $200 million annual funding shortfall. Put another way, we will only underfund the system by $60 million this year, instead of by $200 million. And after this year, we’ll be back to square one.
Clearly, despite the infusion of federal dollars, we must do more to keep people working and maintain our public facilities. What next?
First, we need to pass the federal stimulus package. Maine’s congressional delegation has been actively working to ensure the stimulus package puts as many Mainers to work as possible. Their changes to the package will help ensure the bill does as much for Maine as possible.
Second, the state needs to pass a similar stimulus package that picks up where the federal plan leaves off. Gov. Baldacci and legislative leaders have indicated a desire to have a significant state stimulus package. A state bond package predicated on creating jobs and fixing critical infrastructure should be a high priority.
Finally, we need to change. We need to embrace economic growth and the opportunities before us or they will disappear. In Maine, there are many more private-sector dollars ready to go to work than public-sector dollars — even considering the combined state and federal stimulus plans. We need to get these dollars into the economy.
Debt to prosperity
Utility upgrades, wind development, affordable housing and an East-West highway are all within our grasp during this legislative session. Further, Central Maine Power Co. has a $1.5 billion investment pending before the Maine Public Utilities Commission with a decision due in July. Other states have chosen to make utility and transportation upgrades the cornerstones of their economic revitalization and Maine should do the same. If our state policy-makers are serious about creating jobs, then you will see action on these fronts before the Legislature adjourns in June.
We’ve heard a lot about the need for change during the past year. Our congressional delegation, governor and legislators are all working hard to assemble the best publicly funded stimulus packages possible. Citizens should do their part, too, by preparing to accept needed private-sector investments in our state. We can no longer afford to say “no” or “maybe later” to private-sector investment.
State officials should look at pending private-sector development opportunities as the best possible way of leveraging the state and federal tax dollars intended to revitalize the economy.
If the only thing that changes in Maine during this economic downturn is the amount we’re willing to add to the public debt, we will have missed a historic opportunity. Maine people are hungry for jobs and a chance to prosper. Like the voters of Dover-Foxcroft, opinion leaders, policy-makers and regulators must realize that the time for saying “no” has passed.
John O’Dea is executive director of Associated General Contractors of Maine. He can be reached at editorial@mainebiz.biz.
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