Photo: Elijah-Lovkoff / iStock / Getty Images
BOSTON (State House News Service) - The Healey administration announced Tuesday that it will begin to assembled interested leaders from the state's 357 cities, towns and federally recognized tribes monthly to keep them abreast of opportunities to try for federal funding.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll will kick off the first meeting of the Massachusetts Federal Funds Partnership for Municipalities and Tribes on Oct. 25 to provide updates on relevant federal funding opportunities and resources for technical assistance and state matching funds. It's part of Healey's push to maximize federal funding for the Bay State.
"As a former Mayor, I know how hard it can be to navigate the process for available funds," Driscoll, the former longtime mayor of Salem, said in a statement. "This partnership will open lines of communication between the state, federal offices and municipalities on the ground. We want to make it easy for everyone to get the information they need and access the resources available to them so they can bring home federal dollars to their communities."
Quentin Palfrey, the administration's director of federal funds and infrastructure, will oversee the partnership and the meetings will run in partnership with the Regional Planning Associations and the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimated last month that Massachusetts could secure up to $17 billion in federal infrastructure spending through three laws, but only if it puts about $800 million more of its own money on the line.
The Healey administration for months has been unsuccessfully pushing for the Biden administration to expedite work authorizations for newly arrived migrants and make federal funding available to offset some of the costs states like Massachusetts and its municipalities incur from sheltering migrant families. And Massachusetts officials are still trying to secure federal funding to help cover replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges over the Cape Cod Canal.
Written By Colin A. Young/SHNS
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