BOSTON – A lawmaker from the Berkshires wants Massachusetts cities and towns to be able to decide for themselves whether to tack a surtax on to motor fuel sales to pay for improving the poor state of roads and bridges in their communities. On Tuesday, his proposal will take center stage at a public hearing on Beacon Hill.
Under the proposal from state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, a Lenox Democrat, cities and towns would be able to impose as much as a 3-cents-a-gallon surtax on gasoline or diesel fuel. Refilling station operators would send the revenue to the state, which would distribute it back to local communities. According to the proposed measure, the money could only be used for road and bridge repairs.
BOSTON – The track maintenance employee who racked up 2,600 overtime hours in less than a year "regularly approved his own overtime reporting form" and retired Jan. 31, according to ongoing audits of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
The audits undertaken by KPMG and an internal auditor found no evidence of fraud, though Jim Logan, the T's internal auditor, said he had found "a little bit of abuse of overtime here and there – not anything illegal."
