June 1942] Agricultural Experiment Station 25 



The proposed Duncan aid formula would by no means completely 

 equalize town road costs and road services, but it would be another 

 important step in that direction. As a matter of fact, it is extremely 

 doubtful if complete equalization could be accomplished by any means 

 short of the State's taking over the construction and maintenance of 

 all Class V roads to the complete exclusion of the towns. Although 

 the well known merits of local self government are many, variations 

 in costs and equality of public services are undeniably a by-product 

 of this system. The State cannot entirely eliminate these variations 

 without taking away practically all of the local unit's prerogatives. 

 On the other hand, the interest of the State as a whole demands that 

 these variations be not too extreme. The proposed amendment of* 

 the Duncan aid formula would have the desired effect of reducing the 

 extremes in rural town road costs and services. 



STATE SUPERVISION OF DUNCAN AID EXPENDITURES 



That the State, with its more varied and productive revenue 

 sources, should assist hard-pressed towns in maintaining road services 

 through grants-in-aid is a principle which has found concrete expres- 

 sion in New Hampshire. If properly used by the towns, the State 

 could spend its money in no more profitable manner. If, on the other 

 liand, State aid merely serves to encourage inefficiency in local ad- 

 ministration, the State is guilty of reckless expenditure of the public's 

 money. It is no less a duty of the State to insure that the aid is cor- 

 rectly used than to make the aid available in the first place. 



In view of the present wide variation in town road administrative 

 organization and efficiency, uniform town efficiency in the use of 

 State road aids can be approached only through State supervision. 

 Town road agents, or road supervisors, range in number from one to 

 15 or 20 per town. Their abilities are equally variable. Whether 

 they are elected at tow^n meeting or are appointed by the selectmen, in 

 general, they are relatively free from effective town supervision. From 

 the standpoint of the State taxpayers as a whole, it is only fair to in- 

 sure that the sums given to an individual town for the support of its 

 roads should be used for that purpose alone and in the most efficient 

 manner possible. 



The principle of supervising State aids to Class V roads has been 

 adopted under the TRA allotment fund. The town's contribution 

 (25 percent) is paid to the State to be held, together with the State's 

 contribution to that particular town. Use of the TRA money is 

 strictly confined to the permanent improvement of Class V roads and 

 is expended "under the supervision of and on locations approved by 

 the highway commissioner." '^ Although the town may request that 

 this money be spent on a particular stretch of road or that a road be 

 improved in a particular manner, necessary funds for this improve- 

 ment cannot be released without the approval of the division engineer. 

 Actually, this State supervision does not deprive the town of a voice 



21 p. L. Chap. 84, Sec. 26 c. 



