Commuter rail will cost us all

 By MICHAEL W. FREEMAN

 FALL RIVER -- If Fall River, New Bedford and surrounding towns want to get commuter rail service to Boston, it's going to cost them.

 The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority already assesses a fee to communities in Greater Boston that host commuter rail stations. However, on Saturday, the state House of Representatives voted to spread that fee out to cities and towns bordering on the host communities.

 That measure became part of the House version of the state's fiscal 2000 budget. If the new fee system survives in the state Senate, then virtually every community in Greater Fall River and Greater New Bedford could end up paying an assessed fee to the MBTA.

 "I believe they will assess Somerset, Westport, Freetown, all the way up the (train) route, even though they are not directly hosting the route," said state Rep. Joan M. Menard, D-Somerset. "I think that's an obvious fact."

 She added that city leaders in Fall River and New Bedford, who have been pushing so hard for commuter rail, should prepare financially for the assessments.

 "At some point, if the MBTA puts commuter rail through our district, they will be assessed, no question about it," she said. "It's a reality."

 State Rep. Michael J. Rodrigues, D-Westport, acknowledged this is a "contentious" matter, but he said lawmakers viewed this as a fairness issue, and not just to the communities with the good fortune to host a rail station.

 "Originally there was an assessment schedule saying only those communities that physically have a commuter rail would pay," Rodrigues said. "That put a higher assessment on a small number of communities. What they did after that was spread the assessment, not just on communities with commuter rail, but those directly contiguous to commuter rail. The argument is if you live in a town directly contiguous to commuter rail, you will get a lower rate of assessment, but you can very easily get to the train."

 Menard and Rodrigues said that while no town wants to pay an assessment, it's perhaps the best way to fund a rail system. The other option would be to use general revenues, meaning that every Massachusetts resident -- even those who don't live anywhere near a commuter rail line -- would finance through their income taxes.

 "Who's paying for now?" Rodrigues asked. "The citizens of Fall River and New Bedford have been paying for anyway, through the income tax. You get nothing for nothing."

 He added that currently the MBTA does not charge enough through its fare to properly maintain the system

 "The fares are too low," he said. "The MBTA has the lowest level of fare support in North America."

 "I don't think should be limited to the host communities," Menard said of the assessments. "Their rationale was those folks, even though they do not have commuter rail through their district, have close access to and should share in the assessment. Obviously, there has to be an assessment, because the fairs do not pay for commuter rail."

 Menard added that it's not clear yet what how much the assessment will be.

 "I don't know how they determine it," she said. "We have not been able to figure that out. We just have to wait and see."

 Still, she added that "We have some control over that. The MBTA has to put that before the Legislature, and certainly if the formula is not fair and equitable to all the communities, then we can change it."

 The lawmakers said the House budget did address another critical commuter rail issue: incorporates language stating that the Legislature, and not the MBTA, will select the route that connects Fall River and New Bedford to Boston.

 Area legislators are united in believing this region should be connected to Boston through the existing station in Stoughton, while the MBTA has wavered between Stoughton and the Attleboro station.

 "The reason it's important is because we think we represent the people in the district, and the executives and officials in the MBTA don't," Menard said. "They don't seem to be empathetic with the people of southeastern Massachusetts."

 "It's very important," Rodrigues added. "We in the Legislature collectively have a much better handle on and feeling for what our constituency wants, especially when comes to transportation projects like commuter rail. We want to retain that control, that we select the route. We don't want a group of directors from MBTA making decisions for us."