Where can I find out how much my municipality will get in CHIPS funds?

The New York State Department of Transportation has a webpage devoted to CHIPS (Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program).

The website explains the allocation formula for both the Transportation Improvement Fund (TIF) and the Local Assistance Fund (LAF). Links on the right side of the page provide more information including the amounts available for each municipality.

Here is a brief summary of the TIF and LAF funds. The TIF stays constant at $145 million annually while the LAF amount varies based upon the final state budget. The LAF amount each year is proportional to the amount received under the 1979 Safer Local Roads and Streets Program (SLRSP) which was funded at $100 million.

Transportation Improvement Fund (TIF) - $145 million annually

20.7% ($30 million) is distributed to counties and NYC on the basis of their relative shares of motor vehicle registrations
20.7% ($30 million) is distributed to counties and NYC on the basis of their relative shares of centerline highway mileage, except interstate and state highways.
58.6% ($85 million) is distributed to all municipalities in a two part process.
- First, the money is split into individual amounts for cities, counties, villages, and towns on the basis of relative vehicle miles of travel
  (42.7% for cities, 18.5% for counties, 10.7% for villages, and 28.1% for towns)
- Amounts so allocated to each municipality class are then apportioned within that class on the basis of the relative number of lane-miles, exclusive of parking lanes, under the maintenance jurisdiction of each municipality.

Note: There is a "hold harmless" provision that keeps the amount above a certain historical minimum for each municipality.

Local Assistance Fund (LAF) - Amount varies from year to year

Distributed to municipalities as follows: (a) towns (38%); (b) counties (30%); (c) NYC (14%); (d) other cities (9 %); and (e) villages (9%).

To determine the amount of LAF funds available in a particular year, just use a ratio of the amount in the budget divided by $100 million. If the Statewide LAF is $218.097 million in a particular State Fiscal Year (SFY), the LAF amount to each municipality would be derived by simply multiplying the municipality's historical SLRSP figure by 2.18097 (218.097 / 100).

Resources

Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS)
Project Eligibility (Word document)
CHIPS Guidelines (pdf)
NYSDOT