The state has several bond measures on next Tuesday’s ballot, and they haven’t received a lot of media coverage. Bond measures never do, they’re the hidden part of doing the people’s work when the budget doesn’t permit very large expenditures in a given biennium. The bills don’t come due for a while, and if interest rates are low, it’s hard to even recall that Maine has a certain amount of indebtedness that isn’t tied to Medicaid payments.

Maine’s debt, per capita, is lower than the average of the other states — by far. If each of us chipped in $845, Maine would be debt-free, compared to $1,117 on average everywhere else. Maine doesn’t have a debt ceiling, which makes bonding an attractive way to solve needs, and many bond items attract new federal dollars.

So the brouhaha this year about whether the governor would allow some transportation bonds to be sold was unfortunate from a number of standpoints.

Maine really does have bad roads and poor public transit, and the bonds in question, if sold, would have triggered a federal match of an equal or greater sum to which Maine would have ultimately become indebted. Plus, the jobs that would have been generated would have been incredibly welcome. And tourists are more likely to show up if they don’t have to destroy their cars and RVs and boat trailers to do it.

This year, there are five bond measures on the ballot.

Question 1 reads: Do you favor a $14,000,000 bond issue to provide funds for the state’s share of maintenance, repair, capital improvement, modernization and energy efficiency projects for Maine Army National Guard readiness centers and support facilities and the purchase of land for training and to draw down federal matching funds?

This bond measure would pay to improve armories to make them gender-compliant, and to provide funding for the purchase of land to be a National Guard training facility. That piece, at least, would trigger federal funding.

There is no question that the armories have significant deficiencies — most were built in the 1940s and, in many cases, no improvements have been done since. Doing energy efficiency work would likely save more than would be spent, over time. The armories also are used as community centers in many locations.

Question 2 reads: Do you favor a $15,500,000 bond issue to enhance educational and employment opportunities for Maine citizens and students by updating and improving existing laboratory and classroom facilities of the University of Maine System statewide?

This one is self-explanatory. The funding is needed by the University of Maine system to improve education and to improve laboratories and classrooms throughout the state. No federal match would be triggered. However, the state does not incur the debt. Bonds issued by the University of Maine are repaid by the university system, not state taxpayers.

Question 3 asks: Do you favor a $100,000,000 bond issue for reconstruction and rehabilitation of highways and bridges and for facilities or equipment related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, freight and passenger railroads, aviation and transit, to be used to match an estimated $154,000,000 in federal and other funds?

This transportation bond would be matched by $154 million in federal and other funds, making Maine Department of Transportation’s buying power much greater. This additional benefit is added to additional stimulus factors in the communities where the work is being done. People who have jobs directly or indirectly because of the work pay taxes and make purchases that they wouldn’t otherwise make, and therefore, other people have jobs they wouldn’t have, pay taxes and make purchases, and so on. So a transportation bond, in addition to getting necessary work done, is also a form of fiscal stimulus, important in a state where job growth has been sluggish.

Question 4 reads: Do you favor a $4,500,000 bond issue to provide funds for a public-private partnership for a building project for a new science facility at the Maine Maritime Academy to be matched by other funds?

The Maine Maritime Academy is a public postsecondary college and nautical training institution with approximately 800 students in Castine. It is one of the nation’s six nautical colleges, training merchant mariners as well as engineers, marine scientists and biologists, and other marine and energy-based careers. This bond would pay for a science center, and other funding, including corporate funding, would be added to the state bond.

Question 5 asks: Do you favor a $15,500,000 bond issue to upgrade buildings, classrooms and laboratories on the 7 campuses of the Maine Community College System in order to increase capacity to serve more students through expanded programs in health care, precision machining, information technology, criminal justice and other key programs?

This bond is similar to the University of Maine bond, except that, as a land grant organization, the UMaine system can issue bonds on its own, and the community colleges cannot. University bonds are often voted for in years when community college grants are not. However, the community college system serves far more students than the university does, costs less than the University does, and often produces a working adult in two, not four years.

However you choose to vote, please do vote on Tuesday.

GINA HAMILTON, of Bath, is a Times Record staff writer and editor of the New Maine Times