Stimulus tends to shortchange cities (N&O)
BY STEVE HARRISON AND BRUCE SICELOFF, McClatchy Newspapers
North Carolina's stimulus checkbook shows that rural counties have benefited more than urban counties on a per-person basis, with Wake and other populous counties getting less than an average share.
Federal funds allocated through June 30 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act add up to $328 for every state resident. The per-person share falls to $284 in Wake County and $252 in Durham County.
One urban county doing very well so far is Cumberland County, home to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg. The Department of Defense has poured money into the Army base, pushing Cumberland's per-person total to $816.
Many of the stimulus dollars are distributed by existing state formulas that favor rural over urban counties, and money is going to programs that focus on certain parts of the state.
“The Department of the Interior is spending money in the mountains and in the coasts,” said Dempsey Benton, who oversees stimulus spending in the state. “That's not going to help the Mecklenburgs and the Guilfords.”
Benton heads the N.C. Office of Economic Recovery and Investment, which recently released a county-by-county breakdown of stimulus funding. North Carolina has been allocated $3.2 billion through June 30 and has spent $1.3 billion.
The state will receive at least $8.2billion in all over three years, a figure that could grow by a few hundred million if North Carolina wins lucrative grants in several areas.
The stimulus, designed to jump-start the economy and improve the nation's infrastructure, includes money for construction projects such as roads and weatherizing buildings, and also assistance payments for food stamps and school systems.
As unemployment nationwide has hit 9.5 percent, a 26-year high, Republicans have criticized the stimulus as ineffective. One problem has been that money hasn't been spent as fast as the Obama administration hoped.
Benton said there has been a longer-than-expected lag time in federal agencies issuing rules as to how the money must be spent. But he said North Carolina is moving quickly to spend the money.
Most public works projects that will use stimulus funds have not begun construction. But stimulus safety-net spending gets into the economy quickly, Benton said. So far the state has received more than $580 million for extra food stamps, Social Security Insurance and unemployment payments.
“That money has come into the system and is recycling through the community,” Benton said.
What's slated for Wake
The state's most populous counties, Wake and Mecklenburg, have been shortchanged in highway dollars because the money is distributed according to the state's equity formula, which Gene Conti, the state transportation secretary, said penalizes urban areas.
Wake has been allocated $49.8million in stimulus money for roads and bridges. The biggest single share, $13.9 million, will widen a stretch of U.S. 401 north of Raleigh. Most of the local road funds will be spent on smaller projects to repave freeways and build miles of greenway trails.
By contrast, the state DOT office overseeing five counties in central North Carolina chose to spend all of its stimulus highway dollars — $64 million — in Fayetteville. That will help build part of the city's Interstate 295 loop.
“The major issue here is that the DOT just did not have a lot of big projects ready to go in the
Raleigh will combine $7.6 million in stimulus funds with other grants to start work on a $22.5 million bus garage and operations center that is a key part of planned transit expansion over the next 25 years.
“We are very pleased with the over $35 million we've gotten for city projects,” Meeker said. “We're moving quickly to get these under construction.”
Some of the Triangle's stimulus share comes through its biggest government employers — state agencies and flagship state universities. A $39.5 million grant will build a new headquarters for the National Guard and offices for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety in Raleigh.
UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and Wake Tech shared $36 million in education stabilization funds to balance their budgets for the 2008-09 school year. In all, Benton said, North Carolina has received $1.1 billion to cover budget shortfalls and will get another $2.8 billion over the next two years.
Competitive bids
North Carolina will be competing for stimulus grants in categories that could bring several hundred million dollars more into the state, on top of the $8.2 billion Benton now expects. The state is in the running for a healthy share of $8 billion for faster passenger train service, and for a $300 million grant to replace the I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River at Salisbury.
The state also will bid for a few hundred million dollars in broadband Internet expansion and education grants.
Joe Bryan of Knightdale, a Wake County commissioner and a professional financial adviser, said he has not seen much evidence so far that stimulus spending is providing new jobs or protecting old ones.
“It does not appear to have had much of an impact on employment in our area,” Bryan said. “Whether it's going for education or for health issues, that's safety-net money. That's not creating jobs.”
[email protected] or 919-829-4527
###
