Thursday, February 26, 2009

Local Stimulus Questions

Rick Outzen at his Independent News Blog is passing along the rumor that "the City of Pensacola failed to get on the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report of 'shovel-ready' projects."

Embarrassing? At first glance, maybe. But it isn't clear to us this means much at all.

The Mayors developed their "shovel-ready" projects list last year, well before the "American Recovery & Reinvestment Act" was passed last week. Moreover, "detailed guidance" on how the funds will be distributed is still 30 to 60 days away. Florida officials were still reading the bill as of a few days ago.

As the worthy web site Stimuluswatch.gov points out:
If a city did not include its "shovel-ready" projects on that [2008] list, you won't find it here. However, this does not mean that cities that are not included here do not have projects they'd like to see funded. Once the stimulus bill passes, cites will make requests for federal grants, and we will likely see grants to projects not listed on this site.
Too much remains to be known about how, when, to whom, and for what the stimulus money will be distributed.

But while we're on the subject, here's another question: since Pensacola Beach still is not, officially, a city or a state, does that mean it isn't eligible for any stimulus money? Or, does it just mean that we won't get any because Escambia County intends to hog it all for the mainland?

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