WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Will Recovery Money Come Quickly?
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Burlington, Vermont - March 28, 2009
Vermont's congressional delegation and Gov. Jim Douglas are set to hold a second public meeting on Monday to prepare for the federal Recovery Act money that's due to flow into the state. But Channel 3 has learned that much of Vermont's multi-million dollar share may not arrive as fast as expected.
Douglas used a high-tech Williston company to unveil his plans for some of the federal stimulus money to spur economic growth and jobs. And Sen. Patrick Leahy put together the first of two meetings that drew a full house at Champlain College. So far so good, says Tim Searles, who runs the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity -- and has studied the federal Recovery Act.
"Congress and our congressional delegation have been extremely supportive," he told Channel 3. "They've done everything they can to make this happen forthrightly. It's the machinery of the federal bureaucracy that now comes into play."
The bureaucracy is where Searles says the trouble may start -- in the form of a delay of some of the federal money. Take home weatherization for instance. Vermont is supposed to receive up to $17 million to cut down on energy usage. But it looks like only a fraction of the money will come any time soon. Searles said, "We found out that we can expect only ten percent of that much-discussed sixteen or seventeen million for Vermont to come up front. That'll be another sixty days and we have to file a state plan before we get an additional forty percent. And we're not sure when that's coming."
Searles said the legislature may have difficulty transferring money from program to program if the transfers are predicated on the quick receipt of federal money. Senator Leahy says he's not aware of any delays -- and remains committed to getting the stimulus programs up and running quickly.
"What the stimulus package is going to do is good," Leahy said. "It's going to create jobs today, get people back to work today, get some people some confidence in the future, but do it today. So the sooner this money moves, the better."
Law enforcement grants are one example of federal recovery act money that Leahy says is already flowing into Vermont. The question is, when will all of it come -- and with what strings attached.
Andy Potter - WCAX News
