According to the New York Times, the United States Conference of Mayors said that they need another round of stimulus funding. There have been layoffs and shortfalls, and job creation is a high priority in urban areas.
According to a June, 2009 study conducted by the conference, 48 percent of approved surface-transportation financing was allocated to metropolitan areas by the states. These areas represent 63 percent of the population and 73 percent of the states' gross domestic product. Of course, statistics can be used selectively to say pretty much whatever you want. What is a logical measurement for allocating surface-transportation dollars? Population? GDP? Road mileage? The cities make a good argument, and the need is there (see my last post, "Where's the Beef?"), but I'm not so sure that population and gdp are the best measurement for distribution of transportation dollars.
Saying that the cities need another infusion of stimulus dollars, Mayor Riley of Charleston, South Carolina said “In the Great Depression they let up too soon and there was further recession. Right now the president needs to avoid making that same mistake.”
Maybe so.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Where's the Beef?
Anybody remember the Wendy's commercial that had the little old lady (Clara Peller) look at a tiny hamburger on a "big fluffy bun," then holler "Where's the Beef?" Now we need to look at "Where's the Stimulus?"
The City of Jackson, Mississippi, spent the first part of 2010 in the deepest, coldest freeze since 1940. Anybody care to guess what that exposed? It showed us some $300 Million in repairs to the water and sewer system that need to be addressed. Approximately 150 breaks developed in the water mains across the city, and the city was without drinkable water or enough water pressure for toilets and building sprinklers for a week. Much of the city, including hotels, restaurants, and any building with a sprinkler system, was shut down for a week.
What broke? Pipes that are as much as a hundred years old or more, including cast iron pipes, did not stand up to the icy weather. City crews, along with crews from neighboring communities and state crews, worked night and day to dig up pipes, patch them, and close up the holes. Some streets in Jackson now appear to have been bombed out, because there was no time to pave over the patchwork.
Now, what does this have to do with ARRA? It brings up questions about where the money went or is going. In my opinion, this is the sort of project that ARRA should be funding. Cities around the country have old infrastructure, like Jackson's pipes, that they cannot afford to replace. There's no glamour or flash in replacing a sewer pipe; building things that are buried underground does not leave something a politician can show off as something he or she did. This is where a major need lies, but it is unlikely that Congress will spend more money on a new round of ARRA projects when this money runs out. ARRA may stimulate the economy, but we will still be left with gaping needs that have been unaddressed.
The City of Jackson, Mississippi, spent the first part of 2010 in the deepest, coldest freeze since 1940. Anybody care to guess what that exposed? It showed us some $300 Million in repairs to the water and sewer system that need to be addressed. Approximately 150 breaks developed in the water mains across the city, and the city was without drinkable water or enough water pressure for toilets and building sprinklers for a week. Much of the city, including hotels, restaurants, and any building with a sprinkler system, was shut down for a week.
What broke? Pipes that are as much as a hundred years old or more, including cast iron pipes, did not stand up to the icy weather. City crews, along with crews from neighboring communities and state crews, worked night and day to dig up pipes, patch them, and close up the holes. Some streets in Jackson now appear to have been bombed out, because there was no time to pave over the patchwork.
Now, what does this have to do with ARRA? It brings up questions about where the money went or is going. In my opinion, this is the sort of project that ARRA should be funding. Cities around the country have old infrastructure, like Jackson's pipes, that they cannot afford to replace. There's no glamour or flash in replacing a sewer pipe; building things that are buried underground does not leave something a politician can show off as something he or she did. This is where a major need lies, but it is unlikely that Congress will spend more money on a new round of ARRA projects when this money runs out. ARRA may stimulate the economy, but we will still be left with gaping needs that have been unaddressed.
Friday, January 8, 2010
New FAQs from OMB
OMB has some new information on their FAQ as of January 7, under clarification of the December 18, 2009 guidance. Here is basically what the clarification says:
1. What information are prime recipients and subrecipients with delegated reporting responsibility required to report for vendor payments?
"A: All vendor payments must be reported. Individual payments greater than $25,000 must be reported separately with the following data elements for each payment:
◦Vendor identity either through DUNS number OR the Vendor Name and the zip + 4 digit code of the vendor’s headquarters.
◦Payment description and payment amount (required to be reported by prime recipients; optional for subrecipients)"
This one goes on to talk about reporting in the aggreagate or individually.
The other questions all deal with reporting, the $25,000 threshhold, and multiple quarters. If you need to know this, check it out. If something still does not make sense, let me know, and I'll see if I can't get an answer for you.
1. What information are prime recipients and subrecipients with delegated reporting responsibility required to report for vendor payments?
"A: All vendor payments must be reported. Individual payments greater than $25,000 must be reported separately with the following data elements for each payment:
◦Vendor identity either through DUNS number OR the Vendor Name and the zip + 4 digit code of the vendor’s headquarters.
◦Payment description and payment amount (required to be reported by prime recipients; optional for subrecipients)"
This one goes on to talk about reporting in the aggreagate or individually.
The other questions all deal with reporting, the $25,000 threshhold, and multiple quarters. If you need to know this, check it out. If something still does not make sense, let me know, and I'll see if I can't get an answer for you.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Second Quarterly Reporting Period Opens
The 2nd quarterly reporting period for ARRA funds opened January 1, 2010. All reports are due by January 10. Sort of.
Actually, ARRA requires the reports to be submitted by the 10th. The problem is that January 1 is a holiday, while January 2, 3, 9, & 10 are weekend days, so the deadline in reality would be the 8th, with only 5 working days in the reporting period. The solution? The reporting website will be available for reporting through January 15, so everyone has a full work week beyond the due date to actually submit the reports.
There is new guidance on reporting jobs that pretty much restates the old calculation method, but agency-specific guidance on job calculation can be found here - http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/recipient/Pages/AgencyGuidance.aspx .
There are a few enhancements to the reporting. There are hard edits to certain fields, so data has to be corrected before the system allows it. Prior data can be carried forward, so some data fields do not have to be repopulated. Overall, we'll see what happens now.
Actually, ARRA requires the reports to be submitted by the 10th. The problem is that January 1 is a holiday, while January 2, 3, 9, & 10 are weekend days, so the deadline in reality would be the 8th, with only 5 working days in the reporting period. The solution? The reporting website will be available for reporting through January 15, so everyone has a full work week beyond the due date to actually submit the reports.
There is new guidance on reporting jobs that pretty much restates the old calculation method, but agency-specific guidance on job calculation can be found here - http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/recipient/Pages/AgencyGuidance.aspx .
There are a few enhancements to the reporting. There are hard edits to certain fields, so data has to be corrected before the system allows it. Prior data can be carried forward, so some data fields do not have to be repopulated. Overall, we'll see what happens now.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year!. I've taken a break over the holidays, but will begin posting again this week with more ARRA-related materials.
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