Local government officials unafraid to use ARRA funds
Despite the challenges presented by the strict timelines in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), most state and local government leaders are relatively unafraid of being held accountable for their decisions on spending the billions of dollars being funneled their way, according to a survey released April 16 by Rockville, Md.-based CivicUS.
The officials from various areas of local government, including public safety, public works, energy, environment and transportation, were asked if the prospect of being judged on the effectiveness of their decisions to create jobs and stimulate the economy would be a factor in pursing ARRA funds. Approximately 23 percent said that would be “very much a factor,” 35 percent said it would be “a factor,” while the remainder said the prospect of judgment was “somewhat of a factor” or “not a factor.”
Other Strategic Spending Survey results include:
- 69 percent of the respondents said they expect to pay 25 percent of the purchase price on internal and external implementation of systems bought with stimulus money.
- Most respondents, nearly 60 percent, said they plan to use Web sites to inform the public of their vendor choices.
- 80 percent of the responding public safety and homeland security officials said they would seek ARRA funds for new technology or technology upgrades.
- 83 percent of the environment, public works, energy and transportation officials said they would apply for ARRA grants.
View the “Strategic Spending Survey of Government Leaders” as a PDF.