Stimulus money not easy to come by

By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

April 24, 2009 12:28 am

— ANDERSON — County officials learned Thursday that stimulus money could be difficult to get.
Officials from at least 10 Madison County cities gathered at the Madison County Government Center to discuss potential funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, commonly known as the economic stimulus.
Jerry Bridges of the Madison County Council of Governments immediately warned town officials that the funding isn’t being handed out freely to everyone who needs it. “It is not low hanging fruit ... It’s not going to be that easy.”
Bridges said that in all 400-plus pages of the act, the words “fair share” are not mentioned. The funding, he said, is not promised to every community.
Anderson is considered an “entitlement” community, he said, and will be eligible for stimulus money due to its size and economic needs.
Other communities, like all of those who aren’t Anderson, won’t have it so easy.
“Any money that we’ll have to go after for your community will be competitive. We’ll have to fight for it,” he said.
Communities across Indiana will soon submit applications for stimulus funding for various projects but will not know if they’ve qualified for funding until late summer.
Each community has specific goals for the money.
John Shettle, town council president of Orestes, said he’d like to demolish about six blighted homes in his small community. The stimulus tends to overlook small communities in terms of neighborhood stabilization, though. “We don’t qualify for a lot of it,” Shettle said.
He’d also like to complete beautification projects and do roadwork on area highways. The town has had a difficult time completing the projects alone with tax revenue being depleted, he said. “With the decline in property taxes and gas taxes, that hurts local government.”
Town Clerk-Treasurer Katherine Tanner said Edgewood would like to develop its own system of sewage treatment to lessen its dependence on Anderson.
In Alexandria, Mayor Jack Woods said city officials would like to use the economic recovery to build new sidewalks throughout town.

Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com