Montgomery County’s efforts to snatch up stimulus money is being hampered by an unresponsive federal government, county officials said.
“The lack of guidance on competitive grant opportunities has made it extremely difficult to develop ideas and begin the task of writing,” the county’s public school system said in a memo to the Montgomery County Council. The school system is expecting more than $100 million in stimulus funds, and is competing for millions more.
“[The] challenges include obtaining information in a timely manner for competitive applications,” echoed Tom Tucker, director of government relations for Montgomery College.
Kathleen Boucher, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer, said “midstream changes in grant requirements” have also hampered the county’s efforts to secure stimulus funds.
School officials said the federal government’s “sudden decision” in May to cancel the competition for a job-training program for at-risk youth “has had an extremely adverse impact” on the county. School, county and nonprofit officials had already begun working on application, officials said.
And the federal government’s decision to base eligibility decisions on census numbers from 1999 is also hurting the county, school officials said, because there was “significantly less poverty” in the county at that time.
Criticism of the stimulus package isn’t limited to county officials. On a national level, Republicans have been sharply critical of the stimulus package, saying its has expanded the size of government without producing jobs. Democrats contend the stimulus package needs more time to work, and have not excluded the idea of a second package.
But despite complaints about a lack of action from the feds, county officials are still eager to apply for a piece of the $787 billion stimulus pie. Overall, the county has either received or is set to receive $168 million in stimulus money, and is vying for $72 million more.
“They’re throwing money off the truck,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
The county is looking at dozens of possible uses for stimulus money, including:
¥ Providing discounted broadband service to rural, low-income, and older adults.
¥ Training for electrical grid workers.
¥ Retrofitting school buses with anti-pollution devices.
