First Light on the Stimulus

I really don't like the word "stimulus", much preferring "recovery". But our official language began to fail us when we adopted the "Homeland" moniker for what is a department dealing with "domestic security".

The Act is actually named HR1: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 but the press hasn't changed its initial reference. Here's what we've heard from insider news services: With hundreds of projects ready to go -- PHAs have held projects in limbo for years while the Bush administration attempted to scuttle traditional public housing -- housing advocates (say) that much of the $3 billion can find its way into viable projects within the 120-day deadline (the HUD secretary must get the money to PHAs within 30 days of the proposal becoming law).

Here's my initial "take" on the situation as it affects New Bedford: "(I think) we are prepared to spend most if not all of our anticipated $3,000,000 on "shovel ready" projects designed to repave and repair walkways and parking areas as well as upgrading our electrical distribution at several older sites and initiating the construction of up to 20 units of handicapped accessible housing for elderly and/or families and individuals at four developments named Shawmut, Satellite, Westlawn and Brickenwood...we've been planning on this rapid deployment since Barack was elected...in addition, we'll use funds for sustainable conversions of heating equipment and perhaps even the installation of co-gen (to supplement our electrical draw) at one of our sites...

I'm looking at the time frames...30 days from now we should have approximately $3,000,000 in our "account" and somehow will have to allocate the account into development categories--a chart of accounts of sorts which tells everyone, citizens and bureaucrats, how we'll invest. And we look at another 120 days to actually "obligate" the funds, or sign up contractors. So we're looking at July 13 as an ultimate deadline.

And I begin thinking from that point backward to calculate board authorizations, bid dates, advertising deadlines, planning and construction drawings, studies or change orders...these are all thresholds that one keeps in mind when thinking of spending funds quickly. It's as much a matter of managing the calendar as managing the consultants.

But while thinking of this I cannot hide my disappointment that the totals were slashed by $1,000,000,000 in conference: at $5,000,000,000 we figured a local allocation of around $4-5 million. We easily have more than $5 million in "shovel ready" projects. (National studies suggest $30 billion in modernization "backlog". Our latest "physical needs assessment" suggests $37,000,000 in unmet capital needs, down from $78,000,000 when I first started in 1992.)

I'm disappointed that the national advocates we support through dues failed to ask for more on the fear that we couldn't ramp up quickly enough. I think we missed a golden opportunity to revitalize public housing in a truly transformative way.

But we'll concentrate on the tasks at hand in New Bedford and make the best of this windfall opportunity. And we'll do it with strong enforcement of our "local labor" policies to make sure local workers get the benefit of this employment.