by ANDY SEVILLA
The federal Recovery Act website shows San Marcos received the bulk of the funds, taking in over three-quarters of a million dollars. Buda brought in $34,754 and Kyle received $108,382, according to the federal website.
In a direct response to the U.S. economic crisis felt in the latter years of the post 2000 decade, the federal government passed a $787 billion stimulus package aimed at creating jobs, saving existing ones, spurring economic activity, investing in long-term growth and fostering “unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending,” according to the U.S. government website.
Buda was reportedly awarded funds June 21, 2010, in an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). Buda Mayor Todd Ruge said the funds were expended retrofitting City Hall and the Annex building with energy efficient lighting and appliances.
Kyle received a $22,017 grant on Aug. 7, 2009 to restripe city streets and an $86,365 EECBG on June 21, 2010. The city’s first award was used to add bicycle lane striping and signage on Spring Branch Drive and the EECBG money was used installing ceiling insulation and a return air system to improve the
efficiency of the existing HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system at City Hall, according to Kyle’s finance department.
San Marcos received $759,290 for three projects – a $498,100 EECBG, $139,827 for downtown sidewalk accessibility and $121,363 for a “partnership against crime” initiative with Hays County.
San Marcos was the primary recipient and lead fiscal agent of the $121,363 crime partnership grant, but those funds were divided equally with Hays County, the sub-recipient, according to the federal website. San Marcos used their funds to acquire and install updated virtualware at the San Marcos Police Department’s central information and technology facility; Hays County used their portion of the money to purchase crime/accident scene reconstruction equipment, portable video camera systems, a throw phone, Stop Stick spike systems and updated SWAT rifles for the Sheriff’s Office.
The Recovery Act website showed that San Marcos used the EECBG to reduce residential energy costs through energy efficient appliance rebates and replacements. San Marcos also conducted a detailed energy audit of city facilities and implemented cost-effective energy retrofits in preparation of a City-wide Sustainability Plan.
The Texas Comptroller’s Office shows that $78,002,819 in federal funding was invested in Hays County as of March 2013, with almost half of that money going to education. Big portions of those funds also went to health and human services, transportation and housing and community development, among other projects, the agency reports.
The Recovery Act website shows Hays County government has received $388,102 for three projects – $250,000 for supplemental CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding for the state, a $77,421 EECBG and $60,681 in a partnership against crime initiative.
In 2011, the original government expenditure estimate was increased from $787 billion to $840 billion, to be in line with President Obama’s 2012 budget and with scoring changes made by the Congressional Budget Office since the act’s enactment, the Recovery Act website says.
“In addition to offering financial aid directly to local school districts, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and underwriting the computerization of health records, the Recovery Act is targeted at infrastructure development and enhancement,” the Recovery Act website states. “For instance, the Act provides for the weatherizing of 75 percent of federal buildings and more than one million private homes.”
The Act also invests in “construction and repair of roads and bridges as well as scientific research and the expansion of broadband and wireless service are being funded. There is no end date written into the Recovery Act because, while many of Recovery Act projects are focused on jumpstarting the economy, others are expected to contribute to economic growth for many years,” the federal website states.
This is the first in a series of articles about the Recovery Act monies distributed to Hays County. Next week, we explore how the funds impacted local school districts.
