MSU, E.L. receive parts of $3.8B allotted to state by stimulus funds

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Hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal stimulus funding has been allocated to MSU and East Lansing in the past 90 days.

Ingham County is using its portion of the $3.8 billion given to Michigan on road projects, educational improvements and energy efficiency, among other issues. The university has received $484,667 in work-study grants and the MSU College of Law also will be allotted $18,102 in work-study grants. East Lansing will receive $91,967 in public safety grants to promote safety in communities.

The Michigan Economic Recovery Office, which handles the state’s stimulus money, held a media roundtable Monday and unveiled a new feature on the state’s Web site, michigan.gov/recovery, to show how each county is spending its funding. About $200 million has been granted throughout the state, as officials figure how to allocate the remaining $3.6 billion.

“Every county will benefit from these dollars,” said Leslee Fritz, director of the Michigan Economic Recovery Office.

About 3,400 recipients throughout the state have been notified of their allocations. These include schools, nonprofit organizations and, in some cases, individual citizens. The state’s recovery Web site will be updated as changes are made in stimulus spending.

“The new Web feature is designed to enhance transparency,” said Megan Brown, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “The regular (county) reports will ensure that the dollars being spent are being accounted for completely and accurately.”

Because of the recent revenue estimates and auto industry failings, officials are spending the money quickly, said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, a Lansing-based political newsletter.

“They really don’t have any choice but to spend the stimulus money as fast as (government officials) can get their hands on it,” he said.

The state government might have to cut some programs to make up for money that is still needed after the stimulus money is gone, Ballenger said.

“They don’t have the courage to make the hard decisions to get out of this year-and-a-half or two-year projected fiscal deficit disaster without spending all the stimulus money they got,” he said.

Regardless of the pace of spending, White House officials estimate that Michigan will see a total of 109,000 new jobs created. Communities in the state might report on job creation and retention in July and will make an official report in October.

“Things are moving much more rapidly than we’re used to. … There’s a lot more work to do and in the next 90 days we’ll accomplish a lot more,” Fritz said.

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