Prince William County has been allotted an estimated $122 million of federal stimulus funds, and more could be on the way, but chairman of the board Corey Stewart said taxpayers ought to think twice before extending any thanks to the government.
“It strikes me, taxpayers have a right to be angry here. It’s the young people [who are] ultimately going to have to pay this back,” he said, at a recent Board of Supervisors update on the disbursement of dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion federal package that was signed into law Feb. 17.
Though $122 million sounds on the surface a sizeable amount, the truth is the county will pay back far more, he said.
“Prince William’s share of this debt is approximately $1.3 billion,” Stewart said. “So we shouldn’t be thankful for the federal government. That’s our money. If we’re going to be borrowing money on our youth … we should at least build something for it [like roads]. Clearly, we’re getting the short end of the stick.”
Education receives the greatest share of the ARRA funds, with just over $80 million, according to information from Dana Fenton, legislative director for the county. Economic development and transportation are next on the list of top ARRA fund recipients, at $28 million, followed by energy and environmental causes, with $8.9 million, according to fenton. Public safety receives just 1 percent of the Prince William pot, or $1.1 million, while human services
programs, like homeless prevention and senior nutrition, get 3 percent, or $4 million, Fenton’s breakdown shows.
A couple of grant opportunities are on the horizon, he told supervisors. The county has applied for a $5.2 million COPS Hiring Recover Program grant — the total available nationwide from ARRA for this program is $1 billion — as well as $5 million of a $210 million separate ARRA allotment for fire station construction that would go toward the Bacon Race facility. The Justice Department is due to notify recipients of the COPS fund by Sept. 30, Fenton said.
“I guess there will be fierce competition for these dollars,” he said, referring to the fire station grant, which also carries a matching requirement from the local government.
Fenton said staff has already identified areas in the budget that could be tapped for the match, should the county win.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.
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