Economic Stimulus Information for Greensboro, North Carolina

The city of Greensboro, North Carolina, is one of many municipalities that will be receiving funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the "economic stimulus bill", and to help keep the public apprised of what funds are received from the federal government, as well as what for projects the city intends to use those funds, the city has added a webpage for this specific purpose that the public can access here.

Along with periodic updates about what funding has been received, you can view a list of the projects proposed by the city of Greensboro for utilization of stimulus funds, from improving the broadband and wi-fi internet connections at the public libraries to expanding the bus lines in Greensboro. The list is in the form of a 10-page pdf document, so you must have Adobe Reader to view it (download Adobe Reader for free here ). My favorite projects on the list are the environmental initiatives, which include investing in a photovoltaic roof array on one of the public buildings to generate solar power, a plan to purchase a fleet of 10 hybrid cars, and a plan to add four hybrid buses to the municipal fleet.

Funds have already been received for some of the projects, such as plans to expand or make improvements or repairs to such various roads as Elm-Eugene Street and Lake Jeanette Road, among others. The green items haven't been funded yet, apparently, but I think they should be near the top of the list because they can immediately start saving the city money-none of the other projects on the list can do that!

So what does this information mean to you, as a resident of the Greensboro area? Many things: If you use the roads that will be improved or repaired, you will need to allow for possible construction delays, but you will also be able to enjoy the benefits of the improvements. If you are in search of a job, many of these projects will provide hiring opportunities. If you are a local business owner, you may benefit in several ways: infrastructure improvements might allow more people to access your business (one of the improvements that has been funded is to improve the walkability of Elm-Eugene Street, a large commercial area with residential areas nearby); you may also see in increase in your business because more people in your area have become employed by the projects, or people working on the projects in your area may patronize your business.

And how do the stimulus projects help the city as a whole? Increased employment opportunities will result in more people having income to spend at local businesses, as in the prior example, which will enable the businesses to thrive. In addition, the businesses pay taxes and people who can now afford to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes because they have secured employment will pay property taxes to the city. With additional streams of revenue, the city can provide programs like summer enrichment camp and keep swimming pools and trash collection services going without raising the rates. There will also be a continuation of state funds, such as those for education, because businesses and individuals can help the state collect revenue through income and sales taxes.

The stimulus bill may not have been popular with some people because it borrows huge amounts of money to fund these projects, but once it starts working, revenue will come back in and the debts should be repaid. Taxpayers have already received an additional 1.8 billion dollars from loans that have been repaid by some of the banks who received TARP funds, so there is a precedent we can look to. I, for one, am very enthusiastic about the hybrids and the solar panels. It's about time GREENsboro went GREEN!