Maryland Falls Short in Spending Stimulus Funds on Failing Infrastructure

Baltimore County residents endured almost five days of no water due to a broken water main. Businesses lost customers and sales, homeowners struggled with bottled water deliveries and schools were closed during the critical Maryland state assessment testing period.

Which raises the question: What happened to the federal stimulus funds for infrastructure improvement?
This time last year, Governor Martin O’Malley was praising Maryland for being tops in the nation with “shovel-ready” projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At an event with Vice-President Biden in Laurel, O’Malley stated that over one-half of Maryland’s projects had already been approved.

But O’Malley’s state agencies appear lethargic in moving these projects forward, creating private sector jobs and securing true progress for Maryland.

As reported by Fox 45 News, Maryland has spent less than 50% of the federal stimulus funds. The percentage of funds not spent is even higher in critical transportation and home weatherization programs:
1. 93% of transportation funds are unspent
2. 90% of transit funds are unspent
3. 90% of home weatherization projects are not completed

Maryland economist Anirban Basu of Sage Policy Group concludes, “The stimulus package really, if you look at it, was not a particularly good package. It is very expensive but not particularly impactful on a per dollar expended basis.”

To view the full Fox 45 New report, see: http://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_3143.shtml