The Girard Point Bridge on I-95 will get a $66 million renovation thanks to federal stimulus money. The project is scheduled to begin this fall and will take three years to complete.

By Mark Berkey-Gerard

When Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus package earlier this year, government officials promised to provide details of how the money is spent on a Web site called Recovery.gov.

“Every American can go online and see where and how we are spending every dime,” President Barack Obama said.

But what began as an effort in transparency has spawned a confusing array of stimulus Web sites that even the most seasoned political insider can have trouble navigating.

In addition to Recovery.gov, each federal agency also has a stimulus Web site.

There are half a dozen government-related sites like USASpending.gov and FedBizOpps.gov designed to track spending and assist those who want to apply for contracts.

Each state has its own stimulus Web site. Many large cities, including Philadelphia, have created Web sites as well.

And there are monitoring sites run by private companies and watchdog organizations.

So where should citizens begin if they want to know how stimulus money is being spent in their community? Here are some tips for tracking local stimulus projects on the Web.

1. Start with Government Sites, But Don’t Expect A One-Stop Shop

Federal

Official say that Recovery.gov will eventually be the Internet location that has all of the information citizens need. But it isn’t yet. The Web site will soon receive an $18 million overhaul, and the administration has said it will be comprehensive by the fall.

Still Recovery.gov offers a broad amount of information and plenty of graphs and pie charts. Users can look up information by state, agency, or recipient, but often have to wade through page after page of information to find a local contract. It helps to know what you are looking for.

State

Pennsylvania is set to receive about $16 billion in federal stimulus money, and its Web site Recovery.pa.gov offers a substantial overview of area projects. One of the most helpful sections of the Pennsylvania site is a county-by-county map which allows users to see local projects on a Google map. For example, by clicking on Delaware County, residents can see details of road construction projects, water main repairs, and grants to area charter schools.

However, it is still not easy to locate detailed information because many notices are posted as pdf documents. Also, there is no search function or way to look up projects by key word.

And note that not all state Web sites look the same or offer the same information.

For example, New Jersey’s Web site Recovery.nj.gov has no maps but instead highlights information like tax breaks and programs for individuals and families that are more difficult to find on the Pennsylvania Web site.

City

Nearly $1 billion has been already been allocated for Philadelphia schools, public transit, street construction, housing projects, and city government initiatives. The Web site Phila.gov/recovery has a list of projects the city hopes to get funded and a directory of current requests for proposals.

But the city’s site is still a work in progress. It re-launched in mid-May and most of the information is presented in press releases. The city plans to update it as more funding is awarded.

The city also offers helpful video Webcasts of government meetings on local stimulus efforts through PhillyStat, but be prepared to sit through a virtual staff meeting and slide show presentations.

2. Explore Private Web Sites

A Web sited called Recovery.org - which is run by the private company Onvia and should NOT to be confused with the official federal site - has emerged as an alternative to government reporting.

Recovery.org uses search technology to aggregate information from local, state, and federal Web sites as well as researchers (actual humans!) who troll newspapers and public notices to gather detailed information about spending. Recovery.org also has clickable county-by-county maps and offers detailed breakdown of specific projects, often including the contact information of the person in charge of the project.

3. Read Local Stimulus Blogs

In addition to traditional news coverage, there are several local blogs paying attention to the flow of federal money into the Philadelphia area.

The Philadelphia Business Journal has created a Stimulus Tracker Blog written by Athena Merritt.

The It’s Our Money blog, a joint project of the Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, tracks the city budget process, including how the stimulus money is being spent. And the Daily News blog PhillyClout and The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Heard in City Hall are covering the Nutter administration’s efforts to bring federal funding to the city.

4. Become a Watchdog

ProPublica, a public interest journalism project, is asking citizens to join in the monitoring process with an initiative called Adopt a Stimulus Project.

Individuals sign up to investigate a project in their area. Then ProPublica emails tips on what to look for, who to call, and how to network with other citizen watchdogs in the area. Participants then post their reports to the ProPublica Web site

I recently signed up to help monitor the construction of 600 handicap accessible curbs on Philadelphia sidewalks. After about a half-an-hour of Internet surfing, I learned that a local company James J. Anderson Construction Company, Inc. received a $1.4 million contract to build the curbs. According to Recovery.pa.gov, the project began in early July and is scheduled to be completed by October.

In the coming months, I’ll contact government officials and try to visit some of the locations in person.

Mark Berkey-Gerard teaches online journalism at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.