Project list for stimulus money grows

Philadelphia is supposed to receive about $900 million dollars from the federal stimulus package, including money for the Philadelphia Housing Authority, SEPTA, and the School District.

Representatives from Philadelphia City departments are making plans for a huge pile of money. Philadelphia is supposed to receive about $900 million dollars from the federal stimulus package, including money for the Philadelphia Housing Authority, SEPTA, and the School District.

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[audio: 090708lfstat.mp3]

As the Philly Stat meeting went on, the list of projects that city officials say will be funded with stimulus money, just kept growing. There are programs to get homeless people off the streets, train ex-offenders for green jobs, restore murals, and much, much more.

Managing Director Camille Cates Barnett says money is starting to come in.

Barnett: For the city of Philadelphia, just the city government, we expect in excess of $300 million in recovery funds. Of that amount we’ve got about $13 million that’s already been put in our bank accounts essentially. And as soon as we get the money we’ve got that going out the doors with programs that have been vetted through the applications process.

With one eye on meeting application deadlines, the city is also preparing for October, when city officials say the federal government will conduct its first real test to make sure the city is properly spending the stimulus money.