By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — It’s been six months since passage and implementation of President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package, projected to pump nearly $3 billion in federal funds into Arkansas over the next two to three years.

But some are already questioning whether the infusion of federal funds is actually creating jobs in Arkansas, as promised, and others are expressing disappointment over not receiving funds they thought they would get.

The state is receiving and distributing stimulus funds. Officials say the money is helping many businesses stay afloat in tough economic times, and that as many as 300 new temporary state jobs are being filled to help make sure programs receiving stimulus funds — from jobless benefits to food stamps other social services — are properly administered.

State officials closely monitoring the stimulus program say it will take time for the funds to create jobs.

A committee of the Legislative Council, the legislative body that oversees state government between legislative sessions, is to discuss the stimulus funding and the state jobs it has created at an Aug. 4 meeting. Also, the state must present a report on its stimulus spending to the federal government by Oct. 10.

“One of the biggest false expectations or misconceptions is … I think that there was a feeling that individuals would have access to these federal dollars and, outside direct assistance programs, that’s not been the case,” said Chris Masingill, director of intergovernmental and external affairs for Gov. Mike Beebe’s office.

Masingill is charged with monitoring how the state spends stimulus money.

“The time frame of this is two, and some programs three, years, so there’s a continuation of resources and money being flowed into the economy at various times,” he said. “This is not going to be an overnight fix and all of a sudden we wake up and say, ‘oh my gosh, I’ve got $3 billion to play with.’”

This month, the National Republican Senatorial Committee questioned why Arkansas’ jobless rate rose in June to 7.2 percent, up eight-tenths of a percentage point from 6.4 percent in February, when Obama signed the stimulus package into law. The statement was aimed at U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who voted for the stimulus package and is up for re-election next year. It contended the program was “rammed through Congress” and was not having the results voters were promised.

Amber Wilkerson, spokeswoman for the committee that supports Republican U.S. Senate candidates, said Arkansans deserve to know where the stimulus that lawmakers promised has gone.

Groups representing Arkansas cities and counties recently complained to a legislative committee looking at highway stimulus money flowing to the state that local governments have been shut out of the funding.

“We didn’t get enough money to buy a shovel, we got zero,” said Don Zimmerman, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League. “We got zero funding for city streets.”
Eddie Jones, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties, also complained to lawmakers about the lack of stimulus money for counties, but said later that several county bridges are to be repaired with part of the $351 million in stimulus funds allocated to the state Highway and Transportation Department.

Mark Lambreth, a member of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance, created this year to recommend new ways to fund state highway improvements, said the highway department has spent about $115 million on 62 projects around the state that have saved jobs with small contractors and other businesses like his.

“It’s done a tremendous job of keeping our workers busy,” said Lambreth, vice president and CFO of Atlas Asphalt in Batesville.

His said his company has successfully bid on four projects valued at about $1.8 million. Without them, layoffs would have occurred, he added. Instead, Atlas has retained its work force of about 150 and has hired a new driver and rehired a welder who had been laid off, Lambreth said.

“Absolutely, I would say it’s probably saved more jobs than created,” he said. “It has been good for us.”

Highway Department spokesman Randy Ort said the Arkansas Highway Commission plans to bid another 49 road and bridge projects over the next 18 months. He said the stimulus money is important to the state’s economy.

“It supports material providers, suppliers, equipment people,” Ort said. “Highway construction impacts a number of employers, not just the prime contractor.”

While the highway stimulus money has allowed contractors to keep working, but has generated few new jobs so far, state government is adding many as 320 new stimulus-funded jobs.

“There are 45 different federal programs through 13 different state agencies impact by the federal stimulus money,” Masingill said.

About $954.4 million of the estimated $2.9 billion the state is to receive is expected to be spent on Medicaid and other human services, according to Recovery.Arkansas.Gov, a Web site set up by the governor’s office to track the stimulus spending.

Another $475.5 million is to go to education and higher education, $454.3 million to housing and labor, $443.9 million to fiscal stabilization and $379.5 million to transportation.

Another $87.9 million is slated for energy and weatherization, $50.3 million for water and environment and $34.4 million for safety and community services. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor this month released nearly $60 million in stimulus money to extend jobless benefits in Arkansas.

The state also is applying for funding to expand broadband access in rural areas of the state.

The bulk of the new state government jobs, about 200, are in the Department of Human Services with 200, according to the state finance office. Of those, 112 are temporary family support specialists. The jobs will last through the end of 2010, when the stimulus funding stops, and pay about $27,000 a year, said DHS spokeswoman Julie Munsell.

Nearly all of the jobs had been filled by the middle of last week, she said.

The Department of Workforce Services is hiring 107 new employees, mostly work force services specialists, at salaries ranging from $25,000 to $43,000.

Masingill said the White House projects that stimulus money in Arkansas will create or retain as many as 30,000 jobs.

“It may be some time before we see the evolution of that prediction,” he said.

Lincoln told reporters during a conference call last week that stimulus funds Arkansas is receiving “have been helpful.”

“Contractors and businesses are working,” the senator said. “Projects have been let. Without it, I don’t know where we’d be. We’re not going to fix this problem overnight.”