States, cities seek stimulus funds

It's not just Utah and other states that have wish lists for federal stimulus dollars aimed at creating jobs by jump-starting infrastructure projects — cities and counties do, too.

State and local governments nationwide are competing for a share of President-elect Barack Obama's promised federal stimulus package, expected to pump $600 billion to $850 billion into the troubled economy.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. released a $14.4 billion list that includes everything from highway projects to sewer treatment systems. The governor said the projects would create 124,000 jobs over the next five years.

Salt Lake City is seeking nearly $780 million in federal funding for "ready-to-go" projects, including $65 million to rebuild the North Temple viaduct and $100,000 for a streetcar line in Sugar House.

And Salt Lake County's hopes for a slice of the federal stimulus pie comes in at $173 million, with "green infrastructure" such as solar panels for county buildings leading the list.

All of the projects being submitted are expected to be able to get under way within 180 days and take one to five years to complete. The target set by the new administration is to create 3 million jobs.

Congress will need to approve the federal stimulus package, which Obama has said he intends to sign shortly after taking office on Jan. 20. Even though the process for securing funds has not yet been determined, associations representing state and local governments are already gearing up their lobbying efforts.

The National Governors Association has so far compiled requests totaling about $120 billion from about 30 states, said David Quam, NGA director of federal relations.

Quam played down the idea that states are competing with local entities for a share of stimulus cash.

"The idea is to get shovels in the ground, to put people to work in a timely basis," he said. "At the state level, states are going to do planning for the entire state."

Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said the stimulus program is "not intended to be competitive, necessarily," but should focus on projects that will produce the biggest benefits.

"The governor's focus is statewide," Roskelley said. "This is an opportunity to get a jump-start on projects that are not only an immediate boost to the state economy and businesses and families, but speak to the overall long-term competitiveness of our state."

But associations representing local governments say that's where the dollars may be best spent.