County nets over $28M in stimulus funding

As of Sept. 30, Bedford County had received nearly $28.4 million in federal stimulus funds, according to figures compiled by the investigative journalism web site ProPublica. ProPublica's figures don't count nearly $3.2 million in stimulus funds given to the local school system, as reported by the official recovery.gov web site.

The lion's share of the stimulus funding, $15.7 million, went to the Tennessee Department of Transportation for highway infrastructure, primarily the construction of the northeastern bypass around Shelbyville. Wright Paving Contractors Inc. of Fayetteville has the contract for that project, at $14.2 million.

Other local stimulus fund projects reported by ProPublica:

* $11,120,835 to multiple recipients for single family housing guaranteed loans

* $829,593 to Shelbyville Housing Authority for remodeling in the South Maple Apartments and reroofing projects in the West End Development

* $312,387 to Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville in the form of Pell Grants to students

* $170,000 to multiple recipients for Section 502 single family housing loans. "Section 502 loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture web site.

* $96,825 to Bedford Manor Apartments for Section 8 housing assistance payments. "The Section 8 Rental Voucher Program increases affordable housing choices for very low-income households by allowing families to choose privately owned rental housing," according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development web site.

* $69,863 to Bedford County for justice assistance grants

* $47,069 to Buchanan Beauty College in the form of Pell Grants to students

Using ProPublica's figures, Bedford County received $635 per capita in stimulus funds, lower than the state's figure of $714 per capita in Tennessee but higher than the national average of $621 per capita. However, the county had a higher unemployment rate (12.3 percent) than the state (10.5) or the nation (10.2) for the month of October, and a lower median household income ($37,583) than either the state ($41,821) or the nation ($50,007).

Bedford County's poverty rate, at 19.2 percent, is substantially higher than the state (15.9 percent) or the nation (13.3 percent).

The bypass project was already in the works, with the land for it acquired before the economic slowdown or the stimulus package. When federal stimulus funds were first being discussed, the state added the bypass to a list of ready-to-go projects which could be launched quickly with the use of stimulus funds.

The federal government made that ready-to-go status a condition for stimulus funding of public works projects, since the idea was to try to create jobs as soon as possible. According to the federal recovery.gov web site, 6.4 jobs were created or saved as a result of the bypass project.

Recovery.gov lists the stimulus funds received by the school system as totalling $3,178,300. Local school officials have said at recent meetings that the stimulus funds made available for education are all tied to specific projects or programs. School system employees other than certified teachers received no salary increase or bonus this year, and some complained when they heard about a supposed stimulus windfall. But school system officials say the operating budget for the system is still tight, since the grant funds can only be used for specific projects. In certain cases, the school system has been reluctant to accept grants which would commit it to additional local spending once the grant has expired.

Although the Pell Grant program existed long before the current economic slowdown, much less the stimulus package, it was increased this year with the use of stimulus funds.

The remodeling at South Maple Apartments involves painting and patching work, new central heat and air units to replace the window air conditioners currently in each apartment, as well as new water heaters, parking expansion and beautification efforts.

Also, twelve of the apartments may undergo a redesign to add doors to units that only have one entrance and exit and adding a bedroom. However, the apartment complex would probably lose four of the units to the upgrade, reducing to the number to eight.

-- T-G staff writer Brian Mosely contributed to this report.