How is job creation tied to the receipt of stimulus dollars? Are there certain requirements?
Sustainability is the biggest challenge with these dollars, and it’s something every state is struggling with, whether at the state or local or school or organizational level. The goal of these funds is to create and preserve as many jobs as possible, and one of the things the state is encouraging recipients to do is to look at ways of investing the dollars that would reduce costs in the long run or create some sort of benefit long term so that the dollars that might have been spent in another way can be spent to maintain employment. For example, if a school district uses these dollars to reduce their heating and energy costs in all of their buildings, that frees up their general fund dollars the next year, and maybe if they have reduced their utility costs by 10%, that’s a couple of teacher’s aids that they don’t have to lay off in the next year. You are encouraged to focus on creating sustainability wherever possible by reducing long term costs in areas other than employment.
