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$111 Million in Stimulus Money Given to L.A. has Only Created 55 Jobs
Photo by GenBug via Flickr
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Photo by GenBug via Flickr
More jobs are expected to be created but City Controller Wendy Greuel is disappointed that two departments given $111 million in federal stimulus monney are slow to create and retain jobs. The Department of Public Works has received $70.65 million, resulting in the creation or retention of 45.46 jobs so far. Overall, there should be 238 jobs. The Department of Transportation was awarded $40.8 million and has created or retained 9 jobs, although there should ultimately be 26.
“I’m disappointed that we’ve only created or retained 55 jobs after receiving $111 million in ARRA funds. With our local unemployment rate over 12% we need to do a better job cutting the red tape and putting Angelenos back to work,” said Greuel, who noted that it did not appear funds were misspent.
"The City needs to do a better job expediting the process and creating jobs," she added. "We’re going to continue to audit how these funds are spent, to ensure that they are expended quickly and correctly."
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Gruel says department policies appear to be the problem. One example for both departments was the slow process to award contracts, meaning immediate impact to the economy -- you know, one big goal of the Recovery Act -- is zilch.
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