Stimulus puts $41 million into Burke County

By Steve Welker
Published: July 26, 2010

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Morganton, NC --

The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has pumped an estimated $41 million into Burke County since February 2009.
That’s approximately $485 per Burke County resident through June, according to ProPublica, an independent non-profit news group that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
Commonly referred to as the stimulus bill or the Recovery Act, the $827-billion program includes $275 billion in tax credits and other tax-related assistance and approximately $550 billion in direct investments into economic assistance and job creation for unemployed Americans, senior citizens, veterans, education, energy, health services, transportation and other infrastructure, public safety and homeland security.
Citizens can track some stimulus spending at the federal government’s website, Recovery.gov. ProPublica added data on ARRA-related contracts, grants and loans reported on another government website, USAspending.gov, and from state sources.
Burke County’s local governments, service agencies, individual companies, schools and college students in the past 16 months received both direct and indirect funds. ProPublica also tallies funds apportioned to the county as part of statewide projects, such as the N.C. Department of Transportation’s highway and bridge construction.
The U.S. Department of Education has funneled the most ARRA money to Burke County and its residents. Included is $4.25 million to Western Piedmont Community College, primarily for Pell Grants that help low-income students attend college.
Emily Williamson, the college’s vice president for student development, said Western Piedmont’s enrollment surged in the past two years when displaced workers sought retraining and continuing education and as more high school graduates chose Western Piedmont for their first two years of study on the way to a four-year college degree. Total enrollment grew 18 percent from 2008 to 2009 and Williamson said early registrations indicate another big jump this fall.
Another $8.67 million tracked by ProPublica includes money for early childhood education programs and services; special education and related services to children with disabilities; Title I grants to improve education for students most at risk of failing to meet state achievement standards; technology; and child nutrition.
Some of the money has helped keep teachers in the Burke County Public Schools’ classrooms and maintained other services while the state’s budget crisis reduced support from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
However, BCPS Superintendent Art Stellar is among school administrators across the nation who warn that public school districts face the prospect of “falling off a cliff” when stimulus funds end in 2011. Stellar has said the Burke County school district will have to find ways to compensate for losing $5.8 million in federal support when it begins budgeting for 2011-12.
In addition to the money for public education, the Enola Group is receiving $2.7 million to expand the Early Head Start program. Also, New Dimensions School in Morganton is receiving $40,500.
A fourth of the $41 million is for transportation in Burke County. According to ProPublica’s analysis, the N.C. Department of Transportation will spend approximately $10.2 million for highway and bridge construction and road improvements in Burke County. Although the work will be done here, the contracts let to date have gone primarily to companies outside Burke County.
People who live here are the direct beneficiaries of a third major portion of federal stimulus funding. Home owners have received $8.4 million in guaranteed and direct loans for single family housing.
In a housing-related appropriation, Blue Ridge Community Action Inc. is receiving $2.62 million. Of that, $1.9 million is for weatherization programs to help low-income families. Another $500,000 is supporting employment-related services that primarily create and sustain economic growth or provide health care, nutrition, money management, education, housing and emergency services for people in economic distress.
Also related to housing, the Morganton Housing Authority is receiving $1.2 million for flooring repair and installation of HVAC systems in its properties and the Valdese Housing Authority is receiving $243,000 in capital-improvement funds.
Both city and county government officials say they have seen little stimulus money and ProPublica’s analysis supports their observation. The Burke County government is receiving $860,000 for drinking-water projects, law enforcement (new radios and other communications gear) and child care. The city of Morganton is receiving approximately $300,000 for law enforcement (again, communications), energy conservation and the North Green Street improvement project. Rutherford College is receiving $155,000 for drinking-water projects. Valdese is receiving $200,000 for energy conservation.
According to ProPublica and Recovery.gov, four local companies have been awarded “7A” U.S. Small Business Administration loans because they were unable to obtain financing in the private credit marketplace. The recipients and amounts are CFG Associates, 141 Old Rock School in Valdese, $125,000; Cyclewright LLC, 355 Sanford Drive in Morganton, $50,000; James Tool Machine & Engineering Inc., 221 Reep Drive in Morganton, $250,000; and Sport & Team Inc., 406 Praley St. in Valdese, $40,000. Also reported is a $1-million business and industry loan to Cherokee Industries, 80 Ceramic Tile Drive in Morganton.
When Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009, Burke County’s unemployment rate was 15.1 percent and more than 6,000 people were unemployed. The N.C. Employment Security Commission last week said the June 2010 unemployment rate was 12.8 percent and 4,800 were unemployed.
N.C. ESC also says 33,840 people in Burke County had jobs in February 2009. In June 2010, 33,280 had jobs.