Tracking stimulus money may be difficult

Will economic stimulus money marked for road and bridge construction actually make it to the jobsite? State officials are not exactly sure.

Despite a stern warning from President Barack Obama himself on how states will be held to “unprecedented accountability” regarding the handling of the $787 billion in relief, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the biggest concern was keeping track of the money.

“Officials in most of the states and the district expressed concerns regarding the lack of [stimulus] funding provided for accountability and oversight,” the study concluded. “Many states reported significant declines in the number of oversight staff, limiting their ability to ensure proper implementation and management of [stimulus] funds.”

Stimulus job tracking might be equally fuzzy. The GAO found that officials in nine states were concerned about exactly how they would track jobs created by the federal aid.

The report also reveals that some states have hired “recovery czars” to monitor the activity, but confusion still persists.

“Officials from several of the states we met with expressed a need for clearer definitions of ‘jobs retained’ and ‘jobs created,’” GAO said.