GAO: Stimulus dollars flowing in Ohio - Dayton Business Journal:

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The , in a bimonthly snapshot of stimulus spendinhg in Ohioreleased Wednesday, showw progress is being made in a numbeer of key funding areas. The report, pointed to troubles on tracking the impacty of recovery funds as some agencies saythey aren’ty receiving “clear federal guidance.” That’s being remediex by working off of existing federal progra m guidance on job creation data, though some the report said, are waitinfg for more help on how to measure the impact of the stimulus plan. Ohio was cleared for about $8.9 billiob in stimulus dollars inthe $787 billion packager that President Barack Obama signed in February.
Near the end of the state had drawn downabout $711 million in increasesd Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage awards, a move made to offseyt Ohio’s budget shortfall and continue a flow of GAO said the stimulus fundin g has allowed Ohio to continuw expanding Medicaid funding to an expanded population that includeds pregnant women, children under foster care and disableds Ohioans returning to work. • The offic e reported that as ofJune 25, Ohio had obligatesd $384 million of the nearly $936 millionb in highway infrastructure stimulus dollars funneled throughy the . Obligation is defined as the federal government committing to its fundinvg share ofa project.
The GAO said the statre expects all but one of its projects earmarked for highwayt stimulus funding will be done withinthred years. • The federaol Weatherization Stimulus Program, which will bring Ohio nearly $267 million in stimulus has sparked plans to beginb work this month on weatherizingfabout 32,000 units. The state has been clearef for half of that cash and had obligatedabouty $20 million as of June 18. The office in its report also pointeed to what it calledc an early success of thestimulus Gov.
Ted Strickland in Decembefr 2008 orderedabout $640 million cut from the state’s budgetf but cuts were less than they coulr have been because of the expectatioj of stimulus dollars. The report said that stimulus funds have playecda “significant role” in balancing the budget for the two-yeard cycle begun last Wednesday. But finalization of the budger is tied up as Strickland and Senate Republicans remainm at odds over closinga $3.2 billion budge t gap with revenue from video slot machiness at horse racing tracks.
The reporf also reiterated the concerns of some statew officials on what will happenm when stimulusfunding isn’t available in the two-yearr cycle beginning in July 2011. “Statew budget officials said that if the economy does not improved and revenues donot increase, all options will be on the table for discussion and debate,” the report said. Click to download the full report.