Bay Area officials seek stimulus input - San Francisco Business Times:

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The submission deadline is April 24. The region’z final report is due to the statw byJune 1. The economic institute, which is developingv a regional plan for seeking federastimulus cash, is already working with locall governments and agencies like the , the East Bay’s Economic Developmenrt Alliance and the Association of Bay Area The economic institute said Thursday it wants inputf as well from area business leaders and residents as it writes its The regional proposal — which will show how the Bay Area wante to spend money it gets — is seen as the most effectived way for the area to make a strong case for money in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“We’re gettingv submissions from everypossibls direction” to help pull together the regional said Sean Randolph, president of the Bay Area Council Economiv Institute. “This program … can ensure the Bay Area gets the maximumj bang for itsstimulus bucks.” Much of the moneh in the stimulus act goes to areas based on formulas. But about one third of the totakl cashis discretionary, meaning projects in the Bay Area will competes with proposals across the state and acrossd the country. “We are in a high stake game in Californiaand we’re in a competition with otheer states,” said Bruce Kern, executiv e director of the .
Billions of dollar s are at stake. About $30 billiobn in stimulus money will be divvied up in Sacramentoo before going to various regionsaround California. Another $20 billionm of discretionary money will be doled out to Californiafrom D.C. Starting April 6, the economif institute said it will start collecting project proposals onlineat www.bayareaeconomy.org/recovery. The submission deadlin is April 24. The region’se final report is due to the statr byJune 1. Projects should fall into one ofseven categories, the economid institute said. Those are: Transportation, water, energy/climate, workforcr training and education, business science and innovationor housing.
The projectx should also lead tosignificant short-term job creatiobn and generate long-term return on There is benefit to the plan even if it does not resulft in stimulus money, officials said. By bringingv together agencies thatoften don’ t plan together, the regional proposal is generating attention on regional said Randolph. “We see the plan framingt a longer term conversation aboutregional priorities.
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