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A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, requesting that the General Assembly act to distribute federal funding received through any economic stimulus package which allocates revenue for infrastructure improvement in a fashion that guarantees funding to Counties of the Second Class proportionate to the infrastructure located therein, and to require local administration of at least half of the funds allocated to each County of the Second Class.
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WHEREAS, on January 28, 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed an $819 billion economic stimulus package that includes hundreds of billions of dollars in spending on numerous domestic programs, expanded unemployment benefits for Americans, and about $275 billion in tax cuts; and
WHEREAS, the House's stimulus package allocates roughly $30 billion for highway construction to be distributed directly to state governments, with significant funding allocated to other infrastructure projects; and
WHEREAS, although the House's stimulus package requires that mayors and governors sign off on projects located within their jurisdictions, it appears to vest discretion over which projects to fund with the states, rather than with local units of government that are generally more aware of and sensitive to specific infrastructure issues and their effects on residents; and
WHEREAS, President Obama has publicly stated support for the creation of a free-standing entity that would be able to make more merit-based decisions about how to spend infrastructure funding than Congress can, and it is the judgment of Council that the logical extension of this concept insofar as it impacts Allegheny County is the creation of a fund within the County to make merit-based decisions regarding infrastructure funding by weighing all concerns of the County's residents; and
WHEREAS, to this end, it is also the judgment of Council that the General Assembly should act with all ...
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