Prioritize needs for new funds, city officials told

FORT SMITH — Officials must think big if they are to have a chance at getting a share of federal stimulus money that is going to go out to states in the coming year, the city’s lobbyist told city directors.

Fort Smith’s lobbyists with Watts Partners of Washington, D.C., gave a report to city directors Thursday about the next round of stimulus spending by the government and to get Fort Smith’s priority list for federal funding.

One of the Watts Partners lobbyists, Steven Pruitt, told directors that federal officials are determining who gets funding based on priority lists they acquire from numerous organizations, like the Organization of State Highway Commissioners and the National League of Cities.

Fort Smith’s voice in either of those organizations may not be loud enough to be heard so city officials should forge their own relationships so they will be known to the agencies that will be providing the funding, Pruitt said.

City Administrator Dennis Kelly said a Fort Smith delegation will go to Washington, D.C., early next yearto lobby for funding. In addition to visiting with Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., and other members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, he said the Fort Smith delegation would meet with such agencies as the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Deputy city administrator Ray Gosack said Friday that city officials have gone to federal agencies in Washington in the past. He said Federal Highway Administration officials are likely to remember Fort Smith because officials there said it has been one of the few times municipal officials have taken the time to meet with them.

Gosack said the delegation also has met in the past with other Arkansas congressmen, such as Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder, who is on the House Armed Services Committee that affects Fort Chaffee.

Pruitt also told city directors to make themselves known to members of the Arkansas Legislature and state agencies. He said in many cases, federal moneyis appropriated to states, which then filter the money to local governments.

Pruitt said it was important to be aggressive in seeking government funding because Arkansas received such a small portion of the first round of stimulus spending.

He said Arkansas received just $1.3 billion of the $787 billion of stimulus money spent over the past year. Of that, the city of Fort Smith received less than $2.6 million; the Fort Smith school district received $20.3 million.

Pruitt also said local governments that have largeconstruction projects will be more apt to receive federal funding because of next year’s election and because the government likes to fund large projects rather than small projects.

Fort Smith has several high-dollar projects on its priority list, including $361 million to build Interstate 49 to connect Interstate 40 to U.S. 71 south of Fort Smith; $40 million to connect Interstate 540 to Clayton Expressway; and $31 million for the May Branch Creek flood control improvements.

Pruitt said federal officials like projects that involve construction because they create jobs elected officials can show off to constituents especially during an election year.