A meaningful investment

Earlier this month, Congress determined that through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Indiana will receive an estimated $6 billion to help put Hoosiers back to work by investing in valuable infrastructure, clean water, education, health, energy, science and other programs. These dollars are sorely needed by our state, municipalities, schools, and most importantly, our families.

The $787 billion price tag for the stimulus package is a staggering figure. However, when you put Indiana's $6 billion share into perspective, it addresses only a fraction of our needs. Every Indiana city and town has its own unique set of challenges. For the leaders of these municipalities there is at least one key issue that brings them all together: the role they play in making their communities livable for the people who reside there and attractive to business and industry in hopes that they will locate there.

The needs and categories for spending these economic stimulus dollars are broad. The more funds that can be dedicated to building and maintaining vital infrastructure the more successful the stimulus program will be for Indiana. Paving streets, maintaining and repairing bridges, connecting our industrial centers to vital transportation arteries, improving gateways and building sidewalks are just a few of the nuts-and-bolts projects piling up on project lists in cities and towns across Indiana.

On top of the needs that all communities in our state share, in Indiana 105 of our cities and towns carry an additional burden, a collective $639 billion combined-sewer overflow (CSO) problem. In these communities a combined outfall of both sewage and storm-water runoff spills over into lakes, rivers or streams during wet weather events. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are mandating solutions to these outfalls, and the problems can range from nearly $1 billion in Indianapolis to $7 million in Berne.

Although the stimulus package dedicates only about $94 million for wastewater projects, any funds spent in CSO communities will help mitigate massive sewer rate increases for those fortunate enough to receive assistance.

Local leaders are not looking to this recovery package as a chance to fund frivolous projects. We see this as an opportunity for Indiana to invest in infrastructure that will give our residents safer streets to travel on and create communities that are attractive for growth and development. If we defer valuable maintenance projects and continue putting off investments in the basics, there will never be a stimulus package large enough to help us recover from not only an economic growth perspective but from the threats to public safety that failing infrastructure will bring.

While the facts support an almost endless need for dollars to devote to core capital projects, Indiana's cities and towns are grateful that we have the opportunity for any stimulus funds. Our state has diverse needs and we understand that competition for the funds will be fierce. Investing in the backbone of Indiana's heartland is an investment in the future of our state and would be a meaningful way to accomplish the goals set out by President Barack Obama.