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500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, S.D.57501
(605) 773-3212
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009
CONTACT: Joe Kafka or Roxy Everson, (605) 773-3212
South Dakota Submits First Quarterly Federal Stimulus Report Ahead of Schedule
PIERRE, S.D. –Gov. Mike Rounds announced today that the state Bureau of Finance and Management has submitted the first quarterly report requested by the federal government under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA).
Data submitted by South Dakota show that state government, through Sept. 30, has spent $219 million of the estimated $632 million in federal stimulus funds allocated to state agencies.
“South Dakota has shown that it has been able to efficiently get the stimulus money into the state economy,” Gov. Rounds said. “Nationally, federal agencies have expended only 21 percent of their allocations – on average – while South Dakota’s number is an impressive 35 percent.”
The funds are intended to be fully used over three fiscal years.
State government used $71 million in stimulus funds to balance the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009; another $88 million in stimulus money was used to balance the current state government budget, leaving about $65 million in stimulus funds to plug into the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010.
“South Dakota has strategically decided to use some of the money in each of the three fiscal years to help balance the state budget during these difficult economic times,” Gov. Rounds said. “Despite the influx of federal funds, we still believe that fiscal restraint is necessary. Unfortunately, these federal funds will be exhausted before the economy fully recovers.”
Of the $632 million allocated to state government in South Dakota for recession relief, $282 million is for infrastructure -- such as roads, bridges, water systems, building repairs and energy projects; $181 million will be used for education; $132 million will be used for public assistance programs, including unemployment assistance; $23 million will be used for public safety; and $14 million is for other necessary state services.
“We have used stimulus funds until this point to protect our state reserves,” the Governor said. “But this recession shows few signs of weakening, and we may have to significantly tap those reserves in the future.”
South Dakota sent its ARRA quarterly report to federal officials Thursday. It is not due until Saturday.
“I commend state agencies and departments for the hard work they did to get this voluminous amount of financial information into the quarterly report that is due Oct. 10,” the Governor said. “I’m proud to announce that the information has been posted on the state’s Open.SD.gov Web site, with a link from Recovery.SD.gov. State citizens can examine the exact data submitted to the federal government and be assured that the money was spent prudently.”
“This major accounting requirement was accomplished within existing budgets,” Gov. Rounds added. “No stimulus funds were used for additional personnel to compile the data.”
South Dakota stimulus data, including reports on stimulus funds that went to other units of government in the state, will be posted on the federal Web site Recovery.gov on Oct. 30, said Jason Dilges, commissioner of the state Bureau of Finance and Management.
“In the spirit of government openness and transparency, information on ARRA funds allocated to state government was placed on our state Web site three weeks before it will be posted on the federal stimulus reporting Web site,” Dilges said. “A massive amount of work went into our efforts to be sure that we met all of the federal reporting requirements and could accurately account for all of the funds, as of Sept. 30.”
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*Dilges (DIHL’-jes)