Stimulus program overlooked opportunity for Butler, others
When President Barack Obama launched his economic stimulus program, it could have accomplished more if it had deviated somewhat from a strict emphasis on shovel-ready projects.
Obama should have earmarked some money for communities to comply with federal requirements that were issued without federal money to back up the edicts — even if those efforts were not quite shovel-ready. One good example would have been grants to communities to beef up their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act — a law with which Butler and other municipalities have been wrestling.
The law requires communities to install ADA-compliant curbside ramps for the disabled whenever roads are being resurfaced or rebuilt.
In Butler, the city has been allocating some of the money from its limited resurfacing budget to install the mandated ramps on the streets where work is being done. But the city would be better off at this time if the Obama administration had not been so strict on the shovel-ready requirement.
Instead of having to allocate money for the ramps this year and probably many years into the future, stimulus money for the work could have allowed that phase of infrastructure modernization to already be in place when the city designated streets for resurfacing.
In fact, few non-shovel-ready projects could have been made shovel-ready as quickly as municipalities assessing where curbside ramps were needed.
The ADA-required ramps have been taking a significant bite — 30 percent to 35 percent — out of Butler’s limited resurfacing budget, which wouldn’t be necessary with more vision and flexibility from the federal government.
To Butler’s credit, the city seems determined to push ahead with a plan that would have city streets employees install a few ramps, rather than including that work with this year’s resurfacing contract.
Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. said the aim is “to see how much time it takes us to do it, compared to the cost of having somebody else do it.
“They (streets workers) feel they have the expertise to do (the ramps), and I am confident in their ability.”
Still, the ramps continue to pose a financial burden on the community that could have been averted with a stimulus grant for that purpose.
Other municipalities should keep an eye on whether Butler is able to achieve the savings being envisioned by using streets employees instead of outside contractors.
Last year, the city intended to resurface parts of eight streets, but ended up resurfacing only six because of the money needed for ADA-compliant ramps.
Schontz said the city could stretch its $300,000 resurfacing budget by directing its attention to the worst parts of roadways, or resurfacing longer stretches of streets with fewer intersections — meaning fewer ramps.
That tactic, which will not be in some handicapped people’s best interests, could be avoided if Obama would have put more emphasis on addressing legitimate needs of communities as a means for achieving some of his stimulus objectives, including stronger employment numbers.
By his shovel-ready edict and limited flexibility regarding that requirement, Obama missed an opportunity that not only could have improved communities, but also improved his standing in the eyes of the public.