ADVERTISEMENT

Study finds $70 million in stalled Bay Area stimulus projects

February 16, 2012

The San Francisco Bay Area received more than $9 billion in stimulus funds, but three years after President Obama announced the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, 19 of those Bay Area projects—totaling about $70 million in taxpayer money—have yet to even break ground.

NBC Bay Area reports:

The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit spent weeks analyzing government stimulus data, in partnership with the nonprofit investigative news group ProPublica. Our investigation found that Alameda County received nearly $3.5 billion—more than any other county in the Bay Area. San Francisco and Santa Clara counties followed, each receiving more than $1.5 billion.

All other Bay Area counties have received less than a billion federal stimulus dollars. San Mateo County received $866 million, Contra Costa County reeled in nearly $501 million, and Solano County received more than $292 million.

Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties have received the least amount of stimulus support, bringing in less than $300 million in stimulus funding since 2009.

But our computer analysis shows money approved doesn’t always mean money spent—or jobs created. According to the latest government data, 19 Bay Area stimulus projects funded in 2010 or earlier have not broken ground. That totals more than $70 million. They haven’t created jobs, either.

We found two projects approved more than two years ago that have not even started.