Baker & Daniels Lawyers Explain Details on Stimulus Package

A week after the federal stimulus package became law, local government officials are still unsure how much money will be available and how they'll be able to use it, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported in its story "Confusion Around Stimulus: Local Officials Unsure How to Use Federal Aid."

"We're dealing with unprecedented legislation to deal with unprecedented circumstances," Baker & Daniels' Rich Hill said in the story. "Nobody has all the answers."

Officials from across northeast Indiana attended a two-hour seminar on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 hosted by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported. Representatives from Baker & Daniels and its consulting division, B&D Consulting, presented detailed information about the bill, including the various areas where money was being made available.

David Gogol of B&D Consulting said some of the confusion comes from the way the stimulus bill was sold to the public, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported. It was originally touted as a road and street infrastructure bill, but the final version of the $789.5 billion bill includes only a small percentage of money for those projects. In fact, he said the most money for Indiana is coming for education.

Gogol said some deadlines for projects have already expired, such as those for water and sewer projects, according to the story. Gogol said the confusion isn't limited to northeast Indiana. "It's across the country."