ATLANTA -- It was the focus of a Congressional hearing on stimulus spending, and now 11Alive has discovered millions in unspent stimulus funds given to Georgia to create "green" jobs.
According to Georgia's stimulus accountability web site, the state has received about $400 million in stimulus funds for energy and environmental programs. More than two years into the stimulus program, $281 million of that money has been spent, according to the site, leaving $119 million unspent.
During a hearing before the House Oversight Committee earlier this week, the Inspector General of the Department of Energy said billions in federal stimulus dollars had not been put to work nationwide.
"Nearly 45 percent of the Department's Recovery Act funding has yet to be spent," said Inspector General Gregory Friedman. "In reality, few 'shovel ready' projects existed."
The Obama administration vowed that the stimulus program would create jobs by sending money to "shovel ready" projects.
In Georgia, the Energy Efficiency Grant program provides energy technology to cities and counties. According to the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, Georgia has spent $14 million of the $21 million in stimulus funds provided for the program.
Georgia was awarded $82 million dollars for the State Energy program to retrofit state buildings to be more energy efficient. More than two years into the stimulus program, $44 million has been spent, or 53 percent of the funds.
Because of the federal government's reporting formula, agencies overseeing stimulus spending can't calculate total jobs created.
"All of those things take time and can't be done overnight," said Shane Hix, spokesperson for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority. "If our only metric was how fast we spent the money, we would not be very good stewards of the taxpayer dollar."
Nix said the State Energy program existed before stimulus funds with a budget of around a million dollars. With a sudden infusion of 82-million, the agency had to search for the right projects while following federal and state regulations.
"There was a lot of requesting and analyzing potential projects," said Nix.
Hix was asked about the Obama administration's vow that stimulus funds would go to shovel ready projects.
"Shovel ready is a term Washington uses," said Hix. "Our job is to manage the taxpayer's dollar responsibly."
Hix says all of the agency's programs are now under contract with work underway. He said the programs were on track to complete work before next spring's deadline.