Perdue To Accept Stimulus Funds

ATLANTA -- Gov. Sonny Perdue said Tuesday that he wants to spend the first chunk of stimulus money, just keeping essential services afloat over the next year.

He told 11Alive's Jon Shirek that he's listening to what taxpayers are telling him to do with the billions more that are on the way.

The governor was grim.

"This weakness in sales and income tax..."

Somber as he announced that the state has no choice but to take the first $1.1 billion of federal stimulus money to prolong life-saving services over the next year. He said he knows taxpayers are skeptical.

"We don't believe this is free money," Perdue said. "Somebody is going to have to pay it back some time."

Taxpayers writing 11Alive.com continue to have strong opinions about what the state should do with the stimulus money -- possibly as much as $6 billion over two or three years.

Buy food for the poor, says one person; put it into the schools, says another -- or, use it for unemployment benefits. Another said to give it back to the sender, it has too many strings attached.

"As you know, taxpayers are very passionate about what you should and shouldn't do with the stimulus money. Are you really taking what the public, the taxpayers, have to say seriously, in this tough economic climate?" asked Shirek.

"I always take what the taxpayers have to say seriously," he replied. "I would hope that they would affirm that when we use this money for educational enhancements, to stave off deep cuts in education, when we're staving off deep cuts in health care, and when we're staving off deep cuts in public safety, I hope our citizens would recognize that those are the fundamental tenants and responsibilities of good government."

Shirek gave printouts of all the 11Alive.com comments to the governor's spokesman Bert Brantley -- who said the staff would read each one.

And he said the state is about to start a stimulus Web site, "Where people can track the spending. We'll be very accountable and transparent. It'll probably go up later this week -- and we'll be providing more information about that web address at that time."

The governor also announced that he is going to accept all of the stimulus money available for expanding unemployment benefits in Georgia. He said that Georgia will have to spend $1 million to expand unemployment benefits under the program, but will receive $150 million.

The expanded benefits include an additional 26 weeks of coverage (on top of the current 26 weeks of coverage) for certain people who must attend school to train for a job they are seeking; and coverage for people who lost part-time work and are looking for a new, part-time job (current law requires them to seek a full-time job if they want to receive unemployment checks, regardless of any personal circumstances that prevent them from taking a full-time job).

Governor Perdue emphasized that, apart from the expanded unemployment benefits, he will seek to use the stimulus money for one-time-only expenditures, for preventing life-saving services and certain education programs from going under during the recession-- not to expand any state programs.

"My goal is to use the money over the three years [that we'll be receiving it] in order to minimize the disruption when the stimulus money is gone."

Here are some of the questions we've asked and you've answered about where you want the money spent. Keep telling us how you think Perdue should spend the money in our comments section below!

1. What do you think most of the money Georgia receives in the stimulus package should go towards? Roads? Unemployment benefits? Education? Healthcare? Banks? Mortgage funding? Or something else?

9% Roads
18% Unemployment
28% Education
18% Healthcare
3% Banks
10% Mortgage Funding
10% Other
4% Not Sure

2. Based on what you know, should the Governor accept all of the federal stimulus money? Some of it? Or none of it?

53% All Of It
27% Some Of It
17% None Of It
2% Not Sure

3. Will the stimulus plan help you personally? Hurt you personally? Or have no effect?

34% Help
23% Hurt
35% No Effect
8% Not Sure

Now give us more feedback on how the money should be spent below!