Updated 9/16/2009 12:21:39 AM
ATLANTA -- The athlete from the movie Jerry Maguire shouted at his agent, "Show me the money!"
We, at 11Alive have asked the same of state and local officials when it comes to the stimulus -- and we are committed to following it.
We examine one of the programs that stands to see a more than 20-fold increase in funding -- weatherization. Georgia gets $6 million a year from the U.S. Department of Energy -- enough to weatherize 2,500 low income homes.
The stimulus package will send Georgia $129 million -- enough to weatherize 14,000 homes.
"We strip all that off," explained one of the approved weatherization contractors. "Seal the ducts. And re-insulate them."
Two thousand of those houses, and 10 million of those dollars will be spent in Dekalb, Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties.
"This is a one-time investment that's going to go a long way," said Mohammad Saleem, president and CEO of the Partnership for Community Action -- a non-profit agency that will oversee the weatherization in those four counties.
"For years, to come, the house will be energy efficient and people will be saving energy dollars," said Saleem. "I can assure you and commit to you that our agency will do a diligent job. And we (are) going to make sure that our work is open, transparent, and is open to anybody who wants to watch."
The stimulus money is in the pipeline now and projects will begin soon, for people whose income and homes qualify. Homes that are weatherized get upgraded insulation, caulking around windows, weather stripping, and even new appliances.
Contractors are authorized to spend up to $6,500 per house.
"Our inspectors go out and look at it; the quality control," Saleem said. "And if everything meets it, then we pay the vendors. So they are paid at the end of the job."
Over the next two and a half years, this stimulus money for weatherization will create 30 jobs in that four county area. And then the money and jobs will go away -- but the energy savings will last for years.
