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Website will make city spending transparent

Residents can view Madison’s plans for stimulus’ allocation

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Mayor Dave Cieslewicz launched a new federal stimulus website Monday designed to provide the public with information regarding the city’s plans to seek and use funds derived from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Cieslewicz created the website to openly share current information regarding stimulus funding, Rachel Strauch-Nelson, spokesperson for Cieslewicz, said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

The site will constantly be updated with new information about agency project proposals, competitive grants and the process surrounding stimulus funding, Strauch-Nelson said.

The site, which will be updated by the mayor’s stimulus team as more information becomes available, will also allow the public to post feedback, she added.

“The federal stimulus provides a historic opportunity to continue moving Madison forward: creating jobs, stimulating our economy, building our infrastructure and helping our residents in need,” Mayor Cieslewicz said in a statement.

The mayor meets every week with his stimulus team, Strauch-Nelson said. Also, every Board of Estimates meeting includes an update on the stimulus package.

The site was created so people can see the city is moving quickly to ensure the city receives the greatest possible benefits from the funds, he added.

Transparency in government is very beneficial to taxpayers, Kirsten Kukowski, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

“We must ensure the stimulus money is being used to create jobs and get the economy back on track,” she added.

Strauch-Nelson said she does not believe many other cities have assembled a site of this caliber and detail.

“One key goal for me in making decisions regarding this funding is that we need to transform our economy into one that is more sustainable,” Cieslewicz said in the statement. “We need to move toward an economy that is built on savings rather than debt, on production rather than consumption and on environmental sustainability rather than degradation.”

The federal stimulus website can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/federalstimulus.