A delegation of Fort Smith municipal officials will go to Washington in January to lobby for additional federal stimulus funding of projects in northwest Arkansas.
City administrator Dennis Kelly said the officials will meet with members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, as well as administrators at agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Arkansas received $1.3 billion of the $787 billion of federal stimulus money allocated in 2009. Fort Smith received less than $2.6 million of the funds, with the local school district receiving $20.3 million.
Steven Pruitt of the city’s Washington-based lobbying firm, Watts Partners, told councilors last week that local governments proposing large construction projects are more likely to receive federal funding in 2010 because the federal government prefers major projects over small ones, and because of the congressional elections in November.
The city has proposed more than $400 million in local road project for stimulus funding.
