Stimulus Funds used on Tennis Court in Bozeman

A portion of the Federal Stimulus funds were used to replace aging tennis courts courts with a new rubber tiled surface.

Stimulus Funded Tennis Courts Draw Ire In Montana [ABC News]

Proper Stimulus?

“The issue started with reports that the City of Bozeman decided Monday to spend about $50,000 of its $621,000 in stimulus money to replace aging courts with a new rubber tiled surface — a move the city pointed out was perfectly allowed by stimulus guidelines.

But Gov. Brian Schweitzer lashed out at the idea Tuesday. The Democrat said that such a project would have been laughed out of the building if Bozeman had specifically asked the Legislature for it.”

Partisan bickering aside, this “infrastructure” improvement is technically allowed by the stimulus guidelines. It also raises the question of what exactly this project is intended to stimulate? Giving short term busy work to contractors is no way to rebuild an economy, one wonders how much of the massive $787 billion stimulus fund is being used on projects like these.