b'ViewpointsHowever, the value of these reporting requirements, espe- and they are struggling with how to spend it. His home cially by larger jurisdictions, will be to fill a blank space thatstate of Virginia received $4.3 billion and its localities have existed after massive spending in 2009 under the Recoverybeen allocated $2.9 billion on top of that amount. The City Act: did the monies make a difference? The Recovery Actof Richmonds allocation, for example, is equivalent to 20 required detailed reports on spending, but not on whetherpercent of its annual budget. So how should they approach the monies spent led to improvements. The Biden administra- spending wisely?tion is encouraging recipients to use funding to stabilize their immediate need to support existing services but also to investLeighty observes that most communities have created in longer-term recovery programs, in a sustainable and equi- working groups to create consensus on priorities for table manner. The reporting requirements for the Recoveryspending. Many also have appointed an accountability officer Fund, according to an article in Government Executive, areto track spending. He recommends uses that will not create a envisioned to fill that blank space this time around. long-term stress on budgets after the federal monies run out in 2026. For example, he recommends using funds to tackle Spending Advice from Experts deferred maintenance and invest in parks, recreation, and affordable housingand not to hire more staff, since such States and localities were initially unsure as to how theypositions would either have to be terminated or funded with might handle this massive cash flow, especially since thelocal resources after the federal aid runs out.original projections of large-scale revenue shortfalls from their own tax sources proved to be wrong and many had unexpected surpluses. The Urban Institute reported that taxWho Makes Decisions on How Funds Are Used?revenues grew 17.3 percent in August 2021, compared to aAt the state level, tensions arose over whether the governor year earlier. RouteFifty reported that some state lawmakersor the legislature would have the authority to determine see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in longspending priorities over their portion of the grant monies. As ignored community needs thanks to booming tax revenuesRouteFifty notes, You might think this would be the kind and federal aid. An early study by the Brookings Institutionof question for which there would be a simple, standard of spending plans developed by large cities recommends answer. But no. In fourty states, the governor has authority they use some of these funds to develop comprehensiveto spend unanticipated federal funds without legislative strategies to reverse decades of decline as a result of budgetapproval, with some restrictions. The tensions are even cuts over the years. starker in those states where the legislature is controlled by a different party than the governor, such as North Carolina. Bill Leighty, a longtime advisor to states and localities, sees them awash in money thanks to the federal Recovery Fund 2022 IBM Center for The Business of Government 77'