Stimulus: Is it working up here?

It’s hard to say; even state officials have trouble following the money. It does seem to be helping bolster the North Country’s roads, bridges, schools and a medical research lab, but it’s not creating long-term jobs

By CHRIS KNIGHT, Enterprise Senior Staff Writer POSTED: October 24, 2009

Federal stimulus money has been trickling into the North Country over the past six months, but whether it's helped to boost the region's economy or has created anything more than seasonal jobs so far is debatable.

Gov. David Paterson says the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is "creating jobs now for North Country workers."

"The recession is far from over, but there is no question that the stimulus program has helped reduce the pain in the North Country and around New York," he said in a prepared statement.

But it's difficult to gauge whether that's true, in part because the state officials who are supposed to manage stimulus are having a hard time tracking all the money, how it's been spent and how many jobs it has actually saved or created.

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