County Administrator Update

County Administrator, Bertha Henry

April 17, 2009

After the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17, 2009, the federal government moved quickly to push economic stimulus dollars out into local communities. As your County Administrator, I am pleased to tell you that Broward County Government has also moved quickly to ensure our community benefits from the stimulus spending plan.

In the past two months, we have:

• In partnership with The Broward Alliance, WorkForce One and other community partners, completed an online survey of the business community to gather input for a local stimulus plan
• Created a Stimulus Grants Coordination Office to identify stimulus opportunities for Broward County resulting from the ARRA
• Mobilized staff across the county to write and submit grant applications for viable projects
• Conducted training on effective grant writing for municipalities and community organizations
• Created an economic recovery Web site with information about Broward County stimulus projects, and other resources for businesses and people who may be interested in learning more about how stimulus dollars will affect our community
• Committed to detailed, real-time reporting to the public on local stimulus activities, including tracking of dollars received, dollars spent, jobs created, and subcontractors and sub-grantees involved
• Committed to involving small businesses in new projects, and provided extensive information on how to do business with Broward County

In the coming weeks and months, we will seek all opportunities to stimulate job growth and investment in our community. Among the agencies involved in this effort are Economic Development, Housing Finance and Community Development, and Small Business Development. Our Family Success Centers and Human Services agencies will be working hard to help ease the economic toll on our most vulnerable residents.

Please call on these agencies as needed, and visit this site often to monitor the progress of projects impacting our local community.

We welcome your feedback and invite you to email suggestions about additional information you would like to see on Broward’s economic recovery.

Sincerely,


Bertha Henry
County Administrator