Confusion Reigns or for Oregon should it be rains?

[Bill Ford]

The Oregon Way...the governor has attempted to provide a system and process to achieve accountability and transparency over all the ARRA money coming to Oregon. A lot of great information is on the web site but the first energy deadline is tomorrow April 15th. It is a shame that those submitting, at least us, were unable to have our form sent through the web site as required. Our IT folks assured us that the error was NOT on our end. We ended up using snail mail to get the submission post marked prior to the deadline. In spite of several calls to the "powers that be" we were unable to use the system. Not only has the information been difficult to track and process to this point confusing. The lack of established policies and procedures preclude responsiveness. Our project is a biological process and it is doubtful that we will make our growing season this summer even if we are selected for funding. The jobs are needed and can be created NOW but the system will probably bog down and grind to the normal pace. The global economy melted down and the Federal Government acted in record time and now as the money flows down the velocity of helpfulness is lost. Not sure what if anything can be done but not as happy as I was in FEB! Bioscience and other biological process simply don't work on the same schedule as bean counters.

[Jeremy Rogers]

Have folks seen an improvement in the efficiency of the stimulus process over the past couple of months?