Doling out federal stimulus money in Washington state

"For every complex question, there is a simple answer — and it's wrong."

— H.L. Mencken

I haven't slept well since the U.S. Treasury cranked up the presses and billions in economic stimulus began making its way West.

A good portion of the hours between midnight and dawn can be whiled away imagining the various routes the freshly minted cash will take en route to doing good. Realistically, a portion won't make it to its destination at all. Some will be wasted through inefficiencies, incompetence and some — to cadge a euphemism from the HBO series "The Sopranos" — will just "fall off the truck."

By one estimate, 1 percent of the $800 billion federal effort will be wasted. The prospect of $8 billion circling the drain has on many a night caused my eyes to go wide in the darkness.

A prospect of sleep comes via Jill Satran, Gov. Chris Gregoire's stimulus czar. I asked Satran how she would make sure the federal cash is spent quickly and effectively — competing goals, I know. But I wanted a simple assurance from Satran that she would know the whereabouts of every dollar.

The reality is far more complex. Between $7 billion and $10 billion could come to Washington state. Less than half will flow through state coffers. The rest is a direct pass from federal to local cities and towns. Housing authorities will get their cash, school districts theirs. Of the $4 billion directly under state purview, nearly $3 billion has already disappeared into the yawning maws of state coffers.

Satran is a smart woman — armed with a law degree and a doctorate — who is clear about her role and limited powers, given that she is a one-woman show assisted by a few full-time employees. To monitor the money, Satran will be relying on the eagle eyes of local officials as much as she will rely on her own.

That isn't very different from her counterpart at the federal level, Earl Devaney, an ex-cop and former Secret Service agent appointed by President Obama. As head of the Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board, Devaney is demanding weekly reports from federal agencies dispensing stimulus funds.

Transportation-stimulus spending will be the easiest to track, says Dick Thompson, a former state budget director and a longtime player in the arena where budget numbers reside in the billions. Road projects are comprised of contracts with clear goals and budgets. Spending targets are specific down to design features and materials.

Spending on social services and education presents a greater challenge. Simple enough to trace K-12 funds to a particular school district; more difficult to determine if the money did any good.

About $5 billion in innovation money is being dangled in front of school districts by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. He wants the money to spur reform. I think we're naive if we believe a lack of money stalls innovation and reform. More than likely it is a collection of fossilized special interests.

In flusher times, I wasn't so obsessed with government spending. But our stimulus is our children's debt. I want to be able to tell my son about all the good the extra spending did. Satran gets this.

"I'm right there with you," she tells me about my sleepless nights. But of the local agencies and organizations getting the stimulus, she warns, "I certainly will be a presence in their life."

Think I'll sleep well tonight.

Follow the money yourself by visiting www.recovery.wa.gov/Satran promises this site will be updated regularly with county-by-county breakdowns of stimulus spending.

Lynne K. Varner's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is lvarner@seattletimes.com