Yesterday, the SGVT reported that cities were swapping and selling their stimulus money, but today comes word that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has stepped in and nixed any such deals. Via the News: "MTA board members, who had allocated a minimum of $500,000 in stimulus funds to every city in Los Angeles County, had never intended to let cities to sell their shares of funding to other cities for cash, board member Richard Katz said. "That was a misunderstanding on somebody's part," Katz said. "It is our intention that all of the stimulus money be for transportation purposes and transportation only." [SGVT Tribune] UPDATE: This is confusing. The LA Times also has a story on the swapping, noting that while MTA "had no objection to this kind of exchange provided the projects that are to receive stimulus funds meet the federal criteriam," they also contacted city managers yesterday "saying that efforts by more municipalities to take the bartering process a step further will not be allowed." [LA Times]
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