Officials prepare to spend stimulus money

HELENA (AP)

Montana cities and counties have between now and the end of September 2010 to spend nearly $20 million in federal stimulus dollars to put people to work and shore up public infrastructure. The money comes from the $900 million allocated for Montana under t h e Ame r i c a n Re c ove r y a n d Reinvestment Act that was passed by Congress earlier this year. Under its plan for spending that money, the state Legislature set aside at least $100,000 for each county and $5,000 for each city in the state. The remainder will be divvied up using a formula that looks at population and total r...