Otter: ‘We’re going to wait’

“I accepted the money reluctantly and cautiously,” Gov. Butch Otter just said of the federal stimulus money. “We’ve had a backlog in infrastructure, obviously highway infrastructure.” But there’s also a backlog of communities needing help with drinking water systems, he said. So when it came to the $45 million he could divide at his discretion, he put it into road work and water system loans through a state revolving fund. Otter also said he’s holding off on committing the stimulus money for eight big road projects, to see if lawmakers pass his GARVEE bonding proposal. “We’ve got about 90 days in order to make those project commitments,” he said. “We’re going to wait for the results of the Legislature.”