Portland City Council voted Monday to spend $168,000 of federal stimulus money to hire the city’s first full-time sustainability coordinator. The amount covers the position’s salary and benefits for three years, reported the Portland Press Herald.
The position is part of a the city’s plan to spend $700,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The remaining $520,700 is earmarked for energy improvements such as new lights, insulation, heating system improvements and weatherization, the paper reported.
Earlier this year, Portland hired a Massachusetts firm to do a $150,000 energy audit and develop options for how the city can lower its energy bill. Councilor David Marshall, chairman of the council’s Energy and Environmental Sustainability Committee, said the audit will provide a basis to easily calculate savings, putting Portland in a strong position to seek more money for similar programs from the federal government, according to the Press Herald. The first phase of the stimulus funding — $250,000 — is expected by month’s end.
