Hoping to secure their fair share of President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $1 trillion economic revival plan, Cape Ann leaders, at the urging of the lieutenant governor's office, are identifying "shovel-ready" projects in their communities they believe are worthy of federal investments.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray leads the state task force that will identify infrastructure projects that could be paid for by the economic stimulus package. Murray asked all cities and towns to submit a list of priority projects by 2 p.m. Thursday.

Gloucester City Council President Bruce Tobey, who is also the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, is a member of the state's Municipal Facilities Task Force.

Gloucester officials were ahead of the pack in announcing its projects for such funding. Last month, just days after Obama announced the "shovel-ready" contingency, Mayor Carolyn Kirk's budget director Jim Duggan and Public Works Director Michael Hale met privately with staff for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and Congressman John Tierney, both Massachusetts Democrats.

The city's $80 million to-do list is dominated by $65 million worth of federal- and state-mandated water and sewer work.

In Murray's e-mail, he said President-elect Obama's team and members of Congress were actively working on an economic recovery bill with the goal of enacting it by Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. He added the bill would likely include "significant funding" for "ready-to-go" infrastructure projects.

"If we are not prepared with ready-to-go projects, we risk losing this federal money," Murray wrote.

Rockport Town Administrator Michael Racicot said yesterday he plans to submit a proposal for the town's $1.9 million Community House restoration project.

Located at the Five Corners on Broadway, the building is scheduled to be fully restored with a majority of its space set aside as a new senior center.

Christopher Lewis, a former Rockport selectman candidate, said other projects that come to mind are the ongoing state-mandated water and sewer inflow and infiltration work, the project to bring deep bedrock wells on stream, and wind turbines at the school and other town-owned property.

"Our leaders should follow Mayor Kirk's example and meet with Sens. Kerry, Kennedy and Congressman Tierney with a list of shovel-ready projects," Lewis said. "The most important task for our leaders in 2009 will be to secure our fair share of this largesse."

Racicot said he plans to speak with the Public Works Board of Commissioners to see if the members have any other suggestions to send to Beacon Hill by Thursday.

In Essex, Town Hall is in need of restoration, but Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki was unsure if the project would be submitted this week.

"We didn't submit anything yet, it's possible that we will. The Town Hall is in need of restoration, but it's not final yet," Zubricki said yesterday. "We're still trying to assess what we'd like to do."

Manchester Town Administrator Wayne Melville said his office, which has anticipated a stimulus package since the election, has been working with consultants to populate a list of worthy projects but added he was unsure which, if any, would make the cut by this week's deadline.

According to Murray, projects must be shovel-ready within 180 days and able to be completed within two years.

Murray said projects for municipal facilities including public safety, wastewater, water, solid waste, recreational, city and town buildings, senior or community centers, garages, public libraries and cultural facilities are all eligible for consideration.

However, Murray also advised officials to continue procuring money for projects through traditional sources because even if the bill were to pass in Washington, D.C., no funding is guaranteed.

"It is important to note that this bill has not passed yet and even if it does, it is still unclear how much Massachusetts will benefit," Murray said. "We anticipate a strong response from municipalities and even with a good bill that benefits Massachusetts greatly, not all of these projects will be funded."

Following a two-week vacation in Hawaii, Obama was in the nation's capital yesterday pushing his plan, which he has dubbed the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan," to congressional leaders.

The short-term help would flow partly from tax cuts of $1,000 for couples and $500 for individuals, costing about $140 billion over 2009-2010. The Obama team, said two congressional Democratic aides familiar with the discussions, will likely deliver those tax cuts by reducing the tax withheld from paychecks.

This would put more money in paychecks, unlike the lump-sum rebates issued earlier this year. Many people used those rebates to pay down debt, rather than spending them as the Bush administration had hoped.

In addition, states would get up to $200 billion over two years for Medicaid health coverage for the poor and to narrow state budget gaps, which are forcing layoffs and cuts in services. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the evolving plan.

By embracing projects already in the pipeline and stressing infrastructure repairs, parts of the plan could roll out soon — perhaps within weeks — creating jobs and stirring economic activity.

Obama advisers say an $850 billion plan could generate about 3.2 million jobs by the first quarter of 2011.

Economists say the combination of tax cuts and infrastructure spending could deliver a quick one-two punch against the recession: the faster-acting tax breaks, plus the time-released benefits of infrastructure spending.

Whatever its ultimate size, the stimulus package will dig the government budget hole ever deeper. The United States is on track to hit a record budget deficit of $1 trillion or more for 2009 budget year, which began Oct. 1. That would be more than twice the previous record-high deficit set last year.

Staff writer Robert Cann and Associated Press writers Jeannine Aversa and Andrew Taylor contributed to this story by Jonathan L'Ecuyer, who can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.

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