Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) your first question comes from Steve Sanders - Stephens Inc.
Steve Sanders - Stephens Inc
Just a follow-up, maybe for you Rich on the stimulus funding. I think you talked last quarter about some opportunities for some of the water utilities to get direct funding for AMR/AMI, because they are obviously green projects. Can you just give us an update on that, or are your comments just more around the utilities waiting for the stimulus funding for mains and other big projects, which would free up money for AMR/AMI?
Rich Meeusen
No, we have found in the last few months that quite a few of the utilities have applied for direct funding. There was $2 billion set aside for clean water, drinking water basically. We expected that a lot of that would go to mains and the distribution system and indeed some of it is, but because there is a callout in the stimulus package in most cases, for some of the money to be used for green projects.
Water metering and AMR systems are considered green, they help identify leaks, they help customers reduce their usage, and as a result, a lot of the cities now are applying for direct funding to be used for their water meter projects.
So we have several of our customers that are holding up some projects, pending getting an answer. They’ve told us they fully intend to go ahead with the projects. They will either you stimulus money or other money sources, but they want to get an answer to the question, when will they get their money? Will they get any money?
Steve Sanders - Stephens Inc
Do you think a lot of those issues will be resolved by the fall? Are we talking a matter of months or quarters or is it too early to tell?
Rich Meeusen
Well, I think there’s a few factors there. I think we are talking a matter of months for this year’s stimulus funding, but only about 25% of the total stimulus package is being funded this year. Now, I don’t know how that relates to the $2 billion for clean water, but in total I was told that 25% this year, 50% next year, and then 25% in 2011.
As far as this year’s money goes, which is what’s holding up some of our projects, I think we’re going to see resolution in the next several months on that.
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