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Prince George's County leaders say the amount received in federal stimulus funding has been overstated and want to set the record straight for those who question why the county continues to struggle financially.

"Where is this $400 million?" asked Councilwoman Camille Exum (D-Dist. 7) of Capitol Heights, who said only about $34 million is under county control. "Help me out, because I can add. This is way less."

Exum's questions were brought up at a briefing Nov.10 on how Prince George's is faring on attempts to get federal funding from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that Congress passed in February.

Council members said state and federal figures repeated by officials and the media that Prince George's has received $400 million in funding are giving people the wrong idea.

County officials say the direct stimulus money for the county — about $34 million — allows $10.6 million to hire new police officers, $6.7 million to buy new transit buses and an additional $17 million in smaller grants for 18 other projects.

The disparity rests in whether to count money the state and federal government spends on their own projects in the county.

Maryland's Web site that is dedicated to tracking stimulus spending, www.gov.state.md.us/statestat/recovery.asp, states $334 million has gone to projects in Prince George's, including about $116 million on transit, highways and other transportation work in the county, and $117 million in state education funding to county schools.

Officials with Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville said the figure is more than $400 million when all factors are considered, such as $23 million in local business loans to county-based businesses, $4.8 million in research grants to the University System of Maryland and $58.5 million in funding to federal sites, including Andrews Air Force Base, the Patuxent Research Refuge/Wildlife Research Center and the National Parks Service.

Councilman Thomas Dernoga (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel said the jobs created by outside spending in the county do not do much for the local economy, noting that few local firms are hired for the new projects.

"If a company from Baltimore with employees from Pennsylvania gets these jobs, what does that stimulate for us?" he said.

Council members said the $34 million is a small amount for a county that had to recently furlough employees to make up a $22.7 million reduction in state aid. The county budget is currently $2.6 billion.

"Citizens have this misnomer that we are $400 million richer," Exum said. "They're asking, ‘How can you still be having these funding problems?' Like all our problems are solved. ... This is clearly not the case."

State and federal officials said counting the indirect aid to Prince George's is a valid measure.

"We're painting a bigger picture," said Stephanie Lundberg, a spokeswoman for Hoyer. "These numbers are accurate and they reflect the overall impact, not just the funding that goes directly to the county."

Prince George's County has applied for an additional $62 million in grants from the stimulus that are still pending, county officials said. So far, $8 million in grants that the county applied for have been denied.

According to the state Web site, only Baltimore city has received more stimulus money than Prince George's County in Maryland, with $400 million going to projects in that city.