Look for the City of Milwaukee to make repairing its streets a top priority for use of federal economic stimulus dollars.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said today he receives more requests for potholes repairs than most other issues.

Speaking at the Godfrey & Kahn S.C. "The Road to Economic Recovery Symposium" this morning at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Barrett told a room full of business people that when he first was elected as a congressman, he was reminded of Wisconsin's heritage as a fiscally prudent state.

However, Barrett said he quickly realized that other states, such as West Virginia, were "backing up the truck" to take home federal dollars, and he said Wisconsin and Milwaukee had best grab for their fair shares of federal stimulus funds.

"Fish swim in muddy waters," Barrett said.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) told the attendees that the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is often mischaracterized as a gift for banks. In reality, the federal government purchased preferred stock in the healthiest banks, which actually are paying 5 percent interest on that funding and will provide a net return to the federal government, Kohl said.

"These funds are not in any way a gift," Kohl said.

Kohl said President Barack Obama's $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $230 billion in tax relief, mostly for families and small businesses. Kohl estimated that the typical middle class family will receive $900 in tax credits, and families with children going to college will receive an additional $2,500 credit.

Contrary to some statements by opponents of the plan, Kohl said the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 78 percent of the economic stimulus dollars will be spent in the first two years of the program. The plan will be transparent, and the spending will be accountable (www.recovery.gov), Kohl said.

Private independent researchers at George Mason University have created an online database of wish lists of projects presented by states and many cities for economic stimulus funds.

According to the database, which is based on lists provided to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, more than $1.2 billion in projects have been presented by municipalities in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin cities and their wish list totals include:  Milwaukee, $599 million; Beloit, $34.5 million; Waukesha, $19.7 million; Cedarburg, $17.2 million; Green Bay, is $98.1 million; Janesville, $74.4 million; Madison, $243.2 million; New Berlin, $61.2 million; Racine, $5.4 million; Sheboygan, $40.6 million; and Superior, $41.2 million.

The data is based on wish lists provided by municipalities to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The Milwaukee wish list is topped by requests of $100 million for mass transit to develop and implement a connector/street car system to improve access to downtown, reduce travel time and reduce vehicle emissions; $56 million to create more affordable housing for seniors, families and people with disabilities; $41.5 million for street construction; $31 million for sewer projects to reduce overflows; $30 million to create three regional libraries; $25.6 million for redevelopment of the former Tower Automotive site; $23 million to rehabilitate the sanitary sewer system; and $20 million to retrofit the city's buildings to make them more energy efficient,

To view the Wisconsin stimulus wish list, click here. To view the wish list of the City of Milwaukee, click here.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle will sign the state's Economic Recovery Bill during a ceremony today in Madison at 3:30 p.m. The bill was approved Wednesday by the State Legislature.