DECATUR - The value of a congressional earmark often is in the eye of the beholder.

It's not tough for Central Illinois residents to decry wasteful spending for a "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska or a Woodstock museum in New York.

But when it comes to funding local projects, one person's pork barrel spending often is another person's bacon.

Earmarks have helped to fund a couple of big projects for Decatur in recent years: to improve a roadway near Millikin University and to offer biofuels training at Richland Community College.

Federal funds also help maintain and operate Lake Shelbyville, which is visited by thousands of boaters, campers and fishermen each year. Budget cuts for the lake often require more work from unpaid volunteers to make up the difference.

The value of an earmark often depends on one's perspective, said Jim Nowlan, a senior fellow at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.

"The fundamental issue around congressional earmarks and legislative member initiatives is, who knows better?" Nowlan said. "The agency, staff or often deprecatingly called bureaucrats, or the locally elected official?"

Competition is fierce for allocating federal dollars.

Traditionally, congressmen were expected to propose programs, and the executive branch would implement programs and spend money.

With earmarks, congressmen can play a "quasi-executive role" in determining where federal dollars go, Nowlan said.

Former Decatur Mayor Paul Osborne, who resigned in May, praised the federal funding for Millikin and Richland.

"These are both excellent projects," Osborne said. "If those funds don't come to Decatur, they'll be going somewhere else. By no stretch of the imagination would I ever call either one of those projects pork barrel spending. They enhance our community and our image."

Decatur City Councilman Dan Caulkins was a vocal critic of cost overruns for the Millikin streetscape project.

He also casts a skeptical eye over the congressional earmark system.

"When I look at this earmark process, to me, it's payola," Caulkins said. "You're buying people to vote for you. Is that really the role of government?"

Controversy erupted locally over an earmark to design and construct improvements on the West Main Street area near Millikin University.

U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, both Illinois Democrats, touted the funding they secured for Millikin as part of the federal transportation bill in 2005.

"This bill will provide much-needed and long overdue investments in transportation in Illinois," Obama said in a news release announcing the money secured for Illinois.

Durbin added, "Sen. Obama helped write this bill and made sure Illinois received its fair share of highway and transit funds."

But the Decatur council discovered that the federal funds required matching local dollars, and the city's financial commitment surged well beyond what councilmen originally envisioned.

Millikin was awarded a $1.5 million federal earmark to improve safety and aesthetics around the campus.

The grant required a 20 percent match, and council members initially expected to contribute about $300,000 toward the effort.

But the city's share in March surged to about $753,000, due largely to requirements and modifications to the plan from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In recent weeks, the council reluctantly approved spending $872,710 for its share of the construction.

Otto Baum Inc. in April provided the sole bid for the project at nearly $2.2 million, which was nearly $120,000 more than the estimated cost.

Rising costs for fuel, concrete, steel, rock and labor increased the project cost, said Richard Marley, the city's director of engineering and infrastructure.

Richland earlier this year touted federal funding to train students for work in the renewable fuels industry.

U.S. Reps. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, and Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, secured $312,000 for the college to start the program.

Again, community leaders and local lawmakers praised the funding for a local program.

The funding will help the college train a skilled work force, Hare said.

"You can build these factories," Hare said in February. "If you don't have the people to go in and they're not trained, it's very difficult for that plant to operate."

Detractors fail to see the funding for Millikin and Richland helps to improve the community and to draw more businesses and students to town, Osborne said.

Improving safety and aesthetics around Millikin University makes the campus more desirable to students.

"It is a university, but it also generates a lot of money for the city, with students being here and parents spending money," Osborne said. "That really impacts in a positive way on the whole community."

And investing in biofuels training programs is an essential part of the community's economic development, Osborne said.

Agribusiness education involves some of the community's largest employers, including Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Tate & Lyle Inc.

"It speaks to what this community is all about," Osborne said. "Certainly, the businesses we have here, the businesses that form the foundation of Decatur, would be involved in that earmark."

Caulkins questioned the role of the federal government in funding projects for Millikin and Richland.

"Why would the federal government spend money on programs at Richland?" Caulkins said. "If Richland wants to build a building or Richland wants to start a class, why is it the purview of the federal government to do that?

"Why is it the purview of the federal government to spend $1.5 million to beautify the campus at Millikin? It's just my conservative nature. It's an attempt to buy votes, instead of standing on your legislative laurels, what you stand for, what you've done for your town or state or district or country."

Caulkins said local leaders have become accustomed to requesting federal help for local projects.

"But is that the federal government's mandate?" Caulkins asked.

"The argument is we sent our money to Washington, and we want our fair share back. Well, maybe we shouldn't be sending millions of dollars to Washington.

"It just seems to me that we're the hamster on the wheel. We keep going around and around faster and faster, and sooner or later, somebody's going to fall off. We've become dependent on all these federal earmarks and programs. It's wild."

But the effects of cuts in federal earmarks often are felt locally.

Lake Shelbyville receives about $5 million per year from the federal government to maintain the lake.

The lake was created in 1970 and is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Federal funding was cut by about half a million dollars this past fiscal year for the lake's recreation budget, said Ricky Raymond, lake manager.

"I think it was just an across-the-board cut for the Corps of Engineers," Raymond said.

He said all beaches and campgrounds will be open this summer, but the Corps is tightening its belt.

Some programs conducted by park rangers likely will be cut back.

"We've shifted our funding around to cover the essentials of the parks," Raymond said. "The grass may get a little taller, but we won't close parks or anything. We've got less people to do things, so when something happens, we can't respond as quickly."

But lake supporters are recruiting helpers.

"We are getting more volunteers, which is a wonderful thing," said Kathy Niksic, president of Kaskia Kaw Rivers Conservancy, a lake volunteer group.

Volunteers fill many roles. Some take care of flower beds or help clean facilities; those with special skills can offer programs at campgrounds or lead a nature walk.

Others help out at events around the lake, including a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War battle in June.

"You name it, and they can pretty much volunteer to do it here," Niksic said.

The volunteers help ensure programs and services continue, Niksic said.

"Things are pretty much going to be the same as they've always been," Niksic said. "We're lucky we've got a good group of people working at the Corps and good volunteers."

The debate over the value of congressional earmarks promises to rage.

"It's an issue that's probably never going to be resolved because it has to do with perspective," Nowlan said. "The local beneficiaries certainly see their need, but how in the world can you set any priorities? How can priorities be established that weigh the merits of one project against others that are seeking the same money?

"It's kind of like apples and oranges. They don't compare very well."

Mike Frazier can be reached at mfrazier@herald-review.com or 421-7985.