North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi admits to using federal stimulus money  to help meet the town's payroll.  The funds were supposed to be used for schools, but that didn't stop the mayor.  As the Mayor Lombardi says:


"We did receive some additional funds that were earmarked for the school department and stimulus funds that, it was very risky, but we needed to make payroll because we do have a legal obligation to do that."


     He is correct about having a legal obligation to pay employees the money they earned, but he seems to forget that he has an obligation to use stimulus money for its intended purpose.  This is just another example of why I opposed the stimulus.  I felt the program was destined to be abused, and that is exactly what we're seeing.