SPRINGFIELD -- Tracking the federal economic stimulus package is more difficult than it sounds.  Nine months after its passage, there are lots of big job projections and several online tools to track the dollars trickling into the states.

According to Recovery.gov, about 15,000 jobs in Missouri have been saved or created due to the stimulus.  Delving into just one small entity -- Greene County government -- KY3 News found that it's reported a total of two new jobs.

Point and click on the site, and the data keeps coming, by map, by graph, even by Congressional district.  Greene County has received about $757,000 according to the site.  It's difficult, however, to pinpoint the exact programs and the jobs tied to them.

So far, Greene County has added two new positions to the sheriff's department.  The positions are for inmate population control.

"We do have to report jobs and we have.  So far, we have two positions we have reported on," said the county's assistant budget officer, Joclynn Brown.

Those numbers do not include two other grants that have just been recently awarded to the county -- one for energy efficiency and another for homeless prevention.  Brown acknowledges the site can be confusing and said job reporting takes time.

"If we received money in the month of November, we are not required to report on it until December," said Brown.

The two Republican candidates running for state auditor in 2010 said the real problem is defining the new jobs.

"Is it a job that's truly created or is it a job that would've been created for other reasons and now is in this budget instead of that budget. So I do take that with a little bit of grain of salt about how much true job creation has come about," said Rep. Allen Icet of St. Louis County, who is seeking the Republican nomination for state auditor next year.

Former ambassador Tom Schweich has also announced he's running for the same nomination.

Recovery.gov notes the 7th Congressional District has seen 318 jobs saved or created by stimulus funds, but it also reports the 14th Congressional District has created five. The only problem is there's no 14th Congressional District in Missouri. That's just another reason these Republican candidates say the stimulus dollars need to be tracked and accounted for.

"Most of it has not actually been spent. It's been allocated to different departments. But we've got to make sure it's spent properly," said Schweich.

Go to Recovery.gov to do your own search HERE.

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