That should be the way it works, but the [federal] government is allowed to incinerate a nearly infinite amount of cash. Some state governments are becoming that same way unfortunately. Municipalities don't really have this option, so it may not be as big of a deal.

See my other comment about contractors though... what we saw in TN was Comcast "contracting" its services to "build a municipal network", but instead just built their own crap using taxpayer funding.