The federal CARES Act was passed in March of this year in response to the COVID-19 virus. Within six weeks, Fulton County had come up with a plan for spending its share of CARES funding to help cover a variety of issues, from economic assistance to healthcare response. But problems quickly sprang up.
First, some background.
Fulton was one of a handful of counties that received funding directly from the Treasury Office due to population size. Georgia also received funding via the legislation that would be distributed across the state. Late in June, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that cities in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett should seek CARES Act funding from their respective counties.
Now, though, cities in Fulton are in a tight spot with regard to reimbursement, CARES Act funding and whether they will receive their fair share.
“The federal legislation does not require the county government to provide any funding to the cities. Nor does it prohibit it,” Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts tells this writer. “Our interpretation is that it is a clear intent from the federal legislation that the cities in Fulton County – with the exception of Atlanta that received its own allotment – are to seek financial support and assistance from the state. In spite of that, we set up a fund of $2.5 million to be used to reimburse the 14 cities for allowable expenses under the federal statute.”
Fulton County is unique in that much of it is incorporated and the counties and cities operate in more of a partnership than in some counties, such as DeKalb, which are directly responsible for a large portion of the county.
“In addition to that, since Fulton County is 99 percent incorporated, everything we have done to date really benefits all of the citizens who live in one of these 14 cities. They may not be getting a direct cash reimbursement from us, but they have been benefiting,” Pitts says.
As the fiscal year changes, and since the governor indicated no funding would be coming from the state, the cities are in a pinch, particularly as COVID-19 test positives rise and a more robust healthcare response may be required.
“I fully support cities sharing in the relief money. We thought the state was going to help all the cities and smaller counties in the state,” said Commissioner Liz Hausmann. “We got that money months ago and set about immediately trying to use the money to help people that needed assistance. We bought PPE and we did a host of things with our money already. There are 49 cities in the state that are in this situation. It’s not just Fulton cities. Because of the money that Atlanta took off the top, we didn’t get as much money as Cobb and DeKalb.”
Another likely overlooked piece of the Fulton County spending issue is the support for testing sites. The county set aside $50 million for the health response and these testing sites are available for free. There is anecdotal evidence that residents from across metro Atlanta have been going to Fulton County testing sites as other areas may not have enough capacity or capability.
“I’m not happy with the situation, I wish that we had known earlier. We just hope the governor will reconsider and understand where we are. It’s not that we don’t want to help the cities, it’s just that we’ve already obligated the funds,” added Hausmann.
“Unlike DeKalb, which apparently has a lot of money left over, we jumped out and tried to get this money out to where it was needed as soon as we could,” said Commissioner Lee Morris. “And we were very successful at that, with support for rental assistance, homeless questions, economic relief for businesses and non-profits. We got that money out there as soon as it was possible. I think the county ought to be applauded for that.”
