Cobb commissioners approve American Rescue Plan Act spending

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved spending more than $98 million in federal funds under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act for 80 community-based projects and initiatives.

The broad categories for the funding include infrastructure, community health, economic development, public safety and non-government support services.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said “these funds will be transformational” as she thanked county officials and Deloitte, the outside consultant hired to help the county strategize how to use the money.

“It’s not just what’s immediately before us with the impact of COVID, but we can look at the future and say ‘How can we set this county up for success?’ ”

Cobb was allocated more than $147 million in APRA funding, and with Tuesday’s votes, has only $11 million remaining.

County department heads organized subcommittees in each of the five categories to screen applications, determine eligibility, select participants and assign funding recommendations.

The process also included community and public feedback. More than 200 separate applications were made, by county government departments as well as non-profit agencies.

The requests included health-related efforts to mitigate against COVID-19 (including expanding court space for social-distancing purposes), food distribution, stormwater management upgrades, expanding WiFi at county facilities, workforce development, mental health and substance abuse programs, rental assistance, home repairs for the elderly and financially disadvantaged and equipment for first responders.

Here’s how the funding will be broken down:

• Infrastructure ($19.3 million)—Summary | Details
• Community health ($23.8 million)—Summary | Details
• Economic development ($21.5 million)—Summary | Details
• Public safety ($10 million)—Summary | Details
• Support services ($23.2 million)—Summary | Details

Three of the five votes were unanimous votes by the commissioners. Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb voted against the community health and housing funding, saying she opposed more rental and mortgage assistance beyond what Cobb had paid using CARES Act funds in 2021.

All of the projects that were approved had to meet federal ARPA guidelines, as well as guidelines approved by commissioners that they won’t cost the county recurring expenses when the programs expire.

The projects typically will last for two years, and deputy county manager Jimmy Gisi said at Tuesday’s meeting that the ARPA funding must all be spent by the end of 2026.

Cobb government has set up a special ARPA page with more information.

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