ATLANTA — City of Atlanta leaders responded to concerns surrounding the recent decision to send $10 million of COVID-19 relief funds to Washington.
During a meeting of the City Council Finance Executive Committee in late January, Chief Risk Officer Jerry L. Deloach reviewed the newest report of COVID-19 funds and how they were being spent.
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When going over the presentation, Deloach highlighted that $10 million of Emergency Rental Assistance programs would be sent to the federal government.
“Did I hear you correctly that there were some emergency rental funds that we were sending back,” Councilman Alex Wan said.
“We did everything we possibly could to make sure that all available people who applied received those funds,” Deloach explained. “As the program continued from the beginning of COVID-19 to now, the level of need decreased.”
Mayor Andre Dickens’ Office told Channel 2 Action News that on Apr. 1, 2021 and May 11, 2021, Atlanta received $15 million for ERA 1 and $12 million for ERA 2.
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According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, the difference between the two funds is that ERA 1 fund applicants had to explain how COVID-19 caused them hardship, resulting in them needing assistance. In contrast, ERA 2 fund applicants only had to explain how the economic impact of the pandemic affected them.
On Feb. 14, 2022, Atlanta received an additional $1.5 million of ERA 1 reallocated funds from the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Mayor’s Office said the city then spent all the funds it directly received from the government to assist those who needed help in Atlanta.
On March 2022, the state of Georgia sent an additional $20 million of ERA 1 funds to the City of Atlanta. According to the Mayor’s office, this was because the state was having trouble quickly distributing the money.
The City of Atlanta was then told they had to spend the reallocated money by Dec. 31, 2022.
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In a partnership with United Way, Atlanta supplied additional help to 1,728 families with the newly allocated funds, bringing the total household rental assistance to 11,861 families, according to the COVID-19 Fund spending report.
Although the city was able to spend a large amount of the $20 million reallocated funds, not all of it was spent due to applicants not being able to prove that they were experiencing hardships caused by COVID-19 in mid-2022.
“The City does not ‘return,’ ‘give back’ or ‘send back’ these funds. These funds are allocated for entities like the City, State, etc., to draw down from,” the Mayor’s Office explained. “We are proud of the City’s successful funding achievements and efforts of the United Way to ensure efficient spending.”
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