Millions of dollars in federal money from President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package has started trickling in for some of Cobb County’s biggest cities.
But many of them still aren’t sure what to do with the money. They’re still waiting on the U.S. Department of Treasury to set spending rules for the $1.9-trillion in stimulus funds that federal lawmakers allocated in March.
Smyrna has already got its first installment of American Rescue Plan Act aid. Marietta and Kennesaw have both received notice that their initial payments are on the way.
The three cities collectively were awarded over $31.7 million in stimulus money. All three now await the Treasury Department to set guidelines on how the funds can be used. Local officials expect that to come within the next 30 days.
“It’s extremely important to be ready for what’s in the future, because we don’t know,” Kennesaw Mayor Derek Easterling said of the stimulus money Friday. “We have an idea now, with what we’ve gone through over the past year. But we have to be prepared for what’s next.”
Cities will have until the end of 2024 to spend the federal funds.
Early federal guidelines indicate local government can use the dollars to replace revenue loss from the pandemic, fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts, provide payments to essential workers or address economic harm to workers, households, small businesses or impacted industries.
City officials could also invest the funds toward water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
“A lot of it’s going to plug budget holes from COVID,” Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton said. “So we’re working on what that looks like.”
Smyrna expects about $8 million in federal relief. Smyrna’s first installment of $4 million was payed out June 14 and is being kept in a separate fund of its own, according to Deputy City Administrator Penny Moceri.
Smyrna council members will vote on a resolution Monday night to ratify the funds and formally accept the second installment as well, which is expected in June 2022.
City workers plan to review the Treasury Department’s guidelines and present spending options to the mayor and council members. Elected leaders and ranking city employees will discuss how to use the money during an Aug. 12 committee of the whole meeting.
“So important,” Norton said of the federal stimulus dollars the city has received over the past year through the CARES Act and ARPA. “We had a lot of expenses dealing with the pandemic like everybody else did. So it’s been hugely helpful to support our staff, to support our service to our citizens.”
Marietta expects to receive the first half of its $11 million in ARPA funding soon, city spokeswoman Lindsey Wilsey said. The second installment is expected next year.
“We have several lists of projects to be considered once the federal government clarifies how the funds can be used,” she said in an email Tuesday. “Once we have that information we will compile the lists and present to Council for them to discuss and make decisions.
Kennesaw was approved for the heftiest allotment of $12.7 million. The city has set up a special revenue fund for its first installment of nearly $6.4 million. Once the Treasury Department specifies how the funds can be spent, Kennesaw officials plan to devise a list of priorities before earmarking the money.
“Anything to do with money is always a challenge. Establishing the priorities is what’s most important,” Easterling said.
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