Fayette County’s Board of Commissioners is deciding how it will spend the $22.1 million the county will receive from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which passed the U.S. Congress in March. The board met in a special session Thursday morning to review a plan put forth by County Administrator Steve Rapson. The funds have parameters and must be used by the end of 2024.

The proposed allocations include $11.2 million to install an advanced water metering system countywide, as well as $5.9 million to complete a new health department building. Another $3.8 million would be spent on new fire and EMS training courses and equipment, with the last $1.2 million going to the sheriff’s department for its training facility. All of those capital improvement projects have been discussed at previous public meetings.

The board voted 5-0 to table a decision on the expenditures until its May 13 meeting, to give the members and the public more time to review the plans. Details are posted in the commission’s May 6 agenda at www.fayettecountyga.gov.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez