Cleaning up the embarrassing traffic gridlock of the Jan. 28 snowjam and its much-smoother sequel two weeks later cost state authorities at least $7 million and local governments $7 million more. The feds, meanwhile, chipped in $39 million in disaster aid.
Gov. Nathan Deal’s chief of staff, Chris Riley, gave us a breakdown of the costs.
The state paid the full share of the cleanup of the Jan. 28 storm, a blanketing of snow that shut down metro Atlanta but was never declared a federal disaster. But the feds picked up 75 percent of the tab for the next storm, having designated much of north Georgia a disaster zone.
In all, the state’s cost estimate for the two storms is at $7 million, which includes a portion of the local government tab the state is picking up. The federal share, at $39.4 million, is largely reimbursing local government’s response, though it includes a $1.4 million payout to the state’s emergency planners and a range of lesser reimbursements to state agencies.
Riley said that these are estimates and the costs may change based on a lengthy federal reimbursement process. It’s also likely not the full state tally, as some agencies used their internal budget to cover some of the cost.
The biggest remaining discrepancy is a $5 million gap over the funding of Richmond County’s cleanup during the second storm. The state wants $17 million while the feds have the costs at closer to $12 million, Riley said.
To cover the state share, Gov. Nathan Deal signed an executive order last month transferring the $7 million from his emergency fund with a note that the funding was added in the supplementary budget for this fiscal year.
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