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DeKalb may owe feds $500K for disaster relief

Duron Paints store manager Charles Dima inspects the washed out parking lot in back of the Shamrock shopping center at North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway in Dekalb County oin Sept. 17, 2009. Overnight rains washed away a large portion of the lot into the backyard of a resident on Mt. Olive Drive that shares the property line with the center. John Spink / jspink@ajc.com
Duron Paints store manager Charles Dima inspects the washed out parking lot in back of the Shamrock shopping center at North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway in Dekalb County oin Sept. 17, 2009. Overnight rains washed away a large portion of the lot into the backyard of a resident on Mt. Olive Drive that shares the property line with the center. John Spink / jspink@ajc.com
By Mark Niesse
Dec 1, 2015

A federal audit concludes that DeKalb County may have to return more than $500,000 in disaster relief money.

The disputed funding came from a $3.3 million public assistance grant distributed for repairs of roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by heavy storms in September 2009.

The audit doesn't allege that DeKalb misspent federal funds. Instead, it faults the county for poor accounting practices, incomplete information about costs and inadequate record-keeping.

DeKalb officials say they believe they've be able to explain most of their spending, which would significantly reduce the amount pursued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

ExplorePlease read the full story on MyAJC.com.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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