Local governments in metro Atlanta are bracing for cuts as President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans clash over federal spending.
Local officials say it’s too soon to know the full impact. But they say budgets proposed by the president and House Republicans would mean cuts in block grant programs that have helped pay for homeless shelters in Atlanta, a health clinic in Cobb County, and a senior center in Gwinnett County. DeKalb County is looking to the funds to build a new fire station.
“We are concerned, but we knew there was going to be a cut,” said Nick Autorina, managing director of Cobb County’s Community Development Block Grant program, which could see its funding cut to 2008 levels under Obama’s budget.
Conflicting visions of federal spending have been on display in recent days in Washington.
On Feb. 14, the president unveiled a 2012 spending plan he said would reduce the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion in the coming decade. With the federal debt at more than $14 trillion, deficit reduction has been a key theme in budget discussions.
But even before Obama's 2012 budget can be debated, the fiscal 2011 budget is still a matter of contention. On Saturday, the Republican-controlled House approved a 2011 spending measure that would cut more than $60 billion from the federal budget over the next seven months. A 2011 spending measure has yet to pass the Senate.
Obama's proposed cuts in the 2012 budget and Republicans' cuts have local officials scrambling to assess the impact. One result: reductions in federal Community Development Block Grants that support a variety of housing and other programs.
Obama’s 2012 budget proposal -- for the budget year starting Oct. 1 -- would cut Cobb County’s block grant funds to 2008 levels, county officials say. Last year, Cobb received $4.3 million in Community Development Block Grants. In 2008, the county received $3.9 million.
The county used block grant funds to build the Wolfe Adult Senior Center in Smyrna and MUST Ministries’ health clinic in Marietta. The money also helped repair a roof at Sheltering Arms child care center in Marietta and paid for energy efficiency upgrades at the Tommy Nobis training center for people with disabilities.
Since 2007, 149 houses also have been rehabilitated with block grant funds, and 131 low-income families received financial assistance grants to purchase homes.
Autorina said Obama’s proposed cuts would not be Draconian.
“You never want to take a decrease because the needs are always increasing,” Autorina said. “But can we make it work? Yes, because the county has been at this level before. We’ll do what we have to do to make things work.”
Under the president’s 2012 budget, DeKalb County faces a 7.5 percent reduction in Community Development Block Grant funding, said Chris Morris, DeKalb’s community development director. That would mean a loss of $467,000.
“That reduction is major, but it’s reasonable in terms of what we are expecting,” she said.
At risk is a new fire station in Avondale to replace Station 3, which was built in the 1930s. The county has already hired an architect, but might have to hold off on construction, Morris said.
Grant money was also supposed to help the Elaine Clark Center on Buford Highway, which provides child care to special needs children. The county planned to use block grant funds to get the center a new roof this year and a new wing in 2012.
Under the president’s 2012 budget, Atlanta officials would expect to see a 10 percent to 15 percent cut in the $8.4 million in Community Development Block Grant funding it received in 2010. In recent years, the money has been used to repair homes for seniors, to improve city parks, to build shelters for the homeless and numerous other projects.
Any block grant cuts would adversely affect Atlanta’s ability to provide services such as those, public relations manager Lanii Thomas said.
Other agencies impacted include Atlanta Legal Aid. “We’ve been funding that for years through CDBG,” Morris said. “They’ve helped save the homes of senior citizens by providing attorneys to help seniors from being taken advantage.”
Gwinnett County Finance Director Maria Woods didn’t know the impact of the president’s 2012 budget. But last week, she said the Republican proposal would reduce the county’s block grant funding from $4.5 million last year to $1.7 million in 2011.
Gwinnett has used the money for construction projects such as street and sewer improvements and housing rehabilitation. It also helps pay for the county’s senior center and other services.
Cherokee County expects to receive about $1.8 million in Community Development Block Grant money in 2011. County Manager Jerry Cooper said his county might lose some of that funding under the president's 2012 budget, but he understands the predicament of elected officials in Washington.
"I have not read the president’s proposed budget, but out-of-control spending at the federal level over many years has resulted in the largest deficit in our country’s history," Cooper said. "The president and Congress must make some very important decisions soon to implement substantial cuts to the federal budget."
Staff writers Megan Matteucci, Ernie Suggs and Jeffry Scott contributed to this article.
About the Author
