Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Dawson County seeks temporary 90-day subcontractor to restore senior transit reimbursements
Loading...
Summary
County staff asked commissioners to ratify a 90-day subcontract through the Heart of Georgia–Altamaha Regional Commission to restore reimbursements for senior rides after a previous subcontractor failed to meet duties; staff said reimbursements have not been received since December.
Dawson County staff asked the Board of Commissioners on Thursday to ratify a temporary 90-day subcontract arrangement with the Heart of Georgia–Altamaha Regional Commission for Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) reimbursements related to senior transportation.
Dawn Johnson, the county’s senior services director, introduced Lee Atkins, the county’s new transit manager, to explain the temporary agreement. Atkins said the prior subcontractor had not fulfilled its duties and DHS identified a different subcontractor to process reimbursements. "This contract is only for 90 days beginning July 1, and we're not sure what's gonna happen after the 90 days," Atkins said.
Atkins described proposed reimbursement rates under the temporary arrangement: core ambulatory trips would be reimbursed at $18 per one-way trip (previously $7.75), hourly pay rates would remain at $35, and wheelchair trips would be $15 per one-way trip (previously $11.75). He said the change will allow the county to start receiving funds it had not received since December.
Staff said they plan follow-up meetings involving county finance and other offices to try to recoup funds not paid since December. "We are going to go back... and try to recoup some of that funding because we've had issues with them," Atkins said.
Board members asked for additional review by the county attorney and staff before formal ratification; the contract had been received by staff shortly before the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to provide the contract to legal and to return with the item at the next voting session for formal action.
Why it matters: Restoring reimbursements affects the county’s senior transit program finances and operations; the temporary subcontract changes reimbursement rates and could deliver back payments if county staff successfully recoup past amounts.
County staff noted the arrangement may be regional in scope and that other counties in the LegacyLink region experienced similar problems with the previous subcontractor. Staff said they will meet with finance and the county attorney’s office and update the board at the next voting session.
