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Columbia County awaits delayed FEMA reimbursements and investigates potential arbitrage liability
Summary
County officials said a $6.9 million FEMA allocation processed through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is awaiting state disbursement after more than 40 days; officials also disclosed a potential arbitrage payment approaching $900,000 related to bond proceeds invested at higher yields.
Columbia County financial staff told commissioners on June 10 that the county is waiting on multiple FEMA-related payments after hurricane response work.
Staff said $6.9 million had been processed through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and was awaiting the state accounting office to cut a check; the county reported the amount had been in the state queue for more than 40 days. County staff said additional FEMA funding requests, collectively at higher totals, remain under review by FEMA and state partners, and that processing times can run several weeks due to backlogs.
Separately, staff reported an arbitrage exposure tied to placing bond proceeds into higher-yield accounts. The county estimated a potential IRS arbitrage liability of just under $1,000,000 (about $900,000). Officials said they will analyze whether moving funds into lower-yield vehicles would be preferable to paying the arbitrage amount, weighing the trade-off between keeping investment earnings and potential IRS payments.
Finance staff said they were working with state and federal partners to expedite the FEMA disbursements and would return to the commission with updates.
