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Commission delays ARPA recapture after nonprofits warn delays in reimbursements
Summary
Following public pleas from dozens of local nonprofits, the commission voted to suspend immediate ARPA recapture and allow staff and the Chamber time to process outstanding reimbursements; limited reallocations (items G–I) were authorized to allow critical payments to proceed.
The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission on March 3 declined to immediately recapture ARPA subgrant funds from local nonprofit partners after multiple speakers described months-long reimbursement delays in a Chamber-administered pass-through process.
The commission instead approved staff direction to suspend recapture actions and to proceed with limited internal reallocations identified in the staff memo (items G, H and I) so selected programs — including specific administrative flexibilities for the Boys & Girls Club and the dirt road program — could continue while reimbursements are validated. Commissioner Fischer recused from the vote because of a family relationship with one beneficiary organization.
Representatives from the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Quality Care for Children, the Boys & Girls Club of Athens, Goodwill of North Georgia and multiple smaller nonprofits described the multi-step reimbursement process: grantees submit expenses to the Chamber; the Chamber validates and forwards requests to county staff; the county validates and issues payment. Speakers said the multi-stage review, staff turnover, and paper-check issuance had created months-long delays. Alvie Coz of the Chamber described the administrative steps and asked the commission to pause recapture votes to allow a “one-time catch up” on outstanding requests.
Kirk Dominic, interim CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Athens, urged the commission to refrain from recapturing $130,456 of his group’s subgrant, saying the organization has documented eligible expenses and a plan to expend funds by October. Jeremy Smith of Goodwill said his program had expended more than $225,000 through February and asked for patience while reimbursements are processed.
Staff acknowledged the backlog and the complexity of pass-through agreements and said they had conducted more than 90 meetings and numerous technical-assistance sessions with the Chamber and subgrantees in recent months. Manager Cowell and Dr. McConnell said county staff would continue to prioritize timely validation and payment processing. The commission voted to pause recapture and advance a narrower set of reallocations to allow critical program spending while the documentation is finalized.
The commission asked county staff and the Chamber to accelerate reimbursements and to report back at the next scheduled check-in; a budget ordinance to reflect the limited reallocations will be prepared for a future meeting.
