Cobb County reports $123 million in ARPA spending as Sept. 30 closeout approaches

Bill Volkman, deputy county manager, summarized the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program and closeout plan, saying Cobb County received a $147,000,000 direct award and has allocated $167,300,000 when interest earnings are included.

Volkman said the county has spent $123,000,000 so far and described a watch list of projects the county is monitoring as it moves toward the Sept. 30 federal closeout deadline. He reported 47 programs are 100% exhausted, 31 programs are 90–99% spent, 11 are 80–89% spent and 10 are below 80% of planned expenditures. “We are getting close to the final closeout, which is September 30,” Volkman said.

Staff noted the program has earned $19,600,000 in interest income, which the board has allowed to be used for eligible county infrastructure and capital projects. Volkman said interest dollars are not subject to the Sept. 30 spending deadline, so staff proposes prioritizing grant dollars first and using interest to free up grant dollars where appropriate to meet the approved project list.

The presentation included performance metrics: food, housing and shelter programs reported roughly 819,000 participant counts; public health 224,000; education and careers 34,000; safety and legal 28,000; transportation and infrastructure 9,000 — a total program reach of more than 1,100,000 participant counts across all ARPA-funded activities.

Volkman said staff and Deloitte are conducting weekly or biweekly check‑ins with subrecipients on the watch list, and that the county has reallocated de‑obligated funds in prior cases to accelerate spending where possible. If projects cannot meet the obligation deadline, the county will retain the funds and remit unspent grant dollars back to the U.S. Treasury rather than use local tax or general‑fund revenue.