Dougherty County government spending on COVID-19 totals $500,000 so far

ALBANY — Dougherty County Commission will contract with two companies that assisted with acquiring grant funding after previous disasters to recoup money spent on dealing with the impact of the coronavirus that so far has reached $500,000.

Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved spending up to $99,216 for the work of Maitland, Fla.-based Tetra Tech and extending a service agreement with Cornerstone Government Affairs.

“We expended probably at least close to $500,000 in dealing with COVID-19 (for) emergency and protective measures, meaning preparing for and responding to COVID-19,” County Administrator Michael McCoy told commissioners. “For example, we purchased foggers (disinfecting) machines. We have had to pay overtime. We have purchased PPE — personal protection equipment.

“We have also had to purchase other supplies in response to this pandemic that created expenses that we otherwise would not have experienced if COVID-19 had not popped up on the radar.”

The county worked with the companies after the previous natural disasters of the 2017 tornadoes and Hurricane Michael in 2018. Cornerstone’s work helped the county acquire $65 million for the 2017 tornadoes, including $30 million to assist homeowners with fixing structures damaged by the storm, McCoy said.

The $99,216 figure is a budget request representing the maximum amount to be spent, and the total cost of the work, which includes identifying and the complicated grant process, could be less than that amount, he said. The cost of the work would be included in the reimbursement amount the county receives.

“This situation is different than the other situations,” McCoy said. “There is a pot of state money available and federal money available. We do not understand at this time the state pot of money.”

In other business, the commission:

♦ Approved the purchase of a garbage compactor for the Solid Waste Department in the amount of $769,914 from Yancey Bros. Co. of Albany. Funds will come from the county’s solid waste fund budget;

♦ Agreed to purchase 21 body cameras for the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office for $28,975 to be paid with funds from the special-purpose local-option sales tax.

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