Dougherty County Commission puts off vote on recovery consultant

ALBANY — Even while acknowledging Chairman Chris Cohilas’ admonition that “time is of the essence,” the Dougherty County Commission chose “due diligence” over haste Monday and decided to hold off an a vote that could have led to an agreement with the Cornerstone Governmental Affairs consulting firm that would have set the stage for that group to work with county officials to secure federal allocations for disaster recovery.

The board will, instead, study Cornerstone’s proposal in more detail and take a vote “in 24 to 48 hours,” according to Cohilas.

“This is not about anything being done wrong or about (a lack of) trust,” District 3 Commissioner Clinton Johnson said. “It’s about showing our constituents we’re doing our due diligence, that we’re taking a closer look at this before we commit any of their money.”

Responding to Cohilas’ report on his personal dealings with Cornerstone, Johnson added, “Although this relationship is already established, it does create doubt when there’s little or no advance information. I think we needed a little more of a head’s up.”

At the urging of disaster recovery experts, staff started looking into finding a consulting firm to work with the county on securing disaster recovery funds through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistant County Administrator Mike McCoy told commissioners staff started working on that proposal “after our retreat” (on March 24).

“We were working on this proposal up through Friday (of last week), and that’s why it came to you so late,” McCoy said. “Because time is of the essence in this matter, we thought it appropriate to go ahead and present it to the commission for consideration.”

The proposed agreement would pay Cornerstone $81,000, which would come from the county’s general fund. Cohilas told commissioners that total could amount to “a drop in the bucket” if the consulting firm delivered a potential huge bonanza in federal funds to help with recovery efforts in the aftermath of Jan. 2 and Jan. 22 storms that hit the community.

“I’m certain this is not the kind of work where we’d pay them a contingency fee, based on what they deliver,” Cohilas said in response to an inquiry by District 5 Commissioner Gloria Gaines. “But the amount could prove to be insignificant if we’re able to get $30 million to $40 million in funding.”

Gaines said that “even under these unusual circumstances,” she needed a clearer understanding of “what we’re buying and who we’re buying it from.”

“We do need this service, there’s no question,” Gaines said. “But we also need to see written on a page information to convince us that this is the best firm to do this on our behalf. With uncertainty surrounding the new administration in Washington, and the president’s budget proposal hinting that we will see considerable cuts in social programs, I agree that we should move as swiftly as possible.

“There’s no question we have a need. My only questions are who are we selecting to help us and why?”

County Administrator Richard Crowdis, at Cohilas’ request, offered a personal accounting of the Cornerstone firm.

“Over the 12 years that I participated in the (local leaders’) fly-in to Washington, the Cornerstone folks have shown they do have the ability to reach out and get responses from the people in Washington they need to talk to,” Crowdis said.

District 6 Commissioner Anthony Jones said he’d feel more comfortable having additional time to look over the Cornerstone proposal.

“It’s just good business practice,” he said. “I know time is of the essence, but not when I don’t know what we’re getting.”

Also at Monday’s business meeting, McCoy introduced the board to Candace Reese, who will serve as the county’s public information officer to help with storm recovery efforts over the next 90 days.

“This community will mend its broken pieces, but it continues to be a monumental task,” Reese told the board.

In a post-meeting discussion, responding to Jones’ concern about break-ins at residences damaged by the January storms, Cohilas said, “I’ve checked with our district attorney (Greg Edwards), and reiterated our strong position on burglaries of homes damaged by the storms. He reassured me that his office will seek stiffer penalties against individuals convicted of going into people’s homes when they’re at their most vulnerable.”

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