The administration and disbursement of a Georgia-funded grant results in taxpayers overspending and Effingham County first responders falling short. However, the fault seems to lie on the part of the district government.
The issue stems from a grant provided by Gov. Brian Kemp in August 2021. Kemp provided $1,000 per person in ARPA funding for COVID-19 relief payments. The payments were specifically for officials working in public safety during the pandemic. Simply put, the payment reflected a stimulus but was subject to some withholding and went through the local governing body before being paid to the eligible employee.
Who was eligible for the grant?
A full time Correctional Officer, Correctional Officer, Juvenile Correctional Officer, Prison Officer, Probation Officer, Probation Officer, Communications Officer, Firefighter (including volunteers) or Emergency Medical Services worker by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council (GFSTC) or the Department of Public Health (DPH).
- Based on employment and salary information between August 1st and August 31st, 2021.
- Former employees who worked for an agency during that time are still eligible, according to the governor’s office.
Eligible full-time public safety officers and first responders should receive a $1,000 grant. Volunteer firefighters are eligible for a $300 grant.
The application and administrative process for the grant was as follows:
- The county collected all the salary information of the eligible employees and submitted the documents to the state;
- The state has reviewed and approved/denied the employee(s)’ application;
- The state awarded the county a lump sum payment;
- The county issued the supplement to the employee(s).
Effingham County Public Records by State
TheGeorgiaVirtue.com filed an Open Records Request with the Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget (OPB) in March regarding Effingham County’s grant application. The office provided grant application dates, payment status details, application amounts, grant amounts, and the date each amount was granted.
Effingham County submitted 16 separate waves of applications — two on December 8, 2021, and the remainder on December 21 and 22, 2021. The grant applications were processed by the state in the order of receipt after the grant opened for applications on October 1, 2021 .
The county requested a total of $272,248.50 and the state approved every dollar of the request.
OPD told TheGeorgiaVirtue.com that the amounts were submitted to local governments within a week of the approval date and office documents show Effingham County’s initial approval was on February 13, 2022.
Still, the county issued the funds to public safety workers in a payment period that ended on April 8, 2022. Eligible employees were notified of the forthcoming direct deposits on April 6, 2022.
Effingham deducts too much
The odd number paid by the state to Effingham County—$272,248.50—was the FICA contribution to ensure the employee received the full amount of the OPB allowance. The goal there was to offset any associated costs that the county might incur and would subsequently act as a deterrent from applying for the grant.
The document was last updated on 11/21/21
Local government applicants were required to provide payroll information detailing the employer’s contribution to FICA. The district was allocated funds in excess of $1,000 (or $300 for volunteer firefighters) for each individual based on their deductions to ensure the district did not default on Social Security and Medicare payments .
According to IRS filings, “tax withholding” is defined as “the amount of federal income tax withheld from your paycheck.” The amount may differ from person to person depending on how the withholding tax is paid, but the “type” of withholding tax remains the same.
However, Effingham County paid out workers’ compensation, pension plan contributions, FICA, and Medicare. On the employee side, pension contributions, federal tax withholdings, FICA, Medicare, and state withholding taxes were deducted.
So not only has the county overpaid on eligible workers’ checks, it has also overpaid on its own liabilities, driving up the cost of the per-employee grant to local taxpayers as spending exceeds the amount allotted by the state exceeded .
It is unclear how many eligible employees were paid out under the grant, as TheGeorgiaVirtue.com has made repeated requests for records for related employee list documents. The county has refused to keep records or provided incomplete documentation.
One thing is for sure: Effingham’s administration of the grant is not up to the standard carried out by neighboring cities and counties weeks and months ago.
