By Sean Keenan
Nearly $90 million is bound for the City of Atlanta’s coffers to help officials combat the public health and economic side effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, the Atlanta City Council approved legislation that lays out how $88.4 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act funding will be divvied up, and a hefty portion will go toward helping the homeless and preventing others from losing their homes.
As eviction filings continue to pile up in courts, which have largely curbed non-essential operations in response to the public health crisis, housing experts worry that a “tsunami” of evictions could hit metro Atlanta as soon as next month.
To help combat the expected wave of displacement, city officials are allocating $22 million to “expenditures related to consumer grant program to prevent eviction and assist in preventing homelessness,” according to the legislation passed Monday.
Additionally, another $7 million of the $88.4 million would pay for “expenses for care for homeless populations provided to mitigate COVID-19 effects and enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions.”
The legislation also earmarks cash for supportive services like food delivery for residents, such as senior citizens “and other vulnerable populations,” for medical expenses and for payroll expenses for healthcare professionals and other essential workers.
In other coronavirus-related news, between May 31 and June 6, Fulton County saw 315 new cases crop up, according to data compiled by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
That number represents a 39.7-percent decline in the number of new cases, down from the 522 the county discovered between May 24 and May 30.
The full breakdown, according to Atlanta City Council materials, is as follows:
| Category and Subcategory | Allocations |
| Actions to Facilitate Compliance with COVID-19-Related Public Health Measures | $14,750,000 |
| Expenses for care for homeless populations provided to mitigate COVID-19 effects and enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. | $7,000,000 |
| Expenses to improve telework capabilities for public employees to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. | $3,750,000 |
| Expenses for food delivery to residents, including, for example, senior citizens and other vulnerable populations, to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. | $2,500,000 |
| Expenses to facilitate distance learning, including technological improvements, in connection with school closings to enable compliance with COVID-19 precautions. | $500,000 |
| Cost related to compliance with public health measures / protocols within public facilities | $1,000,000 |
| Medical Expenses | $8,000,000 |
| Costs of providing COVID-19 testing, including serological testing, and tracing. | $8,000,000 |
| Payroll Expenses | $13,184,611 |
| Payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. | $13,184,611 |
| Provision of Economic Support | $44,000,000.00 |
| Expenditures related to consumer grant program to prevent eviction and assist in preventing homelessness | $22,000,000 |
| Expenditures related to the provision of grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures. | $22,000,000 |
| Public Health Expenses | $4,500,000 |
| Expenses for acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies, including sanitizing products and personal protective equipment, for medical personnel, police officers, social workers, child protection services, and child welfare officers, direct service providers for older adults and individuals with disabilities in community settings, and other public health or safety workers in connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency. | $3,000,000 |
| Expenses for communication and enforcement by State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments of public health orders related to COVID-19. | $1,000,000 |
| Expenses for technical assistance to local authorities or other entities on mitigation of COVID-19-related threats to public health and safety. | $300,000 |
| Expenses for disinfection of public areas and other facilities, e.g., nursing homes, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. | $200,000 |
| Other | $4,000,000 |
| Any other COVID-19-related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the Fund’s eligibility criteria. (FEMA Matching Funds, Legal and Consulting Services Supporting the Administration of COVID-19 Related Funding) | $4,000,000 |
| Grand Total | $88,434,611.30 |
(Header image, via Felipe Esquivel Reed)
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