Georgia lags in weatherizing homes with stimulus funds for poor

In January, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported state contractors had weatherized just 430 homes through Nov. 30, months after the stimulus money started pouring into the state. At the time, Georgia officials said one of their biggest challenges was supersizing a state program that had a $7 million annual budget.

Georgia is now eligible for more than 17 times that amount in stimulus funds. The state has already received half of that amount, or $62.25 million. Tuesday, it was approved to receive the second half. Any stimulus funds left unspent by March 2012 must go back to the federal government.

Despite the delays, state officials predict their contractors will catch up and meet their goals by the federal March 2012 deadline. Seventeen of the state’s 22 contractors have exceeded their goals or are close to meeting them, according to Georgia Environmental Finance Authority records.

“We do believe we can make that mark,” GEFA Executive Director Kevin Clark said Tuesday after attending a public hearing about the delays.

Georgia has experienced other trouble spending federal stimulus dollars quickly. For example, the AJC reported in August that state officials didn't apply for federal stimulus funding to help struggling low-income families keep their homes until more than a year after Congress made the money available through the stimulus program. In August, state officials were scrambling to distribute about $7.6 million of the aid before a federal Sept. 30 deadline. A spokeswoman for the Georgia Human Services Department said this week her agency was still tallying how much of that “Fresh Start” aid was committed before the federal deadline.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $5 billion to weatherize homes for low-income families nationwide, create jobs and cut utility bills, energy use and pollution. The federal government is divvying up the money among the states, which are hiring community action agencies, nonprofits and local governments to do the work.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must have incomes at up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level and prove it with records such as pay stubs. For example, for a family of four to qualify for the assistance, it must have an annual income of $44,100 or less. In January, more than 11,000 people were on waiting lists in Georgia, according to GEFA, though that reflects those who had asked for help and who may or may not qualify for it. State officials said they could not immediately provide an updated figure for the waiting list Tuesday because their contractors keep those figures.

Contractors can weatherize homes by repairing broken windows and doors; weather-stripping; caulking; and installing insulation in attics, floors and walls and around hot water heaters.

Because of the work delays, GEFA is now considering taking a portion of its $7.6 million stimulus contract away from Gainesville-based Ninth District Opportunity Inc. and giving it to one or more other agencies. Ninth District has been responsible for weatherizing homes in Cobb and Forsyth as well as 12 other North Georgia counties. As of Aug. 31, the agency had weatherized 175 homes. State officials expected the agency to have more than twice the number done by then.

Under GEFA’s plan, one or more other contractors would take over Ninth District’s work in Cobb, Dawson, Forsyth, Lumpkin, Towns, Union and White counties. Ninth District would continue doing the work in seven other North Georgia counties. GEFA has given Ninth District until Oct. 13 to say why the state should reconsider.

“We had to… revise our contracting process, so that put us behind,” Janice Riley, Ninth District’s executive director, said after Tuesday’s public hearing. “If you look at our production numbers – like our colleagues – we are steadily increasing because we finally got it right.”

Meanwhile, Southeast Energy Assistance in Atlanta, Enrichment Services Program Inc. in Columbus and CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority Inc. in Augusta have teamed up with other nonprofits to boost their work. All three agencies had completed many fewer homes than the state expected by the end of August. They, too, could face losing portions of their stimulus contracts if they don’t improve.

Lastly, GEFA is more closely monitoring the work done by the Clayton County Community Services Authority. That agency has weatherized only 122 of the 176 homes it was supposed to have finished by Aug. 31, according to GEFA. If the agency doesn’t boost its work, it could face additional action by the state.

Officials from these local agencies attended a public hearing at GEFA’s headquarters Tuesday morning and said they have made progress. They said it took time for them to hire and train staff, purchase equipment and meet new requirements. A few asked GEFA to wait longer to decide whether their contracts should be changed.

“Most community action agencies are now demonstrating that we are well on the way to meeting our production goals,” Keesha Johnson, of the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority in Augusta, told GEFA officials. “If a close evaluation of the trends toward meeting these goals is conducted, would a reallocation plan really be necessary?”