Madison County reviews federal CARES grant repayment after delayed notice; Treasury assigns analyst

Speaker 4 told the board the county was notified in March 2022 that it had not submitted required paperwork for a federal CARES-era grant supporting EMS and that attempts to reach the responsible federal office had repeatedly failed. "Apparently, we were notified in March '22, that they never received proper paperwork to keep this care fund," Speaker 4 said, adding that the county later engaged Congressman Nunns office, which has secured an assigned analyst at the U.S. Treasury to review the account.

Why it matters: A federal repayment demand could require the county to return grant dollars, plus interest and penalties, and the amounts were not budgeted. Speaker 4 said the department that managed the grant has been disbanded, complicating retrospective documentation: "apparently, that whole department that managed that grant... has been disbanded." The board pressed for an itemized breakdown and clarity on how the federal government calculated interest and penalties.

The board discussed numbers cited in the notice and internal estimates. Speaker 1 referenced an initial notice figure of $17,900 and said his own rough calculation produced about $19,400 after per-annum interest and penalties; another figure of about $24,000 was mentioned during discussion. Speaker 1 said he opposed paying an unitemized $24,000 and preferred to base any payment on the countys own calculations until Treasury provides an explanation: "If we were to pay something, I would pay it based on our calculations of what the penalty should be."

Options and next steps: Board members described recent outreach steps. Speaker 4 said Treasury now has an analyst assigned to the case and that Congressman Nunns office is pursuing the matter; Speaker 4 said the county hopes to avoid paying interest and penalties, or at minimum to pay only the original principal received. Board members debated whether to send a payment before receiving Treasurys detailed response or wait for official guidance. Speaker 4 advised sharing contact emails from Congressman Nunns staff with county staff to accelerate communications.

Action recorded: Board members agreed to revisit the matter in two weeks to review any updates from the Treasury analyst and Congressman Nunns office. No formal motion or roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript segments provided. The board requested a detailed, itemized explanation of the charges from federal officials before making a payment decision.

What the record does not show: The transcript does not contain a formal motion, a recorded vote, or a final decision to pay any amount. It also does not include an itemized breakdown from Treasury; speakers repeatedly noted that breakdowns and federal calculations were not provided in the bill they received.