Audit Finds Georgia Mismanaged Millions in Grants

A federal audit has found that the Georgia Emergency Management Agency failed to properly oversee local departments and used a flawed purchasing system to spend more than $100 million in first responder grants coming to the state.

The Associated Press’ Ben Evans says the Department of Homeland Security audit showed the state used different billing and invoice systems that made it unclear just what equipment local jurisdictions received, and in some cases, possibly paying for equipment that vendors never delivered.

But Evans says state officials are disputing many of the findings, even as they admit improvements are needed. Buzz Weiss, a GEMA spokesman, declined to comment, saying the agency had not seen the final version of the report.

“The audit covered $115 million in Homeland Security grants that Georgia received from 2002 to 2004,” Evans says. “GEMA managed the program, distributing the money to local fire departments and emergency agencies for training, equipment and other expenses.”

The audit found the state did not require some local recipients to file progress reports keeping track of how the grants were being used. The state also did not require some local agencies to use competitive purchasing.