On its website, Cobb County announced the availability of additional rental assistance funds for residents impacted by the pandemic.

The decision to accept the nearly $7 million in funds was made in a series of three votes at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners on three different agenda items related to the funds, all of which resulted in 3-2 votes with District 1 Commissioner Keli Gambrill and District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell in opposition.

Watch the video of the discussion below this section.

The announcement is reprinted below:

More rental assistance will soon be available to Cobb County residents impacted by the COVID pandemic.  Cobb’s Board of Commissioners accepted nearly $7 million in additional federal Emergency Rental Assistance 2 (ERA2) funds.  The vote came during a meeting on Tuesday, April 12.  This follows the acceptance earlier this year of an additional $40 million in ERA1 funds diverted from the state.

Cobb’s nonprofit partners have now reopened their application portals and phone lines.  Details can be found at www.cobbcounty.org/ERA. 

Important Information on the ERA funding:

• ERA1 funds come with the requirement that the application shows a COVID hardship that resulted in their need for assistance.  Please review the “FAQ” section of the webpage for details on what is required during the application process.
• ERA2 funds do not have the same requirement, but those additional funds will not immediately be available.  Please contact the nonprofit organizations for what type of funds they have available and what kind of application materials are necessary.

The ERA1 assistance is available now.  Cobb’s Magistrate Court will also be working with those facing eviction to tap into this assistance funding.  Visit www.cobbcounty.org/ERA for more details and updates.

About the Cobb County Board of Commissioners

The county website describes the Cobb County Board of Commissioners as follows:

The BOC is the duly authorized governing authority of Cobb County and as such shall exercise the powers, duties and responsibilities vested in and imposed upon said officers by the above act and amendments. BOC consists of five (5) members of which four (4) members are known as commissioners and one (1) is known as Commission Chair.

The chairperson of the BOC is elected in a countywide ballot.  The four district commissioners are elected for districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 and commissioners are required to live in the district they represent, and the voters who elect them also have to live within the districts.

Terms for the chairperson and the district commissioners are four years.

Compensation for the chairperson is $111,020 per year, and the district commissioners are paid $36,400 per year.

Current Board of Commissioners