Current OneGeorgia Authority Board members include Governor Sonny Perdue - Chairman, Lt. Governor Mark Taylor - Vice-Chairman, Office of Planning and Budget Director Tim Connell - Secretary, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Mike Beatty, Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism Commissioner Glenn Cornell and Department of Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham.

On August 13, 2002, the Board approved the Fiscal Year 2003 OneGeorgia Authority budget. In addition to a $30 million reserve, the $65 million budget includes the following fund accounts. A reserve balance from FY 2002 of $5 million is available under the Flint River Drought Protection program, which compensates farmers in the Flint River Basin area for losses incurred when they agree to forgo irrigation during a declared drought year. $13 million is budgeted for assistance to tobacco farmers who have suffered from a myriad of issues surrounding tobacco and changes in the federal program. One part of the tobacco settlement already included assistance to tobacco farmers but the OneGeorgia program augments this assistance and consequently helps capture additional federal matching funds. $12 million will be devoted to the Equity Fund, which will provide financial assistance to Tier 1 and 2 communities to help build the necessary infrastructure for economic development. Also, $4 million is available as Equity loans, which are low interest loans for several different types of projects. For example, these funds can be used in purchasing speculative buildings in order to attract additional industries to these regions. $3M will be devoted to assist 31 counties throughout Georgia in setting up E911 emergency telephone services. Finally, $10 million is available for helping Tier 1 and 2 communities compete for business location and/or expansion. This fund known as the EDGE (Economic Development, Growth and Expansion) fund will be utilized when one Georgia community is competing for a business with another community from outside the state.

Regulations for the EDGE and Equity funds were adopted by the Board on October 6 and are now available to the public. The Authority can now accept EDGE applications and will continue to accept them on an ongoing basis. The Equity Fund, which will include loans, grants or a combination of loans and grants, will be awarded on a competitive basis three times a year. The first set of applications will be due on January 16, 2025 with $5 million available at that time. The next deadline is May 15 ($5 million available) with the third round due on September 14. Following the FY 2002 appropriation by the General Assembly, the OneGeorgia Authority Board will develop appropriate fund accounts for next year.

Eligible applicants for the Equity and EDGE funds are cities, counties, government authorities and joint or multi-county development authorities. Eligible uses of EDGE funds are the development of public infrastructure, land acquisition and site development. The Equity fund regulations were written to be very broad and flexible and can be used for a variety of activities to assist in preparation for economic development. Eligible projects include traditional economic development projects such as water and sewer projects, road, rail and airport improvements and industrial parks as well as workforce development projects, technology development or tourism development proposals, just to name a few. Special consideration is given to projects of regional significance.

It is important to remember that the Equity and EDGE funds are very limited funding sources. Projects should be considered for other sources of funds before applying for OneGeorgia assistance. In addition, funding will be tied to performance-based criteria.

You can find all regulations, application forms, tier map and PowerPoint presentations on this site. Thanks for visiting the OneGeorgia web site!