MARIETTA - Cobb County leaders estimate flood damage so far at $10 million, and the tab is still running. But it could be 90 days before officials know the dollar amount they will ask the federal government to reimburse.

"This is a tall mountain, I can assure you," County Manager David Hankerson said. "We've hired contractors on some projects, but we don't have invoices. As soon as we get those, they will be putting them on the agenda for commission meetings."

A spreadsheet of estimated county expenses, compiled at the Journal's request, shows $2.77 million in employee overtime and backfill costs through Wednesday. County transportation and parks agencies have so far seen the highest staff expenses, with more than $1 million each.

Expenses for damaged facilities have been about $7.22 million. Major costs have included $1.35 million at the R.L. Sutton wastewater treatment plant in South Cobb on the Chattahoochee River; $1 million for repairs just on Netherstone Road and Running Fox Drive (both in northeast Cobb) and Wiscasset (in west Cobb); and $110,000 for bridge inspections.

The damages and the costs do not include property or roadways maintained by individual cities or the state.

This afternoon, county leaders will host their counterparts from other flood-ravaged counties for a kickoff meeting with state and federal emergency management authorities, said Lanita Lloyd, Cobb's EMA leader. They have up to 90 days from that meeting to submit the reimbursement requests, she said.

After that, Cobb officials will begin compiling financial worksheets, which first must be reviewed and approved by state authorities before being forwarded to FEMA, she said. County buildings are insured with Marsh Inc., which will likely cover some costs, though there is a $1 million deductible.

Hankerson said he expects FEMA will do a quick turnaround and send reimbursements quickly.

"We're trying to make sure we do everything according to rules and get reimbursed for everything we ought to be reimbursed for," he said.

As for how the county might handle paying the bills if they come in before FEMA reimbursements, Hankerson said, "One of the good things that just happened to us, is we just started our new budget year. A lot will come out of this year's budget and we'll pay that back when we get FEMA reimbursements."

The county's 2010 fiscal year began Thursday.

Chairman Sam Olens said the county is making progress. Water has been restored to all customers, for instance, and all wastewater plants are operational. As of 11 a.m. yesterday, only six county roads remain closed.

"We are doing a lot of things, infrastructure repairs and whatnot, that you just have to do. We can't wait," Olens said.

Hankerson said the damage estimate will likely rise.

"We will continue to find things that we need to look at that were not apparent during the storm," he said. "When the creeks receded, we decided to inspect every bridge, even those that weren't covered by water," and found the foundations of some were damaged.