The Miami-Dade County Housing Committee voted unanimously to approve a resolution retroactively authorizing the county mayor or designee to apply for additional HOME American Rescue Plan funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to execute grant agreements and expend such funds.

The resolution, read at the public hearing as “Item 1G1,” authorized the mayor or designee to apply for and receive HUD HOME ARP funds, complete required forms and execute documents necessary to expend funds, including amending or terminating agreements if required. The item was presented and then opened for public comment prior to the motion. Multiple residents used the public-hearing period to press for an audit of federal housing dollars and to ask that HUD and county staff ensure funds reach residents rather than administrative costs.

Several public speakers, including Adam Renita Holmes and Sharon Fraser Stevens, said they wanted audits and closer oversight of federal funds to prevent patterns they described as “bleeding” of funds into administration instead of resident services. “Audit that money when it gets here,” Holmes told the committee during the public comment period.

After the public comments, the committee chair gave discretion to consider 1G1. The motion to approve the resolution was moved on the floor and the clerk called the roll. Commissioners Eileen Higgins, Ben McGee, Raquel Regalado, Vice Chairman Gonzales and Chairwoman Bastian all voted yes; the clerk recorded the motion as passing unanimously.

The resolution authorizes the county mayor or designee to accept and expend HOME ARP funds; the amount stated on the agenda during the meeting read as "$26,578" in the title as presented on the agenda, and the clerk and members discussed that the item involved “extra money” for housing activities. Public commenters urged the county to track administrative versus direct resident expenditures and to avoid repeating past recapture events referenced by speakers.

No additional conditions or amendments to the resolution were recorded during the vote. Staff and commissioners indicated they would follow up with residents who testified before moving on to other agenda items.