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Brockton officials outline $3.8 million CARES deficit, defend $52 million ARPA infrastructure program
Summary
City finance officials told the accounts committee that a $3.8 million CARES-era deficit tied to school spending remains outstanding while the city has invested roughly $52 million in ARPA projects such as a city hall HVAC retrofit, senior-center expansion and pool renovation.
At a meeting of the Brockton City accounts committee, city finance leaders described an outstanding $3.8 million deficit tied to CARES Act spending for school-related pandemic costs and reviewed the city’s use of roughly $52 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for infrastructure projects.
The deficit is the lingering result of COVID-era school spending, the committee heard. “All of those expenses related to that $3,900,000 CARES deficit were school expenses,” said Troy Clarkson, the city’s chief financial officer, as he described the accounting and the city’s ongoing work with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue to carry and resolve the balance. Clarkson added the city has carried the deficit across fiscal years and is working with the school department to develop a plan for satisfaction.
Why it matters: the CARES deficit reduces the city’s free-cash calculation at year-end and remains a multi‑year obligation; the ARPA investments are large, federally monitored projects with a spending deadline that affects the timing of other budget choices. “We have until the end of fiscal calendar year ’26 to spend most of these…
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