Mayor’s recovery office reports $641.2 million in ARPA obligations; opioid restitution grants moving slowly

Acting Chief Recovery Officer Elizabeth Tatum told the Baltimore City Council Budget and Appropriations Committee on a quarterly briefing that Baltimore City has fully obligated $641,170,126 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and had expended $434,900,000 as of March.

Tatum said the recovery office is tracking agency-level spend rates and focusing on agreements where expenditure is under 50 percent. "We have fully obligated $641,000,000 It's $641,170,126 That's all been obligated as of December 31 and then as of the March we've expended $434,900,000," she said. She told the committee the presentation covered expenditures through March and noted April numbers would be available at the May 28 budget hearing.

The office highlighted projects across city agencies with slower spend patterns. Examples cited by Tatum included a $3.7 million Department of Finance city-services agreement executed in December 2024 (about half expected to be spent in the next six months), a $36 million portfolio for the Department of General Services (three projects under 50 percent, including $3.4 million for fire-facility upgrades, an $11.8 million City Hall roof replacement with $6.85 million from ARPA, and $10.8 million…