Council committee advances $46.4 million in supplemental appropriations, creates ARPA reassignment fund

The Detroit Budget, Finance and Audit standing committee advanced a proposed fiscal-year 2024–25 supplemental appropriations and transfer request that would add roughly $46,400,000 in projected general-fund revenue to the current-year budget and create a new ARPA reassigned appropriation for unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The memo and report were presented by Tanya Stoudemire, chief deputy CFO and interim budget director, who told the committee, “we have identified $46,400,000 in additional revenue per our February revenue conference,” and described specific proposed allocations including $8 million for the General Services Department for fuel, parts and repairs; $6 million for emergency flood response in Southwest Detroit; $7 million for board-up and clean-outs; $14 million to the solid-waste fund for enhanced trash hauling and service expansion; $4.4 million for facility improvements including the Charles H. Wright Museum; $3.1 million for an EV charging-station grant match; $3 million for city advertising; and $875,000 for community violence intervention (CVI) bonuses.

The administration also asked the committee to create an ARPA reassigned appropriation to capture roughly $5.7 million identified from demolition projects that are not expected to be performed by the city and an additional $4 million freed from outcome-advertising plans, producing about $9.7 million available to reassign within ARPA-eligible projects. Stoudemire emphasized that creating the appropriation would only provide visibility — any actual spending would still require council contracts and approvals.

Council members pressed administration officials on the long-term sustainability of CVI funding and on the mix of one-time versus recurring uses. Member Vice Chair Coleman Young II said the program “is absolutely mission critical” and asked whether the $875,000 (referred to in committee discussion at roughly $900,000) was sufficient and how gap funding would be found after ARPA expires. Stoudemire and Donnie Johnson, deputy budget director, said the $875,000 would cover current-year bonuses and that city staff have discussed gap-funding options with the administration while awaiting potential state Public Safety Trust Fund dollars; they also noted ARPA dollars must be spent by the end of 2026.

Councilman Corley asked for transparency on the OCFO’s responses to earlier questions and on the use of the city’s unassigned fund balance. Johnson said much of the FY2024 unassigned fund balance (cited in earlier remarks as roughly $109 million) has been programmed toward the FY2026 budget; he said the additional revenue in the amendment would have become unassigned fund balance and therefore could be used for one-time or recurring needs but that the city seeks not to fund recurring obligations with one-time balances.

Procedural action: the committee voted by unanimous consent to send line item 6.3 (the FY2024–25 supplemental appropriations and transfer request) to formal consideration with a recommendation to approve. No roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript; the motion passed by voice/consent.

Why it matters: the amendment would reallocate newly projected revenue to immediate needs — from infrastructure repairs to trash service and community safety — and create a visible ARPA reassignment account intended to allow council-directed use of freed ARPA dollars. Committee members cautioned that many items have recurring implications and that ARPA funds and any reassigned balances must be managed to avoid funding ongoing programs with time-limited dollars.

Next steps: committee staff said the OCFO will post written responses to council questions on the OCFO website if council approves the amendment; the matter will return to the formal session for a recorded vote and additional committee review of follow-up questions.