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Council presses for clarity on ARP fund uses; OFS and operations director say quarterly reports were shared
Summary
Council members pressed for detailed accounting of American Rescue Plan (ARP) and special fund 02/11 spending that is being proposed to pay for one-time 2026 investments; OFS and the operations director said quarterly reports have been shared and will be re-sent.
Council members asked several times for a clearer accounting of one-time special fund allocations and whether proposed 2026 items were part of the mayor-council ARP agreement. The question focused on fund 02/11 (government special projects), which the budget presentation shows is being used to move prior ARP-funded projects into one-time special fund appropriations.
Madeline Mitchell said some 2026 investments are funded from 02/11 and other special accounts (innovation and technology accounts) and identified cybersecurity investments, the temporary Rondo library lease and contracting security and a robotic striping vehicle as items “not specifically ARP projects.”
Council Member Johnson and others asked for a detailed ledger of fund 02/11 activity. Jay Wilms, the city’s chief operations director, told the committee: “We've shared each of those quarterly reports since [it] was included in the resolution last year. The deadlines have been, I mean, every quarter…we resent all of them this week.”
Interim finance leadership also confirmed staff will re-send the quarterly special-fund reports to council offices and will meet to resolve any confusion. Mitchell and council members asked OFS to identify which one-time special-fund sources are newly proposed versus previously discussed in prior ARP/mayoral agreements.
On cybersecurity, Mitchell said the general fund includes just under $500,000 in investments and there is an additional $700,000 in a special fund for cybersecurity for 2026. The presentation also lists $115,000 for grants-management software and $450,000 for a robotic street-marking vehicle in the innovation/ERP-related accounts.
Council members asked for clearer, department-specific schedules showing which special-fund balances are carrying forward and which are newly allocated to 2026 projects.
