Steve Reiter raises ARP reallocation and 'fiscal cliff' concerns as committee approves $1.5M for Hospitality Hub

The Budget & Finance Committee approved a $1,500,000 appropriation to increase an interim housing services grant with the Hospitality Hub of Memphis to support operations and case management at 95 Wallace Road in Nashville.

Steve Reiter, who signed up to speak on resolution 20 26 18 40, told the committee he would not object to the allocation but said he lacked details on the scope and rates and asked for clarification about the funding source. "I don't know the scope of work or the rates," Reiter said. "I do worry that this only goes out till, June 2026, and so I worry about the fiscal cliff. What is gonna happen to those people that are there?"

Reiter also said the Office of Homeless Services had received $25,000,000 in discretionary American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding and asked whether some of that money was being reallocated to cover the $1.5 million increase, noting an original obligation deadline of December 2024. The transcript records Reiter asking the committee to "ask that question" about reallocation; no response is recorded in the meeting transcript.

Committee members moved and seconded the resolution and approved it by voice vote. The chair declared, "Motion carries." The transcript does not record a roll-call tally or identify which member made the motion or second for this specific item.

The item was part of a larger consent package that included multiple grant amendments and cooperative purchasing agreements. Reiter's public comment placed the appropriation in the context of broader concerns about program continuity as some pandemic-era funding streams phase out. The committee took no additional recorded action in the meeting to respond to Reiter's request for clarification; next procedural steps to address his question were not specified in the transcript.