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Durham reports ARPA spending: $17.7M paid to local projects, $1.6M interest projected for council priorities
Summary
City budget staff reported April 9 that Durham’s ARPA process allocated funds to community priorities after broad engagement; of the approved projects 15 are complete, 11 in process and five suspended, with roughly $17.7M in invoices paid and projected interest earnings of about $1.6M through Dec. 2026.
City staff gave an update on April 9 about deployment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the city used to support community organizations and capital projects.
Deputy City Manager Bertha Wimbush and Budget Management Services' Andrew Holland reviewed the outreach and competitive process the city used to distribute a portion of its $52 million ARPA allocation. Staff solicited input through community events and received 71 final funding applications (total requests ~ $136M). Council approved a slate of awardees in 2022 and later made targeted decisions to fund affordable housing and corridor projects, and Durham County provided matching funds for several initiatives.
Holland said that of the 31 active awarded projects tied to the original slate, 15 projects have completed their work and 11 are in process; five have been suspended for varied reasons. The ARPA monitoring team reported 366 invoices paid, totaling about $17.7M against a near‑term expenditure goal of roughly $19M for the cohort. Staff also projected interest earnings through Dec. 31, 2026, of about $1.6M that could be available for council priorities in the upcoming budget cycle.
Councilors asked about suspended projects, compliance and intervention processes; staff said most suspensions reflect reporting or pace‑of‑spend issues and that certain organizations are in active intervention or technical assistance status to help meet milestones before any termination actions are considered. Staff also highlighted a range of completed small business and youth programs funded with ARPA (business corridor renovations, digital equity device distributions, youth entrepreneurship awards) and large housing commitments (roughly $27M toward affordable housing, matched by the county in parts).
Outcome and next steps: Staff will return with quarterly reporting and recommended uses for available ARPA interest earnings as part of the upcoming budget; council signaled preference to consider allocations for council priorities through the formal budget process.
