The Greensboro City Council is holding a work session reportedly on how to spend the remaining American Rescue Plan money on Thursday, Nov. 3, but that money has already been spent.
According to the agenda, the City Council has $31.8 million of the $59.4 the city received in ARP funds left to spend.
The $31.8 million, which is listed in the “American Rescue Plan Update 11/3/2022” as the “Total Remaining” is incorrect, because the City Council on August 16 voted 9-0 to allocate all $59.4 million in ARP funds to the general fund. The general fund is the portion of the city budget where property tax, sales tax and much of the revenue the city spends goes. The general fund, before the $59.4 million was added, was about $372 million of the $688 million 2022-2023 budget.
ARP funds have to be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024 and spent by Dec. 31, 2026, or returned to the federal government. The City Council voted to allocate all of the ARP funds to the general fund. In other words, the ARP funds have been spent, so the City Council no longer has to be concerned about spending all of the $59.4 million by the federal deadlines or for the purposes stated in the American Rescue Plan Act.
One of the reasons given for allocating the entire amount to the general fund was to avoid the reporting requirements and the restrictions on how ARP funds could be spent. By allocating the $59.4 million to the general fund, the federal restrictions and reporting requirements no longer exist.
The City Council is able to use the extra money now in the city budget for any expense that it is legal for a city to pay, whether or not it is an approved ARP expense.
Also, if the City Council allocates more money to nonprofit organizations, those organizations do not have to meet the ARP reporting requirements because they are not receiving ARP funds but are receiving money from the City of Greensboro, which has markedly fewer reporting requirements than the federal government.
Thanks John….sounds like the city clowns are on top of it!
I do not believe that putting the ARP funds into the general funds account removes the City of Greensboro from requirement to report how the ARP money is spent. The idea that the City of Greensboro would attempt to skirt the intent of the ARP funds tell you the deviousness of City Council.
The City Finance Department needs to code every ARP expenditure from the $31.8M transferred to the general funds account for public transparency purposes. The expenditure should include the requesting department. A public records request could then be made to the city to learn just how the money was spent.
The City of Greensboro has a designated UEI number. This number can be found on SAM.gov. It is through SAM that reports are filed for the ARP expenditures for verification that the funds are used as intended.
It would be interesting to learn if any other city has tried this ploy. This attempt by City Council to hide its intentions from the public is alarming.
If the City of Greensboro believes that they are exempt from reporting how the ARP money is spent by transferring the money into the general funds account, please confirm where this is allowed under the ARP program.
An end run by the City Council to provide funds to their special non-profits without reporting how the money is spent. This is an egregious mismanagement of the funds that were allocated for a completely different purpose. This should be viewed as malfeasance of their office. This is the type of government we have in Greensboro and it is a total disgrace.
Any way to beat the system and not be accountable to others, that’s our team!
Just my opinion, but I’m inclined to think the write-in candidate for mayor in the previous municipal election was a gift to Nancy. Had he not run, Nancy would not be in office.
Maybe they read the requirements and back peddling. While trying to save face. This is from the NC State Treasurer:
Many units are asking questions about the restrictions on these funds, and we encourage units to seek guidance before spending the money. ARPA funds cannot be used to fund general operations or to provide for general capital needs. ARPA funds will be subject to audit, and units can expect to be required to repay funds that are not spent in accordance with the restrictions. Again, units have several years over which to spend these funds and there likely will be opportunities to leverage funds to achieve more significant outcomes. Please plan strategically and thoughtfully!
Let’s be honest here it’s simply money laundering