TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Council continued discussions Tuesday on how to spend American Rescue Plan dollars for 2023, speaking to the city's finance department Tuesday to get a full rundown of how the funds will be used this year.
Of the original $180 million provided by the federal government, $105 million and counting has already been spent or earmarked to be spent this year, city finance director Melanie Campbell said.
It will be used on projects like the rebuilding the Wayman-Palmer YMCA, residential demolitions, covering wages for police and fire and continuous improvements to city parks and playgrounds.
Campbell said some of the allotted $105 million won't necessarily be spent by year's end, but has been set aside for some projects to receive it year after year with a final spending deadline in 2026.
During the meeting, council member Katie Moline raised multiple questions about using federal dollars and expressed concerns that once the money runs out, many of these projects dependent on the money will fail.
In response, Campbell said the money is being used as the federal government intended, and money in the general fund is available to fill those holes once the ARPA funds are used up.
"I think those federal dollars are letting us invest in our community right with things that the residents need and talked about what they were looking for when we went through the engagement process," Campbell said. "Making these investments over the next several years will strengthen and grow our community."
When ARPA funds run out, Campbell said she doesn't expect programs and other expenses they're supporting to be affected.
Some ARPA funds are currently being used for city police and fire expenses, "but we don't expect there to be any cuts within police or fire once the ARPA dollars run out, for example," she said.
Moline requested the city finance committee meets with council monthly to monitor spending decisions, as more ARPA fund expenditures are expected throughout the year as needed.