TOLEDO, Ohio — As negotiations in Washington continue to prevent the US economy from defaulting on its debt, Republicans are rallying around a new idea in exchange for raising the ceiling.
Their goal is to pull back billions in unspent pandemic-era federal funds sent out to cities across the country, including Toledo. This maneuver could result in Toledo losing as much as $52 million, Toledo City Council member George Sarantou said.
Toledo was given $180 million in ARPA funds back in 2021 by the federal government and has used it on everything from city improvement to universal pre-kindergarten.
Now, there's $52 million left, and Sarantou said the risk of it all going away is daunting for the Glass City because the majority of it has already been earmarked for something essential.
"Well some of it, about $38 million, is about to pay all of the salaries in 2024 of all of our fire personnel and police personnel, which is the largest part of our annual budget," Sarantou said.
If the federal government rescinds the money, the city would still make sure first responders get paid, but the money would instead come out of the general fund, which would in turn force council to make some hard choices.
"$38 million in salaries is a huge amount of money, so we would have to make cuts in other areas to make up for that," Sarantou said.
While Sarantou wouldn't speculate on what would get cut, he said Toledo does have the money in the reserve to weather the storm.
But looking to avoid that altogether, he's already begun talks with the city's finance director, Melanie Campbell, and other leaders to begin looking at alternatives.
"The hour is getting late and we really have to find out what we can do," Sarantou said. "I've talked to the law director and they are double checking with the federal authorities in terms of what parameters there are and if that money can go back, or it can stay here if it's not appropriated."
Besides first responder salaries, renovations on parks and senior centers also make up the rest of that $52 million.
But, Sarantou said he is confident the city won't lose any money, and a new deal will be reached that avoids ARPA funds being pulled.