Detroit didn’t just get a slice of the ARPA pie. It was one of the biggest recipients nationwide. Of the $350 billion the federal government pushed out to local and state governments through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Detroit received over $826 million—one of the largest awards to any major city. That figure came with promise. It came with power. It came with pressure. Now, years after the pandemic first broke our backs and revealed every crack in our social infrastructure, millions of those dollars remain unspent—sitting in limbo while neighborhoods still feel the weight of yesterday’s emergencies.
Detroit City Council recently delayed a vote on appropriating $9.4 million in remaining ARPA funds, money that had been evenly divided among all nine members—seven district representatives and two at-large councilmembers. Each pot totaled just over $1 million. The funding had clear constraints: it had to go toward existing initiatives, not new programs, due to timing restrictions set by the U.S. Treasury.
That deadline matters. According to Treasury rules, ARPA dollars was slated to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and fully spent by December 2026. That’s not distant future. That’s now. And every delay risks leaving money on the table—money that communities across Detroit have been waiting on for years.
Council President Mary Sheffield, Pro Tem James Tate, and Councilmember Coleman Young II have each committed their funds to single, targeted investments. For Sheffield, that means directing her share to the Neighborhood Beautification Program—an effort aimed at restoring dignity and visual pride in communities that have seen too much decay for too long.
Young is channeling his pot of funds toward the Mental Health Co-Response Initiative, a program that brings mental health professionals alongside law enforcement during emergency calls. In a city that still grapples with police-community tensions and lacks sufficient mental health infrastructure, that investment holds weight.
Tate plans to dedicate his funds toward the Private Sewer Repair Program, focused on homes affected by the catastrophic flooding of June 2021. It’s a direct response to a very specific trauma—when streets turned to rivers, basements to swamps, and too many elders were left pumping out despair without meaningful help.
Councilmembers Latisha Johnson and Scott Benson are making a collective investment in Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs, allocating a combined $262,500 across their districts. These initiatives are designed to break cycles of harm before they start—through street outreach, conflict mediation, and trauma-informed support systems. In communities where the language of violence too often becomes a learned tongue, this investment speaks differently. It speaks prevention.
Benson is also committing $277,368 toward home repairs specifically for seniors and disabled residents in District 3. In that same district, he’s earmarking $450,000 to build a pedestrian pathway to the Dorais playground—making it easier and safer for families to access green space. He’s also placing $150,000 toward a “Green the Block” vacant land strategy, aiming to reimagine blighted lots into usable, beautified community assets.
Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero is investing $900,000 in the Renew Detroit Home Repair Program, another initiative tailored toward home repairs for low-income seniors. The remaining balance of her district’s funds will go toward Bridging Communities, an organization that supports intergenerational and neighborhood-rooted programs, particularly those serving older adults.
Mary Waters has proposed a 50/50 split: half of her ARPA share would go toward Detroit’s Basement Backup Protection Program, which aims to prevent sewage and stormwater from flooding homes. The other half would fund ADA improvements at the St. Patrick’s Senior Center, upgrading accessibility for a facility that serves some of the city’s most vulnerable elders.
Angela Whitfield-Calloway is directing all her funding toward improving Comstock and Peterson Parks in District 2. In a city where children deserve clean, safe spaces to play and elders deserve a bench to rest on without fear, that investment doubles as both public health and joy.
Fred Durhal III is spreading his $1 million across three investments: half will go to Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, the city’s summer youth employment initiative that has connected tens of thousands of teens with work experience since its inception. Another $200,000 will fund housing resource navigation through Matrix Human Services. The remaining $352,000 will be used for the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
Altogether, this patchwork of funding reflects diverse visions for neighborhood care—but none of it moves forward until council takes action. Right now, it’s stalled. The vote is delayed. And that delay raises hard questions.
Detroiters remember how quickly the city moved when COVID forced everything to stop. The need was immediate. The dollars came fast. But the healing—that’s taken time. These remaining ARPA funds were set aside to finish that work. To invest in what communities already said they needed. To follow through on recovery that was promised.
The federal deadline to obligate these dollars passed at the end of 2024. What’s left now must be used with intention, clarity, and urgency before the final 2026 deadline. That reality now rests not only with the current council but also with the next mayor of Detroit, who will inherit the responsibility of ensuring that this funding gets to the finish line. These dollars can’t be used to start something new. They must be used to strengthen what’s already in motion. That’s what makes this moment so critical. This last $9.4 million isn’t about launching ideas. It’s about reinforcing commitments already made.
Detroit’s past is filled with programs that began with strong support but didn’t always reach full execution. ARPA created an opportunity to change that pattern. These funds—especially now, at this final stage—are meant to uplift efforts that are working, deepen their reach, and provide stability to programs already in place. Mental health co-responses. Beautification. Sewer repair. Youth opportunities. These are solutions grounded in what residents have repeatedly called for.
When dollars like these don’t move fast enough, people notice. It doesn’t come from a place of criticism. It comes from lived experience. From years of watching plans stall while neighborhoods wait. This is not just federal policy—it’s the final phase of a lifeline that Black communities, in particular, have pushed for since the earliest months of the pandemic.
Detroiters are not questioning the intent. They’re asking whether that intent will meet the moment. Whether the dollars that came to support them will, in fact, show up before it’s too late. That’s a fair question, especially given the federal government’s hard deadline. And it’s not a question of blame—it’s a call to focus.
Council will revisit the resolution soon. When that happens, residents are watching for action that meets their sense of urgency. Not because they doubt leadership, but because the stakes are real. This funding can still make a meaningful difference. It can support seniors needing home repairs. It can boost programs serving youth who are trying to stay on track. It can rebuild trust through work that’s already underway.
Detroit has shown what’s possible when federal dollars are paired with community priorities. This final allocation is a chance to keep that momentum moving. The dollars are there. The plans are outlined. What remains is the timing—and how quickly council can align those intentions with the urgency of the community.
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