Ann Arbor spent $4.5 million of the $24 million it received through the American Rescue Plan Act on solar power infrastructure. It was the city’s largest allocation of the funds and listed in the category “Replacement of Lost Public Sector Revenue.”
The city used funds in ways consistent with federal guidelines, Mariah Walton, Ann Arbor’s deputy city administrator, wrote to Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email. Federal rules “allowed local governments to use funds for general services if they experienced revenue shortfalls,” Walton added.
The U.S. Department of Treasury let local governments treat up to $10 million of their federal relief money as if it were general revenue that would have been collected if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act was a $1.9 trillion spending package enacted in 2021 under the Biden administration…