The Flint city council adopted a new budget late Monday night, less than two hours before the midnight deadline imposed in the city’s charter.
And despite months of debate, the final budget was the same one proposed by Mayor Sheldon Neeley in March. The vote for the original budget proposal came after council members voted down a version that had 10 amendments.
Council member Tonya Burns said she couldn’t vote for the amendments.
“We’re not showing where we’re taking from, we’re not balancing,” Burns said. “It’s just not making sense.”
The adopted budget calls for spending nearly $65 million in the city’s general fund. That’s about $7 million less than in the current fiscal year, because of declining revenues. The city expects more budget shortfalls in the coming years, but the city is also expecting an influx in federal cash thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act.
Monday night, some members of city council wanted to dip into those expected funds to expand the budget for the police department. But other members wanted to wait until the mayor’s office proposes a more comprehensive plan for how to spend the $94.7 million in expected ARPA funds.
“What, I’m going to wait for tomorrow?” asked council member Eric Mays, who proposed a number of amendments that would have used ARPA funds in the annual budget "What, I’m going to wait for somebody to tell me — that’s elected just like me — when and how to move? I control the purse strings. We control the purse strings.”
Mays argued that residents have been calling on city leaders to increase spending on police in the city, as the number of shootings has gone up. Mays says cleaning up blight is also a top concern.
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