The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled this week that Flint’s mayor may have violated the city charter when he created a panel to advise on spending millions of federal dollars.
Flint received $94.7 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.
The mayor’s advisory panel was involved in coming up with recommendations on ways to spend a portion of the ARPA funds.
The mayor’s advisory panel sometimes met in private at the Flint Public Library.
While the appeals court ruled the formation of the advisory panel appears to have violated a portion of the Flint city charter, the court dismissed claims that panel’s closed-door meetings violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.
The ruling reversed a lower court ruling that favored the city.
Flint City Councilwoman Tonya Burns filed her lawsuit challenging the legality of the mayor’s advisory panel back in 2023. She said she remains concerned about how decisions were made on where the money should be spent.
“There are some questions as to, are we having any violations with those ARPA funds,” Burns told reporters Friday, “Some of these groups never applied. We have a spreadsheet. They’re not on there.”
Mayor Sheldon Neeley declined to comment on the appeals court decision on Thursday. His office released a written statement saying it disagreed with the ruling, indicating it plans to appeal.
In the statement, the mayor’s office insists it is "committed to transparency, community engagement and using ... ARPA funds in a way that meets the needs and priorities of Flint residents."
The mayor's office also points out that the Flint City Council, as the City’s legislative body, approved an ARPA budget during public meetings.
It is unclear at this point how much of the $94.7 million the city of Flint received in ARPA funds has been spent, appropriated and unspent, or remain to be distributed.
Unspent ARPA funds were transferred to the city’s general fund last year.
