Charlotte Council raises transparency, accountability concerns about COVID relief money
Charlotte City Council members voiced concerns Monday about a lack of transparency in communicating how the mayor proposes using $10 million of federal COVID-19 relief money.
On Nov. 1, Mayor Vi Lyles announced a $250 million public-private partnership to address racial equity issues across Charlotte, calling it “a defining moment” in the city’s history.
Lyles said $10 million of that amount would go toward digital inclusion — providing reliable internet access for people without it. The $10 million will come from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief stimulus signed by President Biden in March.
But some council members said Monday they didn’t know that funds spent from the American Rescue Plan would be included in the mayor’s initiative.
The money also raised concerns from U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who is running for U.S. Senate. Budd wrote a letter to the mayor last week asking for details about whether the money will be used for COVID-19 relief efforts.
Neither the mayor nor the city manager responded directly to Budd’s letter on Monday during the public meeting, though Lyles issued a statement on Friday saying she would review the letter and compile a detailed response.
City Manager Marcus Jones assured the council on Monday that no money would be spent without further approval by the council. Lyles also said money would need further approval, and she apologized for not being more clear with council members before she announced her digital inclusion pledge.
Major initiative
When Lyles announced the racial equity initiative earlier this month, she said it would include about $72 million from the city and $8 million from the library system. Philanthropic and corporate contributors have pledged millions more.
The program aims to, among other things, make sweeping improvements to several corridor areas of the city with the mission of improving racial equity. It is the largest investment in the city’s history with that goal.
But council member Tariq Bokhari said Monday that council members weren’t aware that the $10 million would be included in the initiative when they voted to approve certain “buckets,” or eligible uses of American Rescue Plan funding, last month. Bokhari said the council had been told they would not be able to vote again on how the money would be spent once the buckets were approved.
Council members Ed Driggs and Renee’ Johnson also said they were concerned with the level of transparency leading up to that vote.
Several council members said they support the goals of the mayor’s initiative, but said they wanted assurances that the council could have accountability power going forward.
Bokhari went further, saying the money would have been allocated without further approval if the council had not pushed the issue before Monday’s meeting.
“That money was not coming back to us, folks,” he said, adding that the mayor’s apology came only after she got her hand “caught in the cookie jar.”
Councilman Braxton Winston said he was concerned about how the mayor’s initiative might lead to unintended consequences that could be detrimental to people of color. He said he hoped the city would create a formal equity policy to inform how the city spends money on these issues.
“While the intent of the mayor’s equity initiative might be great, I believe it is missing a step, it is missing a step that could prove fatal,” he said.
The city has not yet provided a timeline of when it would submit formal plans about how the digital inclusion money will be spent.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 9:19 PM.
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