DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In 2023, the city of Dearborn Heights spent $13.8 million of the $24 million from the federal government from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as part of the emergency pandemic bailout.

In 2024, the city’s federal grants had dropped to $1.53 million and the city didn’t have a balanced budget as its General Fund expenditures of $54.5 million exceeded the city’s General Fund revenues of $49.5 million.

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The city received a letter from the state on Feb. 4 saying it must submit a deficit elimination plan.

Dearborn Heights notified the state on Feb. 3 that it had overspent in its General Fund account. The city’s General Fund balance dropped $5 million to $12.8 million to cover for its 2024 overspending.

The city of Dearborn Heights is an example of what many fiscal analysts had feared when they talked about the “fiscal cliff” – that time when municipalities would have to do without federal pandemic money.