The potential loss of federal grant funding could amount to $32.9 million for Peoria, according to the city’s finance director.
During Tuesday’s Peoria City Council meeting, Kyle Cratty discussed the potential impact of the Trump administration’s sudden pause on grant payments. He said the city has $15.1 million outstanding in direct federal grants, and is waiting on another $17.8 million in federal money distributed through state agencies.
“This is looking at the raw information. Obviously, this came down today [and] we're kind of going through and trying to get as much information as we can,” said Cratty. “There are potentially dollars that we have already spent, but have not been reimbursed, or contractual obligations that we have that we need to kind of go through all of these individually, look at the contracts, look at the individual pieces, to really look at what our exposure would be if the money went away.”
The order freezing the funding streams that President Donald Trump seeks was blocked late Tuesday afternoon when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order until Monday. Cratty said that still doesn’t give the city much time to determine a precise picture of what may be at risk.
“This is kind of the totality of what the number looks like,” he said. “We've had a number of good years in terms of getting federal dollars, so we have a very high exposure to a potential loss on things that I think directly impact the residents of the city of Peoria.”
Mayor Rita Ali said there needs to be a sense of urgency in figuring out where the city stands and taking action to assure Peoria gets as much of what’s supposed to be coming. She said she was in contact with the offices of Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Dick Durbin over the course of the day.
She said the message was the same: document the impact the community is facing. As an example, she noted Peoria is expecting a federal SAFER grant to cover the salaries of 14 firefighters.
In response to a question from council member Andre Allen, Cratty noted the city's American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] spending would not be affected.
Answering inquiries from council member Denis Cyr, Cratty said the $32.9 million represents about 15% of Peoria’s 2025 budget, and that in a “worst-case scenario,” Peoria could cover the gap from its $42 million balance in “emergency” general fund money.
Council member Chuck Grayeb asked if the city could push through all of its grant submissions by Monday, “like when you were in college, you did some ‘all-nighters.’”
“I’m serious. If we’re worried about a draconian impact on our city, maybe we need to step up the pace here and get these funds committed,” said Grayeb.
But Cratty said that possibility is “highly unlikely.”
“The one distinction, I would say, with these grants is for the reimbursement to occur, the funds have to be out the door,” said Cratty. “It's not a simple commitment. With ARPA, we have the requirements for commitments; with these, we have to have hard costs out to these vendors or individuals before we can request the reimbursement.”
Other business
The only item of regular business on Tuesday’s agenda resulted in a unanimous vote (with two absences) to adopt a paid parental leave policy for city employees.
Human resources director Ed Hopkins said the policy will offer up to two weeks paid time off for eligible employees following the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
“This policy benefits parents by reducing stress and promoting mental health, helping to prevent postpartum depression and offering essential bonding time for both parents,” said Hopkins. “It also gives mothers time to recover and supports a healthy work-life balance for all employees.”
Hopkins added the city will be able to attract more top-level employment candidates and reduce employee turnover with a paid parental leave policy in place, making Peoria “a forward-thinking employer.”
“I also want to highlight that this policy is budget-neutral within the spending plan already approved by the city council,” he said. “By providing this benefit, we affirm that the city of Peoria values family and is committed to supporting employees at every stage of their lives.”
Council member Bernice Gordon-Young joined Allen and Cyr in speaking strongly in favor of the policy, noting it fits in with the city’s strategic plan priorities of quality of life and diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I think this is monumental, and I am not in the childbearing stage of life, but certainly can appreciate those who deserve this and need this level of appreciation and care and support,” said Gordon-Young.
Also, public works director Rick Powers presented a first reading on an ordinance to approve updates to city code aimed at improving stormwater management policies and procedures.
No items were pulled from a lengthy consent agenda that included a $178,000 authorization for sewer cleaning and inspection and approval of the preliminary plat for the Kona Breeze subdivision near Radnor Road and Alta Lane.
