More than five years after Congress approved the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, Milwaukee officials are still rushing to allocate the last scraps of federal COVID relief money before they must be returned to Washington. On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council approved the final disbursement of roughly $617,000 in remaining ARPA funds, just months before the Dec. 31, 2026, spending deadline.
The City of Milwaukee received approximately $394.2 million directly from the program. Milwaukee County took in another $183 million. Much of the money was used not for emergency pandemic response but to backfill operating budgets, pension reserves, and ongoing projects. Critics argue that these decisions converted one-time federal aid into a permanent increase in city spending.
State and local records indicate the funds propped up everything from public safety salaries and housing renovations to routine government services. By the time the final dollars were being parceled out this week, the city had already leaned heavily on ARPA to postpone a fiscal cliff, including a $30 million pension contribution that bought Milwaukee an extra year before facing deeper cuts or tax increases.
Many Wisconsin conservatives have long warned that ARPA’s flood of cash — part of the $5.7 billion the state received — invited inefficiency and outright abuse. Nationwide, the program became a case study in sloppy oversight, with billions in improper payments, ghost programs, and funds funneled to non-emergency pet projects. In Wisconsin, unemployment insurance fraud reached hundreds of millions of dollars during the pandemic, and unaudited local spending has drawn ongoing scrutiny from fiscal watchdogs.
Even as the money ran out, examples of questionable use surfaced. Milwaukee police recovered roughly $460,000 in a thwarted fraud scheme targeting city accounts in 2025. Housing authorities and nonprofits came under scrutiny for misdirected federal dollars. Meanwhile, broader ARPA spending across Wisconsin went largely unaudited, leaving taxpayers with little proof the funds delivered lasting results beyond higher baseline budgets and the inflation that followed the massive federal outlay.
Republican lawmakers and taxpayer groups have pointed to ARPA as Exhibit A in the failures of massive federal stimulus: money spent with little accountability, much of it on recurring costs that now require new revenue sources or service reductions. Milwaukee’s 2026 budget reflects the cliff, with officials warning that gaps must be addressed through property taxes, a new city sales tax, or additional borrowing, while crime, pension obligations, and infrastructure needs persist.
Democrats who championed the spending at the time argued the funds prevented deeper economic pain and supported essential services. Yet even some local leaders acknowledged the one-time windfall created unrealistic expectations. As the final checks are cut this spring, Milwaukee residents are left with the bill for a program that delivered far less bang for the buck than promised and a reminder that federal “free money” almost always comes with strings, waste, and long-term consequences for state and local taxpayers.
