← Report overview
414 dollar figures were extracted from the meetings, totaling $584M on the surface — but that number conflates three very different things. The honest breakdown:
| Category |
Items |
$ |
Share |
| Other / development projects (go-kart, cultural district, transfers) |
60 |
$19.8M |
29% |
| Taxes & finance (reserve replenishment, jail fees, budget surpluses) |
8 |
$16.2M |
24% |
| Capital equipment (hotel FF&E note, cultural district, machines) |
23 |
$14.0M |
21% |
| Public safety |
38 |
$4.1M |
6% |
| Streets & public works |
16 |
$4.1M |
6% |
| Admin & general |
24 |
$3.9M |
6% |
| Grants (city-originated) |
5 |
$3.1M |
5% |
| Contracts & services |
13 |
$1.5M |
2% |
| Health & benefits |
2 |
$0.5M |
1% |
| Education |
2 |
$0.03M |
<1% |
Where the city mostly spends:
- Development/capital projects tied to the urban-renewal agenda — the go-kart track alone is $3.88M total cost incl. $3.05M in six construction contracts; the hotel FF&E promissory note $3M; the Delta Rhythm cultural district $1.5M total appropriation ($1M phase one + Wagner $993K Wellness Park); $1.15M of 2017 sales-tax funds transferred to the cultural district (Nov 2024); the $860K 2017-tax urban-renewal allocation.
- Debt, reserves and mandatory payments — restricted reserve replenished to $8M (after $1M went to county jail fees); $993,479 court-ordered Jefferson County jail judgment from the emergency reserve; 2024 loans/leases exceeded $7.3M; casino/sports-betting revenue ($1M+) cited to fund a communications manager position.
- Public safety — $4.1M across 38 items: $200K public-safety signing bonuses (2024), bulletproof vest funding, PBPD ADVANCED accreditation costs, overtime/vehicles (the $1.30M 2022 carryover to fire overtime/Medicare/retirement/vehicles is the single largest one-line carryover).
- Equipment — $337,555.90 Kazzy asphalt paving machine (2023); ECD vehicle $40K.
- Pension/health — BCBS vs. United comparison (8% vs 21% cost) drove a benefit decision; ~$571K recorded.
City-funded money by year: 2022 ~$29K (thin early record) → 2023 $16.6M → 2024 $59.2M (the big year: hotel note, cultural district, Bark Park, reallocations) → 2025 $125M (includes the $29M Go Forward "bank funds" reference and go-kart carryover; the year's meetings are the densest) → 2026 (partial, through Aug) $30.7M (go-kart contracts, reserves).
¶ Tier 2 — grants and external money flowing through the city: ~$330–360M (reference, not city spending)
- $96M Bipartisan Infrastructure Law award across seven regional cities (Mar 2025), of which ~$32M is Pine Bluff's ditch/drainage share (phase one done 2024).
- Bayou Bartholomew/Chancy Bayou watershed program (USDA NRCS): ~$50M preferred alternative, $32M initially appropriated (cannot be clawed back), $22M phase-one construction, $27–28M additional to be applied for, $4M design phase, $3M completed planning.
- $30M flood-mitigation grant covering the city's nine watersheds (18-month planning).
- $2M Delta Rhythm & Bayous Cultural District from the 5-mill general fund (Sep 2023); Healthy Babies Bright Futures; USDA NRCS other grants; AAMA $75K grant (2026).
- $60M Susano's announced investment in the former Evergreen paper mill (private, not city).
- The $29M "bank funds" for Go Forward projects (go-kart, Six & Main, hotel) whose whereabouts a public commenter said were unknown (Jun 2024) — this figure recurred in Lever's commentary.
- $4M "taxpayer funds" in the Six & Main/urban-renewal property dispute (Jul 2024).
- Port of Pine Bluff repair needs $10–12M; river port costs $5–8M; lighting $3–5M; Sanger Theater 1988-89 restoration estimate $5–6M (historical).
- The $3.9M 2017 sales-tax cash balance (Aug 2023 statement of activities) — a balance, not an outlay.
Bottom line: the city's own money concentrates in (1) the urban-renewal/Go Forward development pipeline (go-kart, hotel, cultural district, streets), (2) public safety, and (3) debt service/reserves — with external grant money (watershed, infrastructure bill, flood mitigation) dwarfing city dollars and constituting the city's biggest financial opportunity. The $250K+ missing-funds story (§2) sits against this backdrop: the Nov 2025 $138,812 UHY Advisors forensic audit of FY2023-24 and the special sales/use tax fund followed a state audit that found $179,629 in untraceable manual receipts from Parks & Rec (Jan 2023–May 2025) and over $200K total in missing receipts/unallowable purchases under the prior mayor (Arkansas Times; Pine Bluff Commercial on the legislative committee's findings; Mayor Flowers' statement on the audit cites unaccounted funds tied to manual receipts in Parks & Recreation), and the missing funds were referred to law enforcement.
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