The Lawrence City Budget & Finance Committee voted on Nov. 13 to withdraw without prejudice item 450-25, a proposed $500,000 transfer of ARPA funds to the Lawrence Food Resilience Fund, after receiving an email from the mayor’s senior adviser asking the committee to postpone action until federal budget deliberations conclude in January 2026.

Chair Stephanie Infante read the mayoral adviser’s message into the record and said the request asked the committee to revisit the item in late January. Several councilors pressed the committee for clarity about why funds that the council previously approved for a federation of small businesses had not been disbursed. One councilor said, “this amount of money belongs to the — and I don’t know why the administration is still holding on to money that was approved by the city council,” and urged a full accounting before any reallocation.

Councilor Vivian Marmol moved to withdraw the item without prejudice; the motion was seconded and carried on roll call (Councilors Wendy Luzon and Vivian Marmol and Chair Stephanie Infante recorded yes votes; Council President Giovanni Rodriguez was absent). The chair emphasized the move was not meant to signal opposition to feeding residents and said the committee wanted all parties and the administration to appear before the full council to explain the status of the previously approved funds.

The committee also voted to send correspondence to the mayor’s office and the president of the federation requesting a clear report on why the earlier allocation had not been distributed as the council intended. A committee member noted a related item (5-68-24) would be retabled to avoid confusion while the administration compiles the requested information.

Next steps: the item has been withdrawn without prejudice and may be reintroduced once the mayor’s office and the federation provide the requested accounting. The committee referred the matter to the full council for further review if needed.