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The city’s Office of Inspector General discovered more than $57
million in the dormant Community Catalyst Fund earlier this
year.
After including more than $37 million from the fund in his $17.6
billion budget plan released last week for fiscal year 2027, the
mayor on Tuesday said he would repurpose the remaining $20
million into the Building Up Independent Local Developers fund.
The move followed city council approval of City Treasurer
Melissa Conyears-Ervin’s request to return catalyst fund assets
to general funds.
Conyears-Ervin said her responsibility goes beyond managing
public dollars.
“And that means being responsible of taxpayer dollars while also
supporting our small businesses and developers and creating
opportunities, especially for those that have historically faced
barriers,” Conyers-Ervin said at a press conference with the
mayor on Tuesday.
Johnson said the BUILD fund would support entrepreneurs,
developers and small businesses.
“We will prioritize investments that make a real difference in
people’s lives, including community centers, recreational
spaces, educational and health facilities, and other resources
that help families and neighborhoods,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the catalyst fund was created in 2016 with the
promise of bringing private investment to disinvested
neighborhoods, but it subverts itself.
“It exists because traditional financing sources refuse to
consider projects on the South and West sides to be good
investments but requires projects to be selected using those
same traditional financing criteria,” Johnson said.
The mayor said the investments would include below-market loans.
He said his administration would also work to transfer vacant
parcels to responsible developers.
Johnson’s $17.6 billion spending proposal is nearly a billion
dollars higher than the current $16.7 billion budget.
The new budget includes a 15-cent tax on non-medical and
non-food containers and packages, a $25 per employee monthly tax
on businesses with 125 or more full-time employees.
It also raises Personal Property Lease Transaction and sports
wagering taxes to 20%.
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