Richmond City Council is taking its first swing at divvying up the massive infusion of nearly $155 million that is to flow into city coffers from the federal American Rescue Plan.

While the council still has a long way to go, the first items that have gained consensus include:

• A $7.1 million boost to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to push total funding for the 2021-22 fiscal year to $10 million for the first time;

• $1 million for homeless services and $500,000 to boost eviction diversion;

• $4.7 million, if permitted, to pay for new utilities, streets and alleys for Creighton Court following demolition of a large share of the 504 units to make way for the long-awaited development of new homes and apartments; and

• $500,000 to pay for a rewrite of the city’s zoning laws to conform to the city’s new master plan and to pay for automated cameras that would send tickets to speeders in school zones.

Along with these items, City Council also plans to use a chunk of the money to speed up improvements to city parks and recreation centers. Among other projects, the council hopes to steer $15 million in ARP funds to the Southside Regional Park and Community Center, which is slated for a redo, but which might not be funded until 2026 if only city money is available.

The council already is expecting add-ons to its ARP funds.

Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch, who was among those pushing to use ARP money for homeless services, said the $1 million expected would be on top of the separate $11 million that Greater Richmond Continuum of Care is to receive to help improve homeless services in the Richmond area.

Richmond’s total of $154.89 million in federal funding is the result of successful lobbying on the part of the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators and its seven Democratic members of the House of Representatives. They argued that Richmond and the state’s other independent cities should

be able to dip into the ARP funds for cities as well as for counties. Virtually all other cities in the nation are part of a county.

The city would have received only $110 million if it were treated solely as a city. U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced Tuesday that the Treasury Department had accepted their argument in detailing the amounts counties and cities would receive.

The total for Richmond is about the same as for Norfolk, and more than double the allocations for neighboring Henrico and Chesterfield counties, which the two senators listed as receiving $64 million and $68 million, respectively, from ARP.

Reports to City Council have suggested that half the money would become available this month, with the rest available next year.

None of the money, nor the separate $120 million or so that Richmond Public Schools is to receive, has yet to be recognized in the new 2021-22 budget that City Council is poised to pass.

The council introduced its amended version of the budget package, including a $772 million general fund budget, but put off the vote until Monday, May 24, to meet public notice requirements.

The budget plan includes raises for city employees, as well as for police and firefighters, and the first pay supplements for public defenders who represent most people in the city charged with crimes.

Aside from a few other tweaks, the council’s final amended budget remains largely unchanged from the proposal Mayor Levar M. Stoney submitted in March.

The council approved ahead of a May 15 deadline contributing $187.1 million in operating funds for Richmond Public Schools for fiscal 2021-22, an increase of $5.5 million from the current adopted budget, according to the city’s budget office.

However, the council also supported Mayor Levar M. Stoney in pulling back $4.6 million in maintenance money from RPS, making it harder for the school system to replace leaky roofs and faulty heating and cooling systems.