With little fanfare, the Baltimore City Council passed Mayor Brandon Scott’s over $4 billion budget plan on Monday evening. It includes increased funding for the mayor’s public safety office and relies on state dollars to prop up civilian positions in the Baltimore Police Department. The budget also plugs a $60 million deficit through higher parking fees instead of a tax hike for the city’s homeowners.
Council President Nick Mosby underscored the council's ability to reallocate funds for the second consecutive year. “That balance between the executive and legislative branches helped create a more collaborative budgetary experience and led to a smoother end result,” said Mosby.
The council approved the $4.2 billion budget in a 14 to 0 vote, with Councilman Zeke Cohen absent due to scheduling conflicts. Cohen, who recently won the Democratic nomination for city council president, expressed frustration on social media. “Unfortunately, I will not be able to vote yes on this budget... The vote has been scheduled and rescheduled multiple times and ultimately was rescheduled during a vacation that I planned with my wife and our family a year ago,” he shared on X.
This budget cycle my colleagues and I we were able to secure significant commitments from the Scott Administration. I’m proud to have advocated alongside other Councilmembers for the following:
— Zeke Cohen (@Zeke_Cohen) June 17, 2024
-5-10% pay raises for housing inspectors, to ensure we can recruit and retain talented…
Responding to Cohen's remarks, Mosby defended the council’s scheduling decisions.
“It's really important for the integrity of this body and for the process, for folks to communicate what actually took place,” Mosby said, explaining one voting session was rescheduled to accommodate a Jewish holiday. ”We've always stressed to all council members that during these weeks, that you are ready to be prompt,” emphasizing that council members are advised against taking vacations during critical budget negotiations.
Public Safety Focus
Public safety remains a focal point in yearly budget conversations. The Scott administration prioritized a holistic approach allocating additional funding from the city’s General Fund directed at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE). With homicides on track to potentially hit under 200 this year — a number that has not been seen since the 1980s — the council showed support during recent budget hearings to continue those investments.
“Something that you all are doing in the anti-violence fight is clearly working,” Cohen said in May during MONSE’s agency budget hearing.
In the spending plan, the council approved MONSE’s $17.2 million budget, including $8.5 million from the general fund — an increase from last year’s $7.8 million. The additional funding will primarily fund coordinators for expanding the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS). Earlier this year, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania reported that there is a significant connection between the GVRS in West Baltimore and the reduction of gun violence in the western police district.
MONSE is also launching a pilot program in the upcoming school-year to fund violence intervention programs at Digital Harbor, Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical, Carver Vocational-Technical and Edmondson-Westside high schools. The program will train student “ambassadors” to mediate conflicts both within and outside school walls.
