Zeke Cohen became the 74th Baltimore City Council president during a packed swearing-in ceremony on Thursday morning.

“We’ll say each individual name and then the rest of it together,” said Mayor Brandon Scott as he went to swear in all fourteen members of the council. Four new members join the body this year, the rest are incumbents.

The newly sworn President Zeke Cohen began his remarks with a detailed acknowledgement and thank you to each of the 14 council members.

“Make no mistake: this is our moment. Baltimore is going on offense,” said the president. “Like Mayor Scott said, our renaissance is now and there is no time to sit on the sidelines or complain.”

He promised a city council dedicated to public safety, justice and improved city services — all of which, he pledged, can be done without displacing current residents.

“Through improved oversight this Council “demand excellence from our agencies. We will support frontline workers, and we will raise the expectations for constituent services” said Cohen.

Cohen also recognized the city’s high property taxes as an obstacle for resident retention and growth. Baltimore’s property tax rate is at 2.25%, higher than any other municipality in Maryland. Earlier this year, a group called Renew Baltimore successfully petitioned over 10,000 residents to get a question before voters on the ballot that would have reduced the property tax rate by a half staggered over a course of seven years.

Ultimately, that measure was blocked by the courts, but it seems to have struck a chord with city leaders. Scott made similar overtures to work towards easing the property tax burden during his inauguration speech.

“And we will work with Mayor Scott to explore ways to lower the outrageous property tax burden on residents,” said Cohen in his own speech. “And Baltimore, we are going to build. We will be that unicorn city that grows our population without displacing the working class into the suburbs and exurbs.”

Mayor Scott and Cohen are known for being ideologically aligned, which, although Cohen promises not to be a “yes” man, could have significant impact on what the executive and legislative branches can achieve. As council president, Cohen will sit on the Board of Estimates (the city’s spending board).

Still, a number of councilmembers agreed with the sentiment that the council and mayor are rowing the boat together in the same direction.

“The system is designed for checks and balances. That is the way it's designed,” said Councilmember Odette Ramos. “We, I think, all have a unifying vision for Baltimore. We may disagree on how we get there, and that's okay.”

The Baltimore City Council is relatively limited in power compared to the state’s strong mayor system where the mayor has power over most agencies and three seats on the city’s spending board. The council can confirm, but not hire or fire, agency heads.

Cohen is looking at accountability from a different lens than is typical, said Ramos.

“You heard the new council president today talk about oversight and talk about looking at ways to improve city services for our residents by supporting the workers, not by saying that they're doing badly, but figuring out the best way to support them. That is a very different way of talking about oversight than we used to do,” said the councilmember from the 14th district.

“A lot more can be accomplished if everybody gets along. And so that's certainly a priority,” said Councilmember Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer of District Five. “Like the mayor said, and I couldn't agree more, if we all agree on everything that means someone's someone's not doing their job.

Baltimore City Councilmembers (all are Democrats)

District 1: Mark Parker (new)

District 2: Danielle McCray

District 3: Ryan Dorsey

District 4: Mark Conway

District 5: Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer

District 6: Sharon Green-Middleton (Council Vice-President)

District 7: James Torrence

District 8: Paris Gray (new)

District 9: John Bullock

District 10: Phylicia Porter

District 11: Zac Blanchard (new)

District 12: Jermaine Jones (new)

District 13: Antonio Glover

District 14: Odette Ramos