Mariama Fofana
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young on Wednesday proposed a revised fiscal year budget for city related costs and losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Young said the fiscal year 2021 budget was completely rewritten in early April amid the financial effects of the pandemic. He proposed a hiring freeze in March for all non-essential workers and ordered a spending freeze that will remain until 2021.
“This was an incredibly difficult budget process,” Young said. “Every city and county in the country are facing difficult budgetary decisions… what sets us apart, however, is the fact that even in the face of financial pressures, our commitment to our children and families is rock solid.”
“The budget I presented makes very clear that Baltimore values its children, older adults, and most vulnerable residents,” Young added.
Young proposed a total city budget of $3.8 billion for fiscal year 2021, which starts July 1. The budget includes $3 billion for operating expenses and $832 million for capital investments. The city estimates a trimming of $103.1 million to account for revenue losses,” he said.
City services like police patrol, emergency response services, trash collection and recycling, and direct health services are maintained in the new budget, he said. There also are no new taxes or increased fees and the city’s property tax rate remains flat.
The key investments in the budget include public safety, neighborhood development, a clean and healthy city, government innovations and city schools, Young said.
The budget includes $1.4 million to pay for two new Baltimore Community Intelligence Centers. The centers are modeled after a successful crime-fighting strategy. The budget also invests heavily in patrol and community-oriented policing, he said.
A total of $608 million will go to new capital investments, like improvements to treatment facilities, pumping stations, stream restorations, and drainage upgrades.
The budget invests $42.1 million to grow the Housing Department’s community development framework, which includes services like demolition, homeownership incentives, and affordable housing.
Young said that $10 million will be used for a variety of IT infrastructure projects that includes an upgraded data warehouse, new cable and wiring, and investments in new cyber-security tools.
In addition to the more than $400 million invested in direct payment to the Baltimore City Public School System, the mayor’s budget includes nearly $100 million of additional spending on youth-related programs, like laptops for students to use for distance learning. There also is funding to pay for historic school construction as part of the State’s Build to Learn School Construction Program.