Baltimore City Council approves Mayor Scott’s $4.2B Budget with No Amendments
By Tashi McQueen | AFRO Political Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
After weeks of agency hearings led by the Baltimore City Council Ways and Means Committee, the council overwhelmingly approved Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s (D) $4.2 billion budget on June 17.
Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby and other members approved Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s (D) proposed $4.2 billion budget on June 17 after weeks of agency hearings and discussions. (Photo credit: AFRO Photo/Tashi McQueen)
“Tonight, the Baltimore City Council unanimously voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget without any amendments. At the beginning of this budget process, our city was staring down a more than $100 million deficit that we were able to close without cutting services or eliminating the jobs of any city workers,” said Scott in a statement shortly after the vote. “This budget maintains important investments that will sustain our historic reductions in gun violence, bolster our work to support Baltimore’s young people through recreation and parks and unprecedented funding in City Schools and continue to modernize city government to improve services for all residents.”
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This was the city council’s second year having the ability to cut and re-align funding for the city’s budget. Last year, the council reallocated $10 million to benefit a range of issues, including violence prevention and better working conditions.
This year’s budget includes an increased operating budget of $3.47 billion and a capital plan of $732 million.
Though the budget process was rather peaceful, there was some turbulence concerning the date for the final vote.
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to vote yes on this budget as 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,” wrote Councilman Zeke Cohen (D-District 01) hours before the final vote via X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Council President Nick Mosby (D) responded to Cohen’s remarks after the final vote for the bill.
“I think it’s really important, as we highlight all of the hard work that folks have done, that we also maintain the integrity of the process,” said Mosby. “There was a voting session that was scheduled last Thursday. Unfortunately, it fell directly on a Jewish holiday. In order for us to be more inclusive we needed to ensure that we voted this week. For something that’s important and statutorily required like passing the budget, we cannot do that in the eleventh hour. That’s why we’re voting this week.”
Mosby also said council members are advised not to schedule vacations during budget time.
Scott must now sign the budget by the end of the month as the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
