Friday, May 8, 2026
Dear Mayor Scott and Baltimore City Council,
As 20 organizations working in Baltimore City, we urge you to pass Council Bill 26-0172 and advance all of the important reforms to Baltimore City’s charter that it contains. This set of charter amendments would undeniably improve city governance and further empower the people to participate in the most important decisions affecting Baltimore. In particular, the reforms to Baltimore City’s budget process and timeline, and the improvement of the City Council’s powers, will meaningfully advance our work.
As local representatives, City Council members are the people’s voice in our city government. However, the City Council’s ability to exercise substantial influence over the budget is limited by a lack of substantive authority, procedural restrictions, and a too-short timeline. The budget reforms contained in Council Bill 26-0172 will make the City’s budget and procurement process more democratic and accountable to City residents by:
Giving the City Council more time to deliberate on the budget, by removing the redundant Board of Estimates step from the process.
Allowing for the creation of non-lapsing funds, giving the City Council similar powers as other legislative bodies in Maryland and around the country to shape ongoing spending.
Allowing the Council to make conditional appropriations, which the Maryland General Assembly and Congress already can do. By requiring conditions like a detailed report or the attainment of certain metrics before releasing funds, the City Council will gain the authority to ensure that agencies are spending our tax dollars effectively and in line with legislative intent to ensure accountable and effective spending of City tax dollars.
Improving the City’s procurement process by allowing more flexibility in decisionmaking. The present provision in the Charter that mandates the city accept the lowest bidder for any procurement contract means the city often gets the cheapest, rather than the best, product, and allows businesses to game the system by submitting artificially low bids, beginning work, and then coming back to the Board of Estimates to demand more. Removing this provision will improve transparency and accountability.
Our budget is a statement of our values. The people, through their most directly elected representatives on the City Council, deserve more say in city finances. The amendments in 26-0172 would promote just that. Please pass Council Bill 26-0172 with these reforms intact to promote fiscal responsibility and economic democracy in Baltimore City.
Thank you,
Clean Water Action
Jennifer Kunze, Maryland Organizing Director
Baltimore Baby Fund
Nate Golden, President
Organizing Black
Ralikh, Deputy Director
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Ricarra Jones, Political Director
UNITE HERE Local 7
Tracy Lingo, President
Baltimore Action Legal Team
Matt Parsons, Community Lawyer
Black Yield Institute
Eric Jackson, Servant Director
Public Justice Center
Matt Hill, Managing Attorney
Progressive Maryland
Max Socol, Campaigns Director
Coal Free Curtis Bay
Members of Coal Free Curtis Bay
Jews United for Justice
Rachel Kutler, Baltimore Director
Baltimore Abolition Movement
Coordinating Committee
South Baltimore Community Land Trust
Greg Sawtell, Zero Waste Just Transition Director
Maryland Center on Economic Policy
Musaab Ibrahim, Senior Research Assistant
Young, Gifted & Green
LaTricea D. Adams, CEO & President
Out for Justice Inc.
Khadija A. Ba, Policy Coordinator
Showing Up for Racial Justice Baltimore (SURJ)
Rianna Eckel, Coordinating Committee Member
BaltPOP - Baltimoreans for People-Oriented Places
Michael Scepaniak, President
CASA
Crisaly De Los Santos, Baltimore and Central Maryland Director
Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy
Christa Daring, Executive Director
