Council President's Statement on Baltimore's Proposed FY21 Budget

Council President's Statement on Baltimore's Proposed FY21 Budget

With Council President's Equity Assessment Program Now Law, FY21 Budget Will Be First in Baltimore's History to Be Analyzed Through a Lens of Equity

BALTIMORE, MD (May 6, 2020) — Council President Brandon M. Scott released the following statement on the proposed budget presented at this morning's Board of Estimates meeting.

"COVID-19 is laying bare the inequalities that have plagued our city for generations. Our response cannot be to make those disparities worse. There will be budget cuts; everyone understands that. But I will be reviewing the Mayor's budget proposal closely to ensure that the proposed cuts do not fall on the backs of our city's most vulnerable residents and on the back of working women and men.

We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. We cannot balance the budget by closing recreation centers. We cannot balance the budget by closing fire houses or fire companies. We cannot balance the budget by decimating retirees' hard-earned healthcare benefits.

Relatedly, I look forward to hearing from the Department of Finance and the Budget office about how this budget proposal was prepared from a lens of equity, as required by my Equity Assessment Program legislation. This will be the very first budget to be analyzed through a lens of equity, and the City Council under my leadership will be focused in this area.

I thank the Mayor and the Budget team for developing a new budget in response to this unprecedented public health emergency, and look forward to further discussion in the City Council later this month."

See the Fiscal 2021 Executive Summary here, which documents the City's investments for the upcoming year and the impact of COVID-19 on the budget.