Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City administrator outlines Mayor Scott’s FY26 budget: $85 million gap closed, targeted investments prioritized
Summary
City Administrator Faith P. Leach told the City Council’s Ways and Means Committee that the mayor's FY26 recommended budget closes an $85 million gap through revenue modernization and savings and preserves core services while investing in wages, shelters and solid-waste crews.
Faith P. Leach, city administrator, presented Mayor Brandon Scott's FY26 recommended budget to the Baltimore City Council's Ways and Means Committee, saying the proposal ‘‘successfully closed an $85,000,000 budget gap through citywide cost optimization and targeted revenue enhancements.’’
Leach told the committee the administration matched each dollar of proposed new revenue with two dollars of savings: the package features about $26,600,000 in new revenue measures, $43,700,000 in citywide savings and $14,700,000 in agency-level savings. "This budget does not increase taxes on our residents. This budget does not include broad based fee increases," Leach said during her presentation.
Why it matters: The budget frames the city's fiscal strategy amid federal and state funding uncertainty and projected declines in investment revenue. It includes targeted service and workforce investments the administration says are needed to stabilize core city operations without layoffs.
Key details
- Workforce and wages: The budget sets aside $20,000,000 "for wage increases for the city's lowest wage workers through implementation of a modernized wage scale and cost of living adjustments," Leach said. The administration is negotiating scale implementation with unions.
- Public safety, homelessness and youth: The plan funds the group violence reduction strategy, adds $6,000,000 for shelter operations and $20,000,000 to acquire overflow shelter sites for men and women. It invests in three renovated recreation centers slated to open in FY26 (Chick Webb, Parkview and Gardenville).
- Core services and capital: The budget adds solid-waste crews to shorten route sizes and increase pavement work from about 20 lane miles to more than 100 lane miles in the coming paving season. It also includes PAYGO contributions and a proposal to address the city's multi-billion-dollar deferred maintenance backlog.
- Organizational changes and modernization: Leach said the mayor's office budget was reorganized so embedded mayoral offices stand alone for clearer performance reporting; the mayoral budget combined accounts total roughly $21,000,000 and 18 FTEs. The city administrator's office will add performance, compliance and civic design capacity to accelerate reforms and systems projects like Acela and the new tax system.
What the committee asked for: Council members pressed staff for line-item detail and follow-up materials, including an itemized list for the miscellaneous general appropriations and greater clarity on the wage-scale negotiations. Leach and Finance staff said the budget books and agency detail pages contain line items and that the administration would provide additional references and briefings on request.
Where this goes next: The Ways and Means Committee and council members indicated they will pursue follow-up requests on specific budget lines, timelines for implementation of wage changes, and the administration's contingency plans for potential reductions in federal and state funding.
