Baltimore mayor recommends $4.6 billion fiscal 2026 budget; council to hold hearings amid $85 million shortfall

The mayor has proposed a $4.6 billion budget for fiscal 2026 and is not proposing a real property tax rate increase, city officials said at the Baltimore City Council’s Taxpayers Night hearing.

Laura Lawson, director of the Bureau of Budget and Management Research, told the Budget and Appropriations Committee: “The total budget is $4,600,000,000 and that's comprised of both the operating budget and the capital budget.” Chair Councilwoman Danielle McCray said the proposed real property tax rate would remain “$2.0248 per $100 of the assessment, the same as the previous fiscal year.”

The nut graf: The mayor’s recommendation would leave an $85 million projected gap that the administration seeks to close through a mix of new revenue, agency savings and cost optimizations while redirecting the first-year distributions from the Opioid Restitution Fund into city programs. The council will hold a series of agency hearings before the budget’s planned adoption in late June.

Lawson provided the principal figures and how the administration proposes to close the shortfall. She said the recommended operating budget is $3.69 billion — a roughly 6.35 percent increase over fiscal 2025 — and the capital plan totals $931.9 million. “As we began work on the fiscal 26 budget, the city was faced with a projected budget shortfall of $85,000,000,” Lawson said. She described a three-part approach the administration used to close the gap: about $26.6 million of new revenue, $43.7 million in efficiencies, and $14.7 million of agency budget reductions.

Lawson also described the recommended use of the Opioid Restitution Fund: a total appropriation of $36.7 million in fiscal 2026, with roughly 53 percent proposed for grants to community-based organizations, 41 percent for city services including creating a Division of Overdose Prevention in the Health Department, and about 5.9 percent for oversight and administration. “This is the first year that these funds are being appropriated as part of the city's annual budget,” she said.

Council processes and deadlines were repeated for attendees: Taxpayers Night is part of the council’s public input on the ordinance of estimates for fiscal 2026; agency hearings will run in May and June, and the council’s target date to adopt the budget is June 26, with the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Ending: Committee Chair Danielle McCray and Council President Z. Cohen thanked residents for testifying and reiterated that the council will listen to testimony during the hearings but will not respond at Taxpayers Night; members may ask clarifying questions and will consider amendments during the formal budget process.