Finance committee advances budget amendments: moves office of law under city manager, trims leaf-blower funds and adjusts council items

The Annapolis Finance Standing Committee on May 7 voted to change how the city’s Office of Law is shown in the fiscal 2026 budget and approved several other amendments affecting the mayor’s office, city council and environmental programming.

The committee voted to move the Office of Law (the city attorney and the law department) to report to the city manager in the FY2026 staffing summary. The committee also approved removing a currently vacant part‑time "Constituent Services — Equity" position in the mayor’s office, adopting the commission’s recommendations on council supplies, cell phones and salaries, striking a proposed $105,000 line item for the FY2026 leaf‑blower voucher program, and removing a proposed second city council associate position and placing that funding into contingency.

Why it matters: several of the committee’s votes change how accountability and administrative lines will be presented in the city’s budget book and signal the committee’s preference for moving selected functions away from direct mayoral control into the city manager’s purview. Some changes — notably the Office of Law reporting line — the committee described as the first step toward ordinance changes that would be needed to make the reporting shift permanent.

What the committee did and discussed

Office of Law reporting change: A committee member proposed updating the FY26 staffing summary to show the Office of Law reporting to the city manager rather than the mayor. Supporters said the change would put the law department under the neutral, professional chain of authority represented by the city manager; opponents warned the change touches items that are currently codified and said it should be addressed as ordinance language rather than only in the budget document.

The committee’s motion to show the Office of Law reporting to the city manager passed. The committee recorded the decision as a budget‑book amendment; staff and members discussed following up with ordinance language and a pay‑plan/title change where necessary.

Constituent services — equity position: The committee voted to remove a part‑time position listed in the mayor’s office as "Constituent Services — Equity." Members discussed overlap between that position and existing ombudsman and liaison roles and said the position has remained vacant. The committee moved the funding for the position (identified in the meeting as $36,600) to contingency so the money could be reallocated later.

Council salaries, supplies and cell phones: The finance committee endorsed the advisory commission’s recommendations to increase the annual council supply allocation from $2,000 to $3,000 per alderperson, to include a small cell‑phone allocation in the council budget and to support a salary increase for council members as proposed by the commission. Committee proponents said higher pay and modest support for supplies and communications make the job accessible to working people; opponents cited concerns about optics in an election year and privacy implications for councilmembers’ phones. The committee voted to support the commission’s package and to reference that support in its report to the full council.

Second council associate position: The committee voted to remove the proposed second city council associate position from the FY26 staffing count and move the funding for that headcount into contingency. Members asked staff to prepare a clearer job description for the existing council associate role so the committee can revisit staffing if needed.

Titles for community liaison positions: The committee approved renaming two mayor’s‑office positions — African American Community Programs Administrator and Hispanic Community Programs Administrator — back to liaison titles (African American Community Liaison; Hispanic Community Liaison). Members said the change more accurately reflects on‑the‑ground liaison duties and asked HR to review any classification implications.

Leaf‑blower voucher funding: The committee voted to remove a proposed $105,000 one‑time allocation for a FY26 leaf‑blower voucher program. Committee members said the FY25 allocation of $105,000 remains unspent and that rollout and administration of the voucher program had not been completed; several members were reluctant to add another $105,000 before the city had spent existing appropriations. Staff noted the FY25 funds would lapse June 30 if unused and that the deputy city manager could return with a request for supplemental appropriation if the program operator later needed more funds.

Community grants: The committee reviewed an updated award summary spreadsheet for FY26 community grants and voted to include that amended table as the committee’s recommendation to the full council; the vote does not change the total amount the council set aside for community grants in the budget, only how the committee recommends allocating it across applicants.

Security and facilities: During central‑services discussion the committee heard from the city’s risk management administrator, Corey Bradley, about building security and recent decisions to staff armed guards and implement metal‑detector screening at multiple city facilities. Bradley said the steps follow earlier security assessments and that the city intends to standardize enhanced screening at Gorman Street, City Hall and other facilities; committee members asked staff to provide additional, non‑operational detail about planned capital improvements related to facility security.

Process and next steps: Committee members repeatedly noted that some of the reporting‑structure changes are a first step and will require follow‑up ordinance or pay‑plan actions to make them permanent or to reconcile titles and grading. Staff said they would update the budget book to match the committee’s direction, prepare any needed ordinance or pay‑plan language and return with clarifying documentation (org charts, job descriptions, implementation timelines) as appropriate.

Ending: The committee recessed for lunch and scheduled follow‑up work on the FY26 budget for the next committee meeting and for the report to the full council.

Direct quotes (attributed to named speakers in the transcript): "Well, first of all, frustrated that it wasn't hired last after we budgeted for it," said Alderman Autumn O'Neil, referring to a previously budgeted lobbyist position that went unfilled. "City of Annapolis was the last government building in this in the city to implement metal detectors," said Corey Bradley, the city's risk management administrator, explaining recent security additions at City Hall and other sites.

Sources: live transcript of the Annapolis Finance Standing Committee meeting, May 7, 2025.