Mayor's office highlights Annapolis United, anti-overdose outreach and Hispanic liaison work; PEG funding and state grants noted

Kate Pettit, chief of staff in the Mayor's Office, told the Finance Committee on April 22 that the mayor's FY2026 budget emphasizes community outreach programs and continuity for a range of initiatives the office manages, including Annapolis United and the NAPTOWN anti-dope movement.

Pettit said the Mayor's Office has one new budget line — $2,000 for annual training for boards and commissions — and highlighted two larger recurring items: $70,000 for community initiatives (primarily African American liaison events and related outreach) and $221,000 for Annapolis United, a cross-departmental program that funds neighborhood violence-prevention efforts, youth outreach and career programming.

"We think overall we are positioned well to meet the challenges ahead and that's largely due to 2 things," Pettit said, describing changes in internal coordination and recent part-time hires that have boosted…