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 capacity. She told the committee the office is working on transition planning ahead of the mayoral election in November.

Pettit noted Annapolis United funds a suite of programs including a neighborhood violence-intervention model (No Harm/Cure Violence-style programming), college-and-career field trips for high-school students, mentoring and an entrepreneurship pilot. She said the mayor's office had run three expungement clinics in partnership with Community Legal Services, with roughly 300 attendees across the three events.

On broader funding, Pettit said the administration secured state budget items that will arrive in FY2026, citing roughly $500,000 to continue a repairs-and-maintenance grant for the Housing Authority and state support for upgrades to Lower Bates Field to build a 90-foot baseball diamond. She also noted other state funding and referenced a $339,000 contract with Make Your Mark Media for the city's PEG studio operations and streaming services.

Committee members asked about data and program outcomes. Pettit and staff said attendance and referral figures are tracked: the expungement clinics drew about 300 participants, the mayor's youth college trips averaged about 27 students each with more than 70 students participating so far, and the youth mentoring and outreach work reported improved academic engagement for students in program reporting (Pettit cited figures supplied by a school counselor: about 85% reported better academic performance and 72% reported improved attendance).

The committee also discussed the placement of state and federal lobbyists (currently run through the city manager's office) and Pettit said a city-manager–based lobbyist model can work if the lobbyist has direct lines to the mayor and council. Pettit said recent federal engagement has been promising, including meetings with senior HUD officials who expressed willingness to "cut through red tape" on priorities the city raised.

Pettit described staffing changes in the mayor's office: Rocio Ramirez Smith was named Hispanic liaison; Martina Flores Guillen recently joined as office manager; and Ismenia Bolivar remains the Hispanic outreach navigator focused on field work. Pettit and liaison staff said the liaison roles combine program leadership and on-the-ground navigation, with the navigator delivering direct assistance and the administrator coordinating larger events and partnerships.

Ending: Pettit said the mayor's office would share program data and organizational charts with the committee on request and committed to follow up on several items, including detailed breakdowns of Annapolis United and No Harm spending, attendance data, and clarity about how part‑time program positions are funded.