City releases fleet electrification action-plan summary; funding and fast-charger timing uncertain

Jackie Gelb, deputy city manager for resilience and sustainability, told the Transportation Committee that the city’s land-and-marine fleet electrification action plan was completed after a contract with Climate Change Consulting LLC and project manager Elvia Thompson. The report inventories city vehicles, assesses departmental needs and training, and recommends infrastructure and funding actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in line with the Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act of 2021.

Gelb said the report understates some recent purchases and should be updated; she estimated the city now has “probably 15” all‑electric vehicles and additional plug‑in hybrids and hybrids purchased since 2023. The Transportation Department has placed two electric buses into the fleet and installed chargers for those vehicles, she said, and the city is “going to select a vendor to build design and build” an electric ferry, with selection expected soon.

Department-specific notes: Gelb said the police department operates about 41 patrol vehicles, of which “20 of those are hybrid,” and that officers typically take cruisers home, so home charging or charging at the police station remains a barrier to fully electrifying patrol cars. The fire department has expressed increasing interest in electric options for larger apparatus; manufacturers are marketing hybrid/plug-in pumper options and the department and fleet manager are reviewing capability and charging requirements.

Funding and implementation: Gelb said some infrastructure grants had been encumbered and appear safe, but other federal funding for charging infrastructure is paused pending confirmation from the Department of Energy. “We’re pausing as a city right now on pursuing that until we get firm confirmance from DOE about the funding,” she said, citing the risk of entering contracts without guaranteed reimbursement. Gelb said the fleet manager’s current vehicle-request package is “a bit over $5,000,000” with priorities for police, fire and transit vehicles, and that the budget currently does not carve out a dedicated electric-vehicle line item.

Why it matters: Transportation is the city’s largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions, and fleet electrification can reduce operating and maintenance costs over time, Gelb said. She recommended staff map a 10‑year replacement and charging-infrastructure plan and noted the city has already moved non-road equipment (handheld blowers and smaller landscaping tools) to electric in response to a local gas-powered leaf-blower ban that took effect Dec. 30, 2024.

Next steps: Gelb said she will work with the fleet manager, Dan Horvath, to translate the plan’s recommendations into budget requests, a phased procurement schedule and a short summary of tasks for council and staff to review. She advised the committee that grant availability and federal funding certainty will shape the city’s implementation timeline.