Baltimore's public budget forum: Takeaways from Taxpayers' Night

Today on Midday, guest host Emily Sullivan, a city government reporter for The Baltimore Banner, takes a deep dive into the Baltimore City budget – which is taking shape a little differently this year. For more than a century, the Baltimore City Council has had very limited power over the budget. The mayor would write it…and pass along a draft version to the council to officially vote through.The council members could make cuts to the budget, but could not reallocate the money. For example, when then-City Council President Brandon Scott led the council in cutting 22-million dollars from the Baltimore Police budget in summer 2020, he and his peers didn’t have a say in where the money actually went. This budget season, that changes. Thanks to a charter amendment that voters overwhelmingly passed in November 2020, the council now has the power to move money around in Mayor Brandon Scott’s $4.4 billion draft budget. Emily's first guest today is Adam Willis – a reporter at The Baltimore Banner who covers the intersection of money and politics at City Hall. Last night, he attended Taxpayer’s Night…the annuual forum where Baltimoreans are invited to City Hall to express their feelings about the budget proposal directly to the city’s spending board. Adam Willis joins Emily in Studio A. Later in the program, we get another perspective on last night's public forum, on the city's 2023-24 budget priorities and how they could shape the coming political season, from Sophia Silbergeld, a veteran political and business analyst and a managing partner at Adeo Advocacy, the communications and political consulting firm. Sophia Silbergeld joins Emily in Studio A.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.