The Baltimore City Council on Monday approved Mayor Brandon Scott’s fiscal year 2026 budget. The city agreed to reduce funding in a number of areas to reallocate funds to other city agencies. All councilmembers were on board for reductions in traffic safety and amendments property taxes. Councilman Paris Gray’s motion to move funding from the state’s attorney general’s office to the Office of the Inspector General failed. This comes after Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming spoke about budget transparency with WBAL’s C4 and Bryan Nehman. Cumming said her office hasn’t increased since 2022, after being told the agency is in financial straits. “This budget is the result of months of discussion, negotiation, and careful deliberation, and I want to thank the entire City Council for their partnership every step of the way. In recent weeks, we’ve worked together to make sure this final budget reflects the current and future needs of our residents, and takes into account the harmful and haphazard funding cuts we’re facing from this federal administration.
“With those factors in mind, we worked alongside Council to amend this year’s budget to include additional funding for key shared priorities, including $2 million to support our immigrant communities, $1 million for traffic calming projects throughout the city, $750,000 for implementation of curbside composting, funding to establish the Department of Consumer Protection and Business Licensing which will centralize and streamline many of the City’s licensing processes, among other investments. “Tonight, the City Council overwhelmingly voted to pass this budget. I’m grateful to leaders on the City Council and my team for their unwavering commitment to delivering a balanced, equitable budget, which I now look forward to signing into law.” The city is expected to reallocate over $7.7 million from the city’s general funding.
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“With those factors in mind, we worked alongside Council to amend this year’s budget to include additional funding for key shared priorities, including $2 million to support our immigrant communities, $1 million for traffic calming projects throughout the city, $750,000 for implementation of curbside composting, funding to establish the Department of Consumer Protection and Business Licensing which will centralize and streamline many of the City’s licensing processes, among other investments. “Tonight, the City Council overwhelmingly voted to pass this budget. I’m grateful to leaders on the City Council and my team for their unwavering commitment to delivering a balanced, equitable budget, which I now look forward to signing into law.” The city is expected to reallocate over $7.7 million from the city’s general funding.
