Hey folks! Alderman Brooks here. We are still smack dab in the middle of budget season, and the agenda Monday reflects that. We will have more opportunity for folks to offer comments on the budget.

My priorities were that we fund needed staffing levels for our fire department, continue our innovative marine tech apprenticeship program, and boost funding for childcare for Annapolis’ families. I’m happy to report this budget fills those needs. 

Our fire fighters have been stressing the need for an additional medic unit for over a year. Because our city medic units also serve the immediate areas around Anne Arundel County they are pulled in many different directions and this additional medic unit will provide us with some desperately needed redundancy.

The marine tech apprenticeship program is a joint partnership that Annapolis, Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, and the Marine Trades Association of Maryland entered together. As the maritime industry in the United States moves into a more skilled labor and tech focused lens we need to adapt, in order to allow our maritime heritage to flourish. This program helps fund local workers with training so they can provide skilled labor to Annapolis maritime businesses. It is one the most innovative job training programs in the state and I’m proud we are continuing it.  You can read more about it here!

Finally childcare costs have been crushing working parents for too long. I have made tackling this issue one of my top priorities in government. Previous budgets have used the “Families Success Grant” to help provide grants to after school care programs. This year we are taking a different approach. Instead of providing grants the City is now using this money to fund afterschool care via our own Parks and Recreation department. Many parents have come to us asking for help with this. While Myself and Alderwoman Contee had success in launching an afterschool care program at Pip Moyer Rec Center servicing families in the Eastport area, there are still TOO MANY GAPS. By taking this money and increasing our funding into our own afterschool care program, we hope we can address this shortage to meet the needs of our working parents more effectively.

Because my priorities were met this budget cycle I have not submitted any amendments for this current budget, but some of my colleagues will have come to the table with their own ideas and priorities. I look forward to going over them and finding good ways to collaborate to find good solutions. Something that will complicate matters this year though is that we no longer have any remaining COVID era funding, so “one time use” monies are gone. This means that funding for project A, means cuts for project B. We are also seeing some projects being back burnered because we are running up against high costs due to things like tariffs and project delays adding uncertainty. 

This is normally where most politicians go “we need to raise taxes or cut spending” and shrug. I always use this as an opportunity to present the land value study as a way to have adequate city services and public facilities while NOT raising taxes. 

Finally before I get into the agenda I want to let folks know that the City is reopening our “Gold Pass” parking program. The Golden Pass program is available to all seniors 55+, even if they do not live in the City of Annapolis. The program is designed to make parking easier while encouraging residents and visitors to visit, shop, and dine downtown during the program period. Once a user signs up, their subscription will automatically renew each month until the end of the program on August 31 (users can self-cancel at any time from within the app). 

From June 1 to August 31, seniors may register their vehicle(s) for $20 per month and receive up to two hours of parking per day at metered spaces on Maryland Avenue, Main Street, and at the Mills Hillman Garage. 

Register at https://form.typeform.com/to/XH8fhUpH or call Premium Parking at (410) 216-5620.

Now onto the agenda!

Of note, this meeting will start at 6:00 PM.

CALL TO ORDER

Moment of Silence, Pledge of Allegiance & Roll Call

Proposed Closed Session

ID-111-26 A Proposed Closed Session - Discussion Topic: City Dock litigation

AT 7 P.M. THE COUNCIL WILL PROCEED TO THE MAIN AGENDA ITEMS 

Approval of Agenda

Ceremonial Items 

ID-80-26 - Presentation: Annapolis Fire Department response to the Fast Signs fire

PETITIONS, REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS

Update from Mayor and Reports by Committees

ID-116-26 Finance Committee Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Report

Comments be the General Public

A person speaking before the City Council with a petition, report, or communication shall be limited to no more than three minutes. Comments must be limited to things not up for Public Hearing on the agenda.

Council Discussion 

ID-109-26 Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County presentation and discussion of FY 2027 budget needs

FY27 BUDGET PUBLIC HEARINGS CONTINUED 

O-8-26 Annual Budget and Appropriation and Property Tax Levy - This ordinance includes the Annual Operating Budget for the new fiscal year starting July 1, the Capital Budget, the Capital Improvement program, appropriates money for all City spending over the next fiscal year, and levies the City's property taxes for FY 2027.

-Operating Budget: The list of all the regular day-to-day city expenses. 

-Capital Budget: Expected long-term spending (e.g., building construction, machinery replacement). 

-Capital Improvement Program: Expected future capital projects. 

-Appropriations: Council approval to spend the money allocated in the budget.

-Property Tax Levy: The City's income source.

R-10-26 - Annual Fees Schedule - The list of all the City's fees and the corresponding sections of the Code requiring each fee.

R-11-26 - Annual Fines Schedule - The list of the City's fines and the corresponding sections of the Code.

R-12-26 - Position Classification and Play Plan - The list of all the City's jobs, their pay rank, and the actual salary for each position.

BUSINESS & MISCELLANEOUS 

Fund Transfers of $50,000 or More 

FT-11-26 Public Works: Capital - This fund transfer moves $156,974 from Bonds - Cedar

Park Sidewalks project to Bonds-Watershed - Stormwater MS4 Permit

Compliance Project. During Phase I of the Cedar Park Sidewalks project,

stormwater installation was not possible due to site limitations. The City agreed to

contribute to the stormwater account for future improvements in the City.

FT-12-26 General Fund - Nonallocated/Finance Department: This budget revision transfers $195,000 from the Finance Department Salaries and Benefits account and $143,000 from the Nonallocated Debt Services account to the Finance Department Contractual Services account. This reallocation utilizes debt interest and salary savings to cover outstanding consulting expenses.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION 

FIRST READERS 

Charter Amendment 

CA-2-26 - Expanding the Board of Supervisors of Elections Membership: This would expand our Board of Supervisors of Elections from 3 members to five along with changing some other processes around the Board. The goal is to provide better representation across the City and take some of the administrative burden off of the current three hard working members.

Ordinances

O-9-26 - Updating the Standing Committees Section of the City Code: This updates and modernizes some of the aspects around our standing committees. As technology and issues evolve this allows us to adapt the language around when legislation is assigned to a committee. For example, we do not get a lot of legislation around cable television anymore, but wireless communications are coming in front of us more often. This clarifies those newer forms of technology and where they are assigned in the legislative process. 

O-9-26 - Reducing the Human Relations Commission Membership: This legislation reduces the Human Relations Commission membership requirement from fifteen to nine. Currently the Human Relations Commission does not have enough members to meet as a quorum, this prevents them from doing their work. Nine allows them to meet.

SECOND READERS

O-2-26 - Mooring Requirements in City Waters: This is going to be withdrawn.

ADJOURNMENT