Snow Storm Updates 1/25/26
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Hey folks! Alderman Brooks here. I hope that everyone is staying warm and safe during this storm. I also hope you have downloaded the Prepare Me Annapolis app to get all up to date emergency announcements. Now for an update on our snow efforts. First, we are now at a PHASE 3 SNOW EMERGENCY! Phase III stipulates that area roadways are for essential travel only; Annapolis Police are empowered to enforce the effort for any drivers who are a hindrance to plowing and snow removal operations. Under a Phase III, Snow Emergency Routes will be made passable within 102 hours of the end of the snowfall, Snow Connector Routes will be made passable within 126 hours of the end of the snowfall, all other routes will be made passable within 150 hours of the end of the snowfall. “Passable” can have some confusion so again, a picture is worth 1,000 words, so take a look at the graph below from the city.
Because of the Governor’s declaring a state of emergency for Maryland we have a few troops from the National Guard helping us operate in Annapolis. Second, the city government will be closed tomorrow. City refuse and recycling will not be picked up tomorrow. We will be postponing our usual city council meeting. Our emergency personnel and public works team have been out all day today and will be out there tomorrow. We have 10 to 13 plows going at all times,our facility maintenance crews were shoveling sidewalks by city buildings from 6 AM to 3 PM today and will be back at it tomorrow at 6 AM. Our police are actively keeping us safe from incidents and assisting with road clearing. Our fire department is on duty and ready to respond to fires and medical emergencies. Folks, PLEASE thank these workers for all they do. Emergencies and essential infrastructure cannot take a snow day so neither do they. The Pip Moyer Rec Center is open as a warming center and in the event of mass power outage will serve as a mass warming center. If you need a ride to the warming center call the Annapolis Call Center (410) 260-2211. Third, because of the severity of this storm we are focusing primarily on emergency and connecter routes. We finished a briefing on the City’s snow response today (1/25/26) at 4:30 PM and as of that time no side streets had been able to be touched yet. Our target is getting to them 12-36 hours from now. We were told that if your public street has not been touched by Tuesday morning to please reach out to the Annapolis Call Center (410) 260-2211. I have placed a map of Emergency (red), Connecter (blue), and Side Streets (white) below. You can check which roads have been plowed using our Snowpaths tool at http://www.annapolis.gov/snowpaths.
Finally, CLEAR YOUR SIDEWALKS! Temperatures are expected to drop tonight and stay low the rest of the week. If sidewalks aren’t cleared tonight it could be too icy to clear them effectively later. Annapolis City Code requires property owners to clear adjacent public sidewalks (including sidewalks in the side and rear of properties) of snow and ice within three hours after snow or sleet has stopped falling (or by 11 a.m. following an overnight snow event). In 2025, the Annapolis City Council passed an ordinance that allows Public Works to clear a noncompliant property but will fine the property to $100 per day. Please assist neighbors who may otherwise be unable to clear sidewalks. Folks, I hope you and your families are staying warm and safe this week. Please follow the city’s social media for more information on the storm and download Prepare Me Annapolis! Alderman Brooks |
Fourth, there is potential for power outages. Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) has informed City officials that they are prepared to handle potential outages due to icy conditions from the storm. Residents are reminded to stay well clear of downed trees and wires and report outages by calling 877-778-2222, texting OUT to MYBGE (69243), or visiting the BGE “Report an Outage” portal online.01/12/26 Annapolis City Council Meeting
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Hey folks! Alderman Brooks here. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and your new year is off to a good start. The City Council is hitting the ground running to start 2026. I am VERY excited to share that my first bill of this new term will be introduced on Monday with the O-1-26 title. O-1-26 will allow childcare homes (think a daycare in someone’s residence) and group childcare centers (a larger public establishment) to apply for property tax credits with the City of Annapolis. High childcare costs and long wait times are hurting working families in Annapolis. A leading factor in these rising costs and especially wait times is that there just are not enough providers in the city. To help address this concern, the state passed enabling legislation during the 2025 session to allow Anne Arundel County and Annapolis to provide these tax credits to childcare providers. The intended goal is that by providing these tax credits for childcare facilities we can encourage more to open, potentially hire more staff, or prevent facilities from closing in a notoriously low margin industry. By increasing providers and staff we can lower wait times and potentially bring costs down for parents. I’m very proud of this legislation. I ran explicitly on introducing it and see it as one of many we can take to make life less hard for working parents. Other than that there are some resolutions being introduced that continue to set up how the incoming administration and council will operate, and some public comment periods, including for the short term rental moratorium. Something to call to attention is that we need to reconsider two resolutions that passed during our prior meeting. R-47-25, which provides committee assignments for this council, and R-48-25 which appoints members to the city’s Audit Committee. We need to reconsider these due to typos in what was passed so the changes that need to be made will be technical in nature. PUBLIC HEARINGS
FIRST READERS Ordinances
Resolutions
SECOND READERS - For the purpose of fixing typographical errors in the resolutions
R-48-25 - Audit Committee Appointments for the [next] Council Term (As stated we need to correct typos in this previously passed resolution. As a reminder, this confirms the Mayor’s appointments to our Audit Committee. I am voting in favor.)
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12/18/25 Newsletter
Hey folks! Alderman Brooks here. While normally we do not have full council meetings on Thursday’s, due to the Holiday schedule we are changing things up and meeting tomorrow at 2:00 PM. This meeting is largely about getting the new Council and Administration up and running, however there is one piece of legislation with policy impact being introduced.
During our first meeting Mayor Littman introduced a resolution calling for a 12 month moratorium on issuing new short term rental licenses. However our law office has determined that this was not the proper procedure and that we need to withdraw the previous resolution and reintroduce it as an ordinance. This introduction will be on first reader so the vote will just be about bringing into the legislative process, not finalizing it into law or practice.
We will have three resolutions on final vote that set up our committee assignments for the new council, our audit committee, and establish our budget timeline. As stated earlier, these are about getting the government operating more than policy. You can take a look at our agenda below and my vote on the issue.
FIRST READERS
- O-40-25 - Establishing a 12-month moratorium on new Short-Term Rental Licenses -- Halts the issuance of STR permits for new applicants. The moratorium does not apply to those who are renewing licenses, owner-occupied STRs, and applications that have already been submitted at the time the Council adopts the ordinance. A reminder: The STR law does not apply to specific events, as specified in the City Code, such as Navy graduations, boat shows, and special events designated by the City Council through resolution. (As stated this is the ordinance version of the previously introduced resolution for a 12 month moratorium on issuing new short term rental licenses. This will not become policy upon voting, just being brought into the legislative process)
- O-41-25 - FY 2026 Changed in Exempt Service Job Classification -- Creates the position of Deputy Chief of Staff.
SECOND READERS
R-47-25 - Standing Committee Appointments for the 2026-2030 Council Term -- This is Council confirmation of the Mayor's appointments for standing committee membership (This creates our new committee assignments. My assignments are 1)Economic Matters 2) Rules and City Government 3) Transportation. I am voting in favor)
- R-48-25 - Audit Committee Appointments for the 2026-2030 Council Term -- This is Council confirmation of the Mayor's appointments for Audit Committee membership. (This confirms the Mayor’s appointments to our Audit Committee. I am voting in favor.)
- R-49-25 - Budget Process Timeline for Fiscal Year 2027 - Sets the schedule for City Council consideration of the FY 2027 city budget. (In order to ensure a smooth budget process we need to set this timeline up as soon as possible. I am voting in favor)