Monday, February 11, 2013
In the State of the City Address, the mayor proposed changing the employee pension plan, increasing firefighters hours and creating a trash collection fee.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced her intentions to pursue fundamental changes in the way the city does business during her State of the City Address Monday. Rawlings-Blake announced she will try to shift new city employees to a 401(k) style retirement plan, as opposed to the current pension system, shift city firefighters off the 42-hour work schedule and create a new solid waste enterprise by implementing a trash collection fee. "We cannot build the foundation of a growing city on the mud of a fiscal swamp. The status quo is unsustainable, and the price of inaction is clear. We must change to grow," Rawlings-Blake said in her speech. She also pledged to reduce the number of city employees by 10 percent through attrition, reduce …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The mayor has used the address in the past to highlight policy priorities.
In the past two State of the City Addresses, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake emphasized her desire to grow the city by 10,000 families in a decade, and to be an executive who doesn’t sugar coat the truth. She previously used the speech to roll out proposals, such as restructuring the quasi-public Baltimore Development Corporation, and increasing the city’s bottle tax to help fund the Better Schools Initiative. On Feb. 11, the mayor will deliver her next State of the City Address at City Hall. The mayor faces an improved budget situation, but still must close an expected deficit. She has also been lobbying state lawmakers to guarantee grants so the city can borrow the money needed to begin replacing city schools, the oldest stock in the …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Local Editor Adam Bednar discussed Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's State of the City Address on WYPR Tuesday morning.
This morning I was given the opportunity to discuss Mayor’s Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s State of the City Address on WYPR's Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast. Joining me in the discussion was Mark Reutter of the Baltimore Brew. You can listen to the segment by clicking here.
Some member of the City Council who represent North Baltimore want to see more details of proposals from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's State of the City Address.
Following Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s State of the City address on Monday, some City Council members who represent North Baltimore said they want to see the details of the mayor’s proposal. Councilman Bill Henry, who represents neighborhoods such as Guilford and Radnor-Winston, said he wants to see the details of the mayor’s plan to reduce property taxes, which are currently $2.268 per $100 of assessed value, by 20 cents by 2020. The proposal would mean a $400 savings for the owner of a home valued at $200,000 in eight years. “It sounds great,” Henry said. Henry was critical of some parts of the speech and said that some of the rhetoric was just that, and nothing more. “There’s a point where she was talking about how we shouldn’t just…
Monday, February 13, 2012
Patch will be live blogging Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's State of the City Address on Monday afternoon.
During her State of the City Address on Monday Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake reiterated her intentions to increase the city's population by 10,000 people in 10 years, increase the city's contribution to school construction and reduce property tax by 20-cents by 2020. She also announced a proposal to extend the Purple Line of the Charm City Circulator—the free bus that currently runs between Penn Station and Federal Hill—north to 33rd Street. The mayor also braced residents for the possibility that some schools could be closed, consolidated or expanded as a result of recommendations included in a facility assessment being prepared by school CEO Dr. Andres Alonso. "Nostalgia has the power to make the past a priority over the present," …
How do you feel the mayor did following through on last year's State of the City Address?
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will appear in the Du Burns City Council Chambers on Monday to address plans for moving Baltimore forward. During last year’s State of the City address, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake pledged to be upfront with Baltimore’s residents. "As mayor, I'm choosing to head down the straight-talking, no sugar-coating path toward change and progress for Baltimore," she said during last year’s speech. The mayor, who was overwhelmingly elected to her first term as mayor this fall, also pledged to create a 10-year financial plan for the city that would involve “tough choices." Some of those choices involved benefit changes for city employees, restructuring the Baltimore Development Corporation and consolidation of some …
Sean Tully
4:33 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Able, I am not making any claim other than our taxes (local, state, and, yes, despite your misgiving, federal) pay for social programs that often fall under the heading of "welfare". more ›