Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's remarks (as prepared) at April 11, 2012 Taxpayers Night

Good evening.

First, I would like to thank you all for coming out tonight. I know that you have busy schedules, with work and family responsibilities. I am grateful for your commitment to the city.

I want to acknowledge Council President Young and Comptroller Pratt as well.

Our number one goal is to get Baltimore growing again by 10,000 families over the next 10 years. Every day, on their own, families make economic and social choices about where they choose to live in the region.

The good news is that our region’s dynamic economy already provides for a natural influx of residents to our city every year—too often, the problem is keeping them here.

That’s why our budget process is important. It helps us focus our very limited resources to do what is necessary to keep current and newly relocated families here—and to reduce the number of families moving out.

This budget is about focusing on, and making faster progress on, the fundamentals: improving schools for kids, making our communities safer for families, rebuilding neighborhoods by tearing down vacant homes, listening to the concerns of our citizens, and targeting our resources to respond—all while reducing the property tax burden on homeowners. And finally, we are focused on making sure government is efficient and a partner with businesses that create jobs.

This budget strives to achieve these goals.

But here is the problem—on Monday, the State legislature didn’t act on the recommended budget and adopted a “Doomsday” Budget instead.

So, what that means is, as of right now, unless the legislature goes into special session and fixes the problem, this budget that I’m holding in my hands will have to be scrapped.

The City’s budget situation now is highly uncertain. The State’s Doomsday Budget adds an $20.2 million hole to the City budget. The State’s Doomsday budget cuts $22 million from our school system.

Unless the State acts to reverse these cuts, City Government and the School System will be forced to implement deeper cuts that will have a negative impact on education, public safety, and City employees.

Unless the State acts to restore public safety grants, we could be forced to reduce police hiring and cancel academy classes.

That means fewer officers on the street, because we won’t be able to hire enough new officers to keep up with attrition rates. Funding for the State’s Attorney’s Office for Gun and Violent Crime Prosecution could be eliminated.

If the State’s Doomsday Budget stands, the City may even be forced to continue the employee furloughs that we have worked hard to try to eliminate altogether this year.

And again, unless it is reversed, $22 million will be cut from the school system’s budget, which will hurt teachers and students.

So let me be clear. Here in Baltimore, we did our job and put together a balanced budget that protects our priorities like public safety, public education, and essential services.

I’m hopeful that the State leadership will work quickly have a special session to come back and fix the problem. But, at this point, there are no guarantees that will happen.

And, you all need to know what that means for Baltimore—for our public school students, police department, our gun prosecutors, and City employees. I hope that I can count on everyone here tonight to help make sure that doesn’t happen.

So we can get back to focusing on getting Baltimore growing again with better schools, safer streets, and stronger neighborhoods.

Thank you again for coming out. I look forward to hearing from you.