BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Several Baltimore leaders and residents have been arguing for decades that the mayor has too much power over city spending, specifically, the structure of the Board of Estimates. But every time there’s an opportunity to change the system, elected leaders have let reform fall by the wayside — including on this year’s election ballot.
Council members on the city’s Charter Review Special Committee say they need more time to study Board of Estimates reform and will submit a proposal to voters in 2028. Critics say it’s another example of elected leaders kicking the can down the road, as has been done in the past.
“Those who are in power do not want to give up any of their power, even though it may be good government,” said former City Council Member Carl Stokes, who sponsored BOE reform legislation during his time on the council.
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The mayor effectively controls three out of five votes on the BOE because he serves on the board and appoints two members. The BOE approves hundreds of millions of dollars in city contracts every year.
“There’s a very old saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Stokes said. “And I’m not saying that folks are corrupted necessarily here, in this case, but people tend to want — when they reach the top office — to have dominance and control.”
‘There’s always favors’
Stokes sponsored two charter amendments that would have removed the mayor’s board appointees as voting members, giving weight to the board’s other two members — the City Council president and comptroller — who are independently elected. He sponsored the first measure in 1994 and the second in 2015, the latter of which was vetoed by then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and followed by a failed veto override attempt.
“The mayor said no, and so favors were done, and so it didn’t happen,” Stokes said.
When asked if he knew for sure that there were favors, Stokes said, “There’s always favors.”
Recent council presidents have promised to reform the BOE without actually bringing change.
Brandon Scott proposed it in 2020 while serving as council president, but the vote never occurred after he won the Democratic primary for mayor.
Former council President Nick Mosby proposed it in 2024, but later said it would be better for the incoming council to put the measure before voters in 2026.
Reform promised for 2028
Current council President Zeke Cohen has also promised reform and is emphatic that it will happen before the 2028 election.
“It is my commitment that by the 2028 ballot, we are going to either significantly reform or abolish the Board of Estimates,” he told Spotlight on Maryland this week.
Cohen said the city may partner with a national organization to analyze how other cities control their spending.
“I want us to be as thoughtful as is humanly possible when we talk about either replacing the board with something else or just abolishing it,” he said.
For now, Cohen said the council is focused on simpler charter reforms for 2026, such as allowing more time for the council to override a mayoral veto and preventing low-bid contractors from gaming the system.
Charter Review Committee member Zac Blanchard confirmed the 2028 timeline and said there are charter reforms on the table this year that will benefit the city.
“There’s certainly been no, like, backroom conversations that I’m privy to that we’re trying to kick the can down the road,” Blanchard said. “It felt like a really sincere, like, we really can’t figure this thing out now It needs to be its own sort of reform effort.”
Council Member Odette Ramos also said in a text message that the measure “will be included in the 2028 charter amendments,” and that discussions are ongoing about whether to remove two board members or eliminate the board.
“We have more discussions on this and wanted to take the time to get that right,” she said. “No other MD jurisdiction has a board of estimates. So we are studying the issue and need more time.”
Asked whether Mayor Brandon Scott would support a reform measure reducing the mayor’s power over the BOE, a spokesperson said Scott “remains committed to modernizing City government and will fairly evaluate the details of all proposals once they are introduced.”
‘Teasing the citizens for decades’
But Stokes says he’d prefer to see the measure brought before voters this year.
“Let’s do it now,” he said. “The voters’ decision today is as valid as the voters’ decision in ’28.”
Some say the current BOE structure has led to bad deals for the city, including a controversial conduit deal with Baltimore Gas and Electric in 2023. Council Member Mark Conway is among the deal’s critics.
“The BOE is supposed to be able to check and make sure that these contracts are getting real scrutiny,” Conway said. “Unfortunately, that isn’t really the case as long as the mayor wants to see it pass.”
Spotlight identified at least nine BOE reform measures since 1994, all of which either failed or weren’t brought to a vote.
“We’ve been teasing the citizens for decades around this issue,” Stokes said. “It’s like that old game, Charlie Brown and the football, where Lucy puts the football out every Thanksgiving, and Charlie Brown runs up to kick it, and Lucy pulls it back, and he falls on his butt. I think this is sort of what we have here.”
Have a news tip? Contact Brooke Conrad at bjconrad@sbgtv.com or 443-578-2126, or contact the Spotlight team at SpotlightOnMaryland@sbgtv.com or 410-467-4670. Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 News and WJLA in Washington, D.C.
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