Mayor Brandon Scott Raids Youth Fund to Patch His Own Budget Mess — Council Pushes Back

In yet another shady maneuver from Baltimore’s failing progressive leadership, Mayor Brandon Scott is under fire for siphoning millions from a taxpayer-funded youth nonprofit to plug holes in his city’s budget disaster.

The so-called “Baltimore Children and Youth Fund” (BCYF), which voters were told would go directly to help the city’s kids, is now being used as an ATM for Scott’s bloated bureaucracy. His 2026 budget proposes $16 million for BCYF — but in a backdoor deal, $7 million of that is being rerouted straight to his Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED). That’s right: the same office responsible for the failed “YouthWorks” program that’s become a money pit with little oversight.

City Council President Zeke Cohen — no conservative himself — called the move “deeply inappropriate,” recognizing that even the left is waking up to Brandon Scott’s political grift.

The justification from the mayor’s office? A “shortfall.” Of course. Instead of tightening the belt or reforming wasteful spending, Scott’s team ran to a nonprofit that’s already 99% taxpayer-funded and asked them to “consider investing.” Translation: hand over the cash so we can pretend our youth jobs program is still afloat.

Interim deputy mayor JD Merrill tried to spin it as helping kids. But if that were the case, why are councilmembers pointing out that the move likely violates the original rules of the fund? According to the law, the BCYF money can’t be used to replace city funding for youth programs — and that’s exactly what Scott’s doing.

Councilmen Mark Conway and Zeke Cohen both pushed back, warning that the city is setting a dangerous precedent. If Scott can raid the youth fund every time he mismanages the budget, what’s stopping him from using it to patch other holes next year?

And get this — even the numbers don’t add up. Scott’s budget claims $4.8 million is going to MOED, but Merrill said it’s $3.9 million. Who’s lying? Or does no one in the mayor’s office know what’s actually happening with the money?

Let’s not forget: BCYF itself has been exposed by Spotlight on Maryland for reckless spending — like dropping nearly a million dollars on a nonprofit that collapsed within six months, and blowing hundreds of thousands on out-of-state staff retreats. Oh, and they spent over $15,000 on crisis PR. Wonder what they were trying to cover up?

None of this was what voters signed up for in 2016. They approved a youth fund — not a slush fund for Scott’s administration. The language never said it would become a standalone nonprofit operating with less oversight than actual city departments. That change was quietly pushed through by the City Council in 2020 — conveniently giving Scott even more room to play fast and loose with taxpayer dollars.

And now, Fusion Partnerships — one of the nonprofits Scott funneled BCYF money through — is shutting down its fiscal sponsorship program, after getting more than $2.5 million since 2020. Another loose end in a city full of them.

This is what Democrat leadership looks like: no accountability, no transparency, and no shame. Baltimore families deserve better than Brandon Scott’s backroom bailouts and financial shell games.