Baltimore City lawmakers want voters to approve the creation of a “reinvestment and reparations fund” despite pushback from several city agencies, including strong opposition from the city’s former chief equity officer.
The bill to create a Baltimore Community Reinvestment and Reparations Fund was first introduced to the Baltimore City Council in May 2023. The bill, championed by outgoing Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, sought to amend the city charter to permanently establish a fund to redistribute state money generated from cannabis sales. As is standard practice for most council bills, several city agencies had an opportunity to review the bill as it made its way through the legislative process.
The Baltimore Office of Equity and Civil Rights issued a scathing rebuke of the bill shortly after it was introduced, calling it “an inappropriate use of Baltimore City’s charter amendment process.” The office explained the state money the fund would administer is scheduled to sunset, meaning the city could be left with an unfunded mandate once state dollars dry up.
“Along with promoting equity and civil rights, we must also promote responsible governance, and therefore, we do not believe this is the most efficient approach,” former Baltimore City Chief Equity Officer Dana P. Moore wrote to city lawmakers.
Moore suggested using the existing Baltimore Equity Assistance Fund to administer the state funds rather than creating a new fund via a charter amendment. That recommendation was not implemented by lawmakers, and Moore is no longer the city’s chief equity officer. She now works as a “Senior Advisor for Key Bridge Response and Recovery.”
The Baltimore City Department of Finance and Department of Law also sent letters to the City Council opposing the bill. Regardless, the council pushed through an amended version of the bill in May, and Mayor Brandon Scott signed the bill in July. The charter amendment will now be presented to Baltimore City voters in November as Question G.
The proposed charter amendment being presented to voters on Election Day also leaves the door open for Baltimore City to designate future local, state and federal money to the fund. The precise structure of the fund, the personnel required to administer it and other key details are not present in the language of the proposed charter amendment. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not return a call from FOX45 News Friday morning.
In its letter to the Baltimore City Council, the Department of Finance explained creating the fund would limit how the city can use certain funding provided by the state. Citing the looming budget shortfall largely fueled by the Kirwan education plan, Baltimore City Budget Director Laura Larsen told lawmakers it would be unwise to restrict the way the city can use state funding at a time of financial distress.
“Given the City’s resource constraints and the revenue projected through this fund, it will be critically important these funds are allocated with the overall context of the City’s budget in order to maximize their impact,” Larsen wrote. “Finance is supportive of the intent of this legislation but believes the restrictions being offered here will limit the impact of the funding.”
Baltimore City voters approved a similar charter amendment in 2016 to create the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, which is now required to receive millions of city taxpayer dollars every year without a performance auditing structure. David Williams, the president of the non-partisan Taxpayer Protection Alliance, said the never-ending stream of money going to the Children & Youth Fund should concern city taxpayers.
“Seeing the funding structure for this entity really sent a chill down my spine,” Williams told FOX45 News. “You have a funding mechanism that is going on in perpetuity, … this is never going to end.”