Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young provides an alternative to the Mayor of Baltimore City closing recreation centers.

1. City Council President Bernard C.
“Jack” Young’s Plan for a Better
Baltimore
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposals
Faced with a $48 million shortfall, the proposed fiscal year 2013 budget marks the fifth fiscal
year in a row that the City of Baltimore has had to contend with a significant budget deficit.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has had to be selective in choosing how to allocate funding in
her budget proposals. The mayor’s current budget proposal pairs the difficult task of closing a
projected $48 million deficit with continued funding of important city services. We must,
however, continue to invest in the priorities that most impact the lives of our citizens.
Now is the time to:
• Increase funding for programs and services that will grow the youth of Baltimore into
a generation of successful adults.
• Support city employees and their families by phasing in unprecedented increase to
employee costs for health insurance rather than double the fees in a single year.
• Work to make sure that our neighborhoods are protected and safe by reversing
planned closures of three city fire companies.
• Increase funding for programs and services that benefit our seniors.
This document lays out proposals that:
• Fully restore the network of Community Recreation Centers, which keep youth safe
and engaged in educationally and physically enriching activities.
• Demonstrate a commitment to families by expanding summer job opportunities and
afterschool programs for youth.
• Protect neighborhoods by maintaining the existing network of fire companies slated
for closure in the mayor’s fiscal year 2013 proposed budget.
• Ease the crippling financial burden on city workers and their families that would
result from proposed unprecedented changes to employee health care coverage.
This proposal includes an overview of the funding areas I see as priorities, and suggestions for
funding these areas. Recreation and employment programs for youth, Experience Corps,
healthcare benefits for city employees, and fire companies are priorities that deserve to be fully
funded in the fiscal year 2013 budget.

2. Funding Priorities
Recreation Centers ($200,000 per center, up to $2.8 million)
The City of Baltimore has a network of 55 operational Community Recreation Centers that are
funded and will operate through summer 2012. Up to 14 centers may close at the end of the
summer if private partners are not identified. During budget hearings, the Department of
Recreation and Parks and the Finance Department indicated that each recreation center would
need an additional $200,000 to remain open through fiscal year 2013.
Rather than seeking third-party private partners, the Department of Recreation and Parks should
be allocated an additional $2.8 million to continue operating all recreation centers. While there is
a plan in place to restructure the city’s network of recreation centers, it does not make sense to
take existing centers offline before viable replacement centers have been built or renovated.
The city charter says that the Department of Recreation and Parks has the duty to “establish,
maintain, operate and control recreational facilities and activities for the people of Baltimore
City, and to have charge and control of all such property and activities.” Giving up control of
these centers takes away our power to protect and provide for Baltimore’s youth.
Our recreation centers keep kids safe, healthy and off the streets, and it’s our responsibility to
protect the interests of our children and our communities.
Youth Works Summer Job Program: Office of Employment Development ($1.6 million)
Summer youth jobs offer a meaningful opportunity for high school students to gain valuable
work experience while earning a paycheck. These jobs also provide the city a return on its
investment by ensuring that youth are prepared with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed
in the workforce. According to the fiscal year 2013 Agency Detail Vol.1, page 542, the Youth
Works Summer Jobs Program can support 5,000 summer jobs through $1.6 million in funding.
(This level of funding includes the administrative cost associated with the program, including
employees who secure private donations and employers to fund additional summer youth jobs.)
Doubling the city’s contribution to summer jobs would allow additional youth to immediately
benefit from summer employment.
Afterschool Programs ($4.6 million)
With more than 84,000 students enrolled in Baltimore City Public Schools 1 and a shortage of
available openings, there is a significant need for additional afterschool programming. The
funding allocated for afterschool programming in the fiscal year 2013 budget should be doubled
by adding an additional $4.6 million to help support and expand existing programs.
1
Baltimore City Public Schools Website, “By the Numbers 2011-12”, http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/domain/5.

3. Experience Corps: M-R Educational Grants ($152,000)
The AARP’s Experience Corps program in Baltimore City brings seniors into the classroom to
assist teachers and work with 6,400 students each year in grades K-3. The city currently provides
$180,000 to support Experience Corps, but the fiscal year 2013 proposed budget would trim this
figure to $28,420. Cutting this vital program means that Experience Corps will not be able to
continue providing volunteers to 22 of the city’s elementary schools.
Changes to Healthcare Benefits for Employees (up to $5 million in year one)
The proposed changes to employee healthcare benefits will affect more than 28,000 active and
retired City of Baltimore employees. More than 80 percent of employees are enrolled in a
PPN/POS/PPO plan and would experience a 100 percent increase in either costs related to their
bi-weekly healthcare payroll deductions or in their out-of-pocket healthcare related expenses. As
proposed, this plan would have a financially crippling impact on the employees and retirees of
Baltimore City and their families. It is estimated that in the first year, the proposed changes
would save the city $10 million, and savings would more than double in future years.
An alternative course is to structure the fee increases in a way that would allow them to be
phased in over the course of several years.
Rising healthcare costs represent a significant budget issue that the City of Baltimore must
contend with. But to almost immediately double the costs of employee healthcare is untenable.
Fire Companies ($3 million)
As part of the Fire Department’s proposed budget, three fire companies are slated to close. Truck
10 in Harlem Park, Squad 11 in Bayview, and Truck 15 in Broadway East will close and other
companies’ service areas will be adjusted to account for the loss.
During a recent hearing on the Fire Department’s budget request for fiscal year 2013, the
department stated that it would take $1 million per fire company slated for closure to continue
operations. (This figure would increase to $2 million per fire company if the trucks were closed
and re-opened in the future.) We must allocate the $3 million needed to keep these fire
companies open rather than spend twice that amount to reopen them in the future.
Funding our Priorities
To help support critical services for families and our seniors, we must survey the entire proposed
budget to identify areas where funding could be redistributed.
After carefully reading through the fiscal year 2013 Agency Detail books, I strongly believe that
we could fund our priorities by eliminating a number of non-essential personnel positions
without sacrificing the quality of city services. To that end, I propose making $7.1 million in
targeted cuts to city agencies. (See attached Appendix A.)

4. Additionally, based on proposals presented to the City Council, there are a number of areas
where the budget can be re-calculated using refined, but realistic projections. Specifically, I
believe speed camera revenue forecasts can be increased by $3.5 million. (See attached
Appendix A.)
Finally, the City of Baltimore has a history of using surplus funds from the Health Insurance
Reserve Fund to help pay for critical services. I propose that we use $6.5 million of the city’s
$27 million in surplus funds to help fund core programs and services this coming fiscal year.
By allocating funds responsibly and efficiently, this plan ensures that we can continue to invest
in our priorities as a city.

5. Agency Service Fiscal 2013 Issue FY13 Allocation Recommendation Savings
Pending Personnel-Create Procurement
Finance Procurement-699 Supervisor $ 103,029 Eliminate $ 103,029
Pending Personnel-Create Systems Analyst
Accounting -704 II $ 73,500 Eliminate $ 73,500
Budgets-708 Create three positions $ 185,000 Eliminate $ 185,000
Property Tax Billing-710 Pending Personnel-Create two positions $ 199,132 Reduce salary $ 50,000
Fire Admin-600 Reduce Admin 2% $ 12,800,000 Reduce 2% $ 256,000
Community Outreach-610 Reduce Contractual Services $ 296,400 Reduce 25% $ 74,100
Eliminate increase in Contractual Services &
Training-615 Equipment $ 72,764 Eliminate F13 increase $ 72,764
HCD Admin-737 Create Admin Officer II position $ 71,750 Eliminate $ 71,750
Enforcement-745 Create Exec Asst to Dep Comm position $ 63,750 Eliminate $ 63,750
Increase In GF subsidy to offset loss of
Business Retention-809 capital $ 798,313 Reduce 10% $ 79,831
Increase In GF subsidy to offset loss of
Real Estate Development-810 capital $ 560,889 Reduce 10% $ 56,089
Increase In GF subsidy to offset loss of
Promote Retail Districts-814 capital $ 874,588 Reduce 10% $ 87,459
Mayoralty BOPA-824 Increase in F13 GF subsidy $ 30,050 Eliminate $ 30,050
Contingent Fund-121 Reduce F13 appropriation $ 508,000 Eliminate $8K increase & reduce 50% $ 258,000
Innovation Fund-833 F13 appropriation for MOIT Broadband $ 2,000,000 Reduce 10% $ 200,000
Misc General 122-Stadium Authority Increase in F13 appropriation $ 16,000 Eliminate $ 16,000
Misc General 122-GF Reserve Reduce F13 appropriation $ 2,032,000 Eliminate $32K increase & reduce 25% $ 532,000
Misc General 122- Special Projects Reduce F13 appropriation $ 250,000 Reduce 25% $75,000
Create one position and eliminate Salary
CitiStat -347 Savings x Eliminate position; no reduction in SS $ 105,939
Pending Personnel-create three positions
OED/Employment Enhancement-793 Job Hubs $ 242,587 Eliminate $ 242,587
MOIT/Application Services-803 F13 increase in Equipment appropriation $ 249,600 Reduce 50% $ 124,800
MOIT/Infrastructure Support-805 F13 software enhancement $ 1,465,000 Reduce 25% $ 366,250
Inspector General-836 F13 software enhancement $ 75,000 Eliminate $ 75,000
Civil Rights Wage Investigation -656 Pending Personnel- create one position $ 60,000 Eliminate $ 60,000
Transfer 14 positions from CDBG to General
Planning all services Fund $ 1,000,000 Reduce 10% $ 100,000
Police Admin- 621 Reduce Admin 2% $ 35,600,000 Reduce 2% $ 712,000

6. Agency Service Fiscal 2013 Issue FY13 Allocation Recommendation Savings
Pending personnel - create Deputy Fiscal
Admin- 621 position $ 150,801 Eliminate $ 150,801
Various F13 appropriation for Executive Protection $ 1,500,000 Reduce 10% $ 150,000
Transportation Admin - 681 Eliminate salary savings for three positions $ 127,849 Restore salary savings $ 127,849
Admin - 681 Create two IT positions $ 150,206 Eliminate $ 150,206
Complete Streets -690 Pending Personnel - create Analyst position $ 64,852 Eliminate $ 64,852
Total Agency Complete Streets -690 Pending Personnel - fund Bike Coordinator $ 65,000 Eliminate $ 65,000
Reductions $ 4,779,606
Eliminate salaries from approximately 57
Reduce funded vacancies citywide positions $2,300,000
Transfer funds from Health Insurance
Reserve $ 27,000,000 Use $6.5M to begin reform phase-in $ 6,500,000
Increase F13 projection for Speed Cameras
to F12 budget Raise budget estimate to F12 level $ 3,554,000
$ 17,133,606