Baltimore's spending panel approved a waiver on Wednesday to allow the city to accept free Under Armour uniforms for the police department.
Details of the deal remain scarce, but Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she's grateful for Under Armour's commitment to the city. The Board of Estimates unanimously approved the deal without discussion.
"They are an innovative sportswear company; there is nothing in their bottom line that's measured by the amount of good they are doing in Baltimore," she said. "So the fact that they're continuing to look for new ways to partner with the city, to help improve the city, I certainly appreciate that."
The waiver allows the city to accept the uniforms from Under Armour as a gift. While officials say the scope of the project is still being worked out, the waiver allows only for the company to provide uniforms for officers in one district.
Rawlings-Blake said should the city want to buy uniforms from Under Armour in the future, any order would first be subject to the competitive bid process. The waiver allows the city to "begin having a conversation with them about new uniforms," she said.
"It was very important for me that we followed the ethics rules and that's why we did this with the item on the agenda so it would be transparent before we have more serious conversations," she said, adding that Under Armour founder "Kevin Plank has been an amazing cheerleader for this city."
Under Armour, which has a line of tactical wear, did not respond to questions about the project, including what the uniforms may look like or how many the company will give to the department.
According to information submitted to the board, the company wants to work with the city to "potentially improve the quality and durability of police uniforms and relieve some strain on the Police Department budget."
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