Baltimore City Council members fail to understand the city budget and traditionally vote in racial blocks.
No, that analysis was not made by an angry constituent, but by the former council liaison to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.
Former Northeast Baltimore Councilwoman Vera P. Hall issued the report card in July while the 19-member council was in summer recess. The council returns to work tomorrow night.
The 52-page analysis -- which the mayor requires annually from staff directors -- is brimming with frustration over the city's legislative processes.
Hall, a longtime Schmoke ally, had served as his council liaison since the mayor was elected to his third term in 1995.
Her report included updates on 736 council actions, from resolutions celebrating citizen birthdays to an analysis of last year's controversial vote on a medical waste incinerator.
Hall's interpretation angered City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III, who defeated the former 5th District councilwoman in 1995. Bell defended the city's legislative chamber, criticizing Hall for exaggerating the state of the city budget and "playing the race issue."
"It's totally salacious and untrue," Bell said of the assertions made in Hall's report.
Meanwhile, Schmoke distanced himself from the report last week.
"It is not my assessment of the council, and I did not disseminate it to my staff," the mayor said.
In addition, Hall is no longer council liaison. She now heads a new project for Schmoke monitoring city government efficiency. The mayor said the change was unrelated to Hall's council report.
Budget woes
Council members adjourned in June after providing a last-minute 3-cent tax cut that saved $6 for the average city property owner.
Schmoke and Hall warned council members not to make the tax cut in the face of a city budget deficit that could reach $50 million during the next two years. City spending is rising twice as fast as government income.
"The political perception: All is well, the citizens got a tax break," Hall wrote in her July report. "The reality is THERE IS A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT!!"
The tax break becomes critical because city income is expected to grow 1 percent each year, while spending is expected to rise by 2.5 percent to 4 percent. A strong economy injected an extra $60 million into the city's coffers this year, but Schmoke and his administrators have warned that the council shouldn't bank on continued increased revenue.
Hall noted that, despite the prospect of budget troubles, Bell pushed to allocate more money for drug treatment and recreation.
"He seemed not to understand or accept the impact of where the money came from to balance the budget," Hall said. "When the leadership of council is erratic and unstable, solid discussions of things like structural budget deficits, performance assessments and rating agency reports do not occur."
Bell, however, paints the administration as crying wolf.
"I don't agree that there is a structural deficit," Bell said. "I will concede that the economy will not always be good, but the administration uses those additional dollars to do a lot of things."
He also noted that Schmoke's council allies supported the 3-cent tax cut.
They can't agree
Hall's analysis spells out what Monday night council viewers see every week: a chronic inability by the administration and council to agree on any major issue despite staggering city problems -- 300 homicides a year, nearly one in 10 residents addicted to drugs, and seven in 10 babies being born to unwed mothers.
In the 10 months leading up to next year's mayoral race, three issues seem to be at the top of the council's list:
Adult entertainment and night life. A bill from earlier in the year would shift responsibility for regulating Baltimore's infamous strip clubs along the 400 block of E. Baltimore St. -- known as The Block -- from the city Housing Department to the Baltimore Liquor Board of Commissioners. A separate bill being discussed would allow bars in the city to stay open past the current 2 a.m. curfew in order to enhance tourism.
Urban renewal. Downtown business leaders have unveiled a plan to renovate the west side of downtown, pledging a $350 million face lift. A cornerstone of the proposal requires the council to approve bills giving the city the right to condemn downtown businesses and properties that would then be offered to developers. A sticking point in the legislation could be the extent of city tax breaks offered to new developers. Last year, the council's most contentious issue involved giving a $25 million tax break to a new Wyndham Hotel at Inner Harbor East.
Police and firefighter departures. Two years ago, Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier instituted a deferred retirement plan to persuade veteran police and firefighters not to leave the city after 20 years of service. The three-year plan allows police and firefighters to receive monthly pension payments plus a nest egg from interest-bearing sums invested in their name. The city will spend the next nine months determining how much the plan will cost and how many public safety employees might depart by next summer.
Racial divide
In looking at council votes last year to determine Schmoke supporters, Hall noted that the council traditionally splits along racial lines.
Members of the 1st and 3rd council districts, where five of the six council members are white, regularly oppose the Schmoke administration. The city's 2nd, 4th and 6th districts, where eight of nine members are black, generally support Schmoke.
Hall pointed to last year's council votes on limiting the collection boundaries of a South Baltimore medical waste incinerator, the Wyndham Hotel vote and the budget debate to make her case for racial polarization. All showed the council voting along racial lines.
Bell, however, dismissed Hall's assessment, refusing to discuss any perceived racial polarity. He said he would not allow Hall's report to interfere with the council's forthcoming session.
"I'm not going to react to that kind of stuff," Bell said.
"Some of us are focused on the job at hand."
Pub Date: 9/27/98