A proposed charter amendment that would make it easier for Baltimore to buy goods and services - but that would also lessen public oversight of how taxpayer money is spent- is set to receive a hearing by a City Council committee today.
The charter amendment, which needs approval by the City Council so it can be placed on the ballot, would cut from two to one the number of times the city would be required to publicly advertise for companies to bid on any work over $25,000 - an announcement that comes in the form of newspaper advertisements (including in The Sun).
City officials have said most advertising can take place on the Internet - but the charter amendment does not require the Internet to be used to replace the newspaper advertising.
The amendment would also allow the city to change the dollar-threshold that triggers certain oversight procedures. For instance, any contract over $5,000 must be approved by the city's Board of Estimates - a threshold that is guaranteed in the charter, meaning that voters would have to approve any change to that number. Under the proposal, the mayor and City Council could pass a bill to change the threshold without going to referendum.
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration has argued that the changes are needed because the city's current system is antiquated. City officials said the charter amendment would put Baltimore more in line with surrounding Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Montgomery counties.
The hearing, which is to be held at noon today at City Hall, will also include a review of several nonbinding resolutions introduced by Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake that deal with police staff shortages and other crime issues. One resolution calls on the Dixon administration to spend $2 million from reserves for a more aggressive recruitment effort.