Baltimore should borrow millions to build and renovate schools, libraries and parks, and create a department to oversee the construction, Mayor Sheila Dixon said yesterday during her second State of the City address.
Speaking in the ornate City Council chamber to an audience of local and state officials, Dixon said she would ask voters to approve an additional $27 million in borrowing for city construction projects and to create a Department of General Services to supervise the work.
She made her proposal for improved city facilities as Baltimore faces a potential economic downturn that could threaten not only the coming year's budget but also the long-term ability of the city to pay for critical services such as public safety.
"We must break from some patterns of the past and present, and we must do so while facing challenging financial circumstances in the year ahead," Dixon said. "We must rethink our systems. In some cases, we must transform them to be more effective and efficient."
Dixon focused much of her address on the accomplishments of her administration over the past year, including the city's transition to single-stream recycling and the doubling of the number of lane-miles of city roads that have been resurfaced.
In contrast to last summer, Dixon was largely able to talk about issues other than crime because of the large decline in homicides since she appointed Frederick H. Bealefeld III acting police commissioner in July. He was confirmed by the City Council to take over the position in November. There were 14 homicides in the city last month, the fewest for any January in three decades.
A number of prominent officials were in the audience, including Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, state Comptroller Peter Franchot, Rep. John Sarbanes and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume.
Perhaps the most novel idea discussed was creating a Department of General Services, which would be responsible for overseeing city construction projects and maintaining city vehicles.
The current Bureau of General Services, part of the Department of Public Works, oversees more than 200 city buildings and the city's 5,400 vehicles. The bureau's budget is $76 million, and Dixon said she would not expect the new agency to grow beyond that.
The new department would require approval from voters in November. Dixon said the city would also ask voters to increase annual borrowing for the city's capital budget by about $27 million for schools, libraries, parks and museums.
"We will dedicate more money to these projects than ever before," she said.
Dixon also promoted her plan to create a land bank, which is expected to take the form of legislation in the General Assembly this year. The land bank concept, which is used in Michigan, would allow the city to transfer as many as 10,000 vacant properties to a quasi-government agency that Dixon said would speed their sale and redevelopment.
"We're committed to partnership between the state and local government. We want to find solutions to the challenges that every jurisdiction is facing," Brown said when asked whether Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration would support the land bank. "We're looking for ways to partner with Baltimore City."
To underscore the potential impact of investments in new municipal projects, Dixon pointed to a city resident, Dennis Rollins, who received a construction job on the $302 million convention center hotel now rising on Pratt Street. Critics questioned the city's 2005 decision to finance the hotel, but Dixon said the project is improving lives.
Rollins visited the Mayor's Office of Employment Development in the summer of 2006 for help in obtaining a job. Within a year, he had been promoted to job site foreman, doubling his pay. The hotel is expected to be completed this year.
"I was flawless. I never missed a day," said Rollins, 29, who sat in the front row of the council chamber during the speech yesterday. "I knew that if I could get a job at the site, I could make my way."
Dixon touched on the city budget, which could prove to be an obstacle in the next several months, in part because of a possible reduction in state funds. Those cuts, along with a slowdown in the city's revenue, could undermine efforts to reduce Baltimore's highest-in-the-state property tax rate, a recent Dixon administration focus.
Over the past several years, the city has accumulated large surpluses, but that trend is not expected to continue.
Dixon became the city's 48th mayor - and the first woman to hold the office - last year after O'Malley became governor. She won a full four-year term last year. She was sworn in to her current term Dec 4.
"The high rate of growth that we have enjoyed over the past few years has slowed," Dixon said. "Now we must think more creatively, act more strategically and spend more deliberately."
john.fritze@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Lynn Anderson contributed to this article.
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