In a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan, five Democrats are asking the state to chip in $1 million more for the city's summer jobs program for youth -- and the governor's office says he's open to the idea.
The letter asks Hogan to use $1 million from a $20 million pot of money transferred out of the state's rainy day fund into a contingency fund. One purpose of the fund is to "aid in the recovery of Baltimore City," the letter states.
"Providing funds so that motivated youth can work this summer is a critical first step that together we can accomplish today to aid in the recovery of Baltimore City," the letter states.
The letter is signed by senators Edward J. Kasemeyer of Howard County, Richard S. Madaleno Jr. of Montgomery County, and Nathaniel J. McFadden and Bill Ferguson of Baltimore. Delegate Maggie McIntosh also signed the letter.
YouthWorks, the city's five-week summer program for 14- to- 21-year olds, and its private-sector component, Hire One Youth, has about 1,000 more applicants than jobs this summer.
Keiffer Mitchell, a special assistant to Hogan, said he already has a meeting scheduled with McFadden and Ferguson for Monday. He said the governor is open to "brainstorming" with them about how to allocate the $20 million.
The program needs $1.5 million in added funding to reach a goal of about $10 million needed to hire all of the nearly 8,000 young people who have applied.
Through a mix of state and city funding, with contributions from private employers and donors, the program has enough money to place 7,000 workers. This week, YouthWorks received $30,000 from United Way of Central Maryland and a slice of the proceeds from Prince's Rally 4 Peace concert last month.
Employers that have tapped into the program include Wells Fargo Bank, Mercy Hospital and the Johns Hopkins University, which has pledged to increase its summer hiring through the program by 50 percent.
The YouthWorks program begins June 29. The state already contributes about $1.5 million to the program.
lbroadwater@baltsun.com
Twitter.com/lukebroadwater