Restaurant Week, The Great Gatsby; Disney on Ice; Words, Wings, and Wine; August Wilson's Fences; Baltimore Trolley Tour; Mini Makers Market; Pique Assiette Mosaic Mirror Workshop; BSO; Dawn; Winter G

Baltimore neighbors could face fines for failing to clear snow from their sidewalks and parking spots, Mayor Brandon Scott said.

Commissioner Worley told the Public Safety Committee that three consent-decree sections became fully compliant in January 2025 and additional areas entered sustainability periods; he highlighted 133 homicides last year and early 2026 metrics showing modest year-to-year improvement.

At the Jan. 22 Ways and Means briefing, SDAT Director Bob Yeager described a targeted vacant-land reassessment in Baltimore City that raised many assessed values but noted more than half of identified parcels were tax-exempt; legislators pressed SDAT about transparency in PTAB appeal hearings and whether decision-making could be more open to appellants.

Baltimore City’s Education, Youth and Older Adults Committee heard state and local officials describe why Maryland paused new child care scholarship enrollments, outline program growth and limits, and present city and philanthropic proposals — including a proposed $500,000 mayoral grant — to expand access and quality amid workforce and capacity strains.

Baltimore's Board of Estimates approved a memorandum of understanding with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City to upgrade five labs serving older adults, deploy devices and provide digital navigators and $20/month gigabit service, funded in part by a $2.3 million HRSA grant.

The Board of Estimates noted a fifth amendment to an emergency Garney Companies contract for repair of a failed 108-inch storm drain at Tiffany Run (Montebello). The final cost was reported at $30,387,638.93—about $671,000 under the authorized $31 million—and the board flagged procedural delays in timely notation of prior amendments.

The Board of Estimates approved a consolidated locksmith services upset limit after DGS revised an overprojection downward, and approved an $11 million upset-limit agreement with Atkins to support DPW wastewater and consent-decree work. Officials emphasized tighter assumptions, interagency collaboration and building in-house capacity.

Baltimore City approved a settlement resolving litigation brought by Gary Washington, who was convicted in 1987 and later exonerated after a witness recanted. City officials cited litigation risk and ages of witnesses in negotiating a settlement they said balanced fiscal and moral considerations.

Council members raised repeated concerns about the Department of Transportation's ability to execute projects as the Budget Appropriations Committee approved a $15.5M engineering/NEPA package for the Hannibal Street Corridor and a $1M transfer for neighborhood traffic calming, and asked DOT for written follow-ups on unspent funds and timelines.

The Baltimore City Labor and Workforce Committee reviewed Bill 25-0116 to set minimum compensation and benefit rules for security guards, heard law department approval and administration comments, and agreed on seven amendments that adjust definitions, posting, and timing before recessing to vote later.

The Budget Appropriations Committee voted to move seven supplemental appropriations and transfers to second reader on Jan. 12, including $13.65M for city IT, $15.5M for Hannibal Street Corridor design/NEPA, and a $1M transfer for neighborhood traffic calming; the Recreation & Parks item was recessed.

Baltimore City’s Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals on Jan. 6 approved multiple conditional uses and variances — including neighborhood commercial uses, fence height variances for safety, and an industrial reuse with a parking variance — and postponed a proposed 182‑room rooming‑house at the American Building for more operational detail.

The Labor and Workforce Committee heard Council Bill 25-0116 to set minimum combined wage-and-benefit standards for private security officers; witnesses and advocates urged higher pay to reduce turnover and improve public safety, while Finance and the Wage Commission flagged unbudgeted costs and staffing and enforcement challenges. The committee did not vote and recessed to allow further drafting and interagency work.

At its Nov. 20 meeting the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City approved numerous 180‑day hardship extensions and reopening requests while imposing fines ranging from nominal amounts to statutory penalties after finding code and board‑rule violations at several establishments.

Members examined a proposal to let meter revenue remain on main‑street corridors and debated whether such funds must be created by charter (non‑lapsing funds) or could be established by ordinance; legal staff were asked to identify charter language and court precedent (baby‑bonus case) that constrain council authority.

The committee recorded seven new public or committee proposals: eliminate two mayoral BOE appointees; guarantee floor votes for committee‑stalled bills after 90 days; return draft budget powers to council; consolidate offices under a city administrator; recall process for council president; restructure city administrator accountability; repeal of Question K term limits.

Acting chief recovery officer Elizabeth Tatum told the council the city has spent $533 million (83%) of its ARPA allocation and outlined program achievements, agencies lagging on spend, and deadlines and constraints for modifying grant scopes.

Baltimore’s Charter Review Special Committee opened detailed consideration of proposals to reduce the Board of Estimates’ mayoral advantage and to strip prescriptive procurement language from the charter, asking staff to research fiscal, procurement and bond‑rating implications and to locate draft ordinance language.

At a Public Safety Committee hearing on LO 25-0006, Chief James Wallace told members the department has taken delivery of multiple engines and medic units and outlined planned purchases — while warning vendors have pushed some deliveries from November to April, creating scheduling challenges.