This meeting's agenda is lighter than our last, but two things make it consequential: the FY27 budget public hearing remains open — Monday is likely one of the last opportunities to testify before the full Council votes on the final package at the June 1 all-day session — and I am introducing two ordinances I've been working on. I've also now finalized and shared my budget amendments with my colleagues, and I'm posting the full document publicly so constituents can see where I stand before that vote.

Before I get to the budget, I want to share a quick update on the Market Space outdoor dining situation, because it's been in the paper this week and I've received a lot of messages about it from constituents. Here is where I stand.

Market Space outdoor dining: what I know, and what I don't

I'll be direct with you: I don't fully know what's happening. Neither does the Council — we weren't adequately briefed before the administration moved to terminate the existing outdoor dining leases at Market Space.

Here's what I understand. The five restaurants operating on Market Space have COVID-era leases the City has chosen not to renew. Part of the reason is due to the fall boat show, which has contractual rights to use Market Space and, with City Dock under construction, needs more of it than usual this October. The administration opted to terminate the existing leases rather than renew them with a boat show carve-out.

But I believe there are other motivations as well — changes to the dining footprint, the traffic configuration, or both — that the Council has not been fully briefed on. I can't fully explain what the administration is planning, because they haven't fully explained it to us. We are discussing this in the Economic Matters Committee, but we won't have things completely ironed out until our next meeting.

What I can tell you clearly is where I stand:

• I am firmly against allowing cars back into Market Space. That would be a safety hazard and would destroy the calm, pedestrian-friendly environment that makes that space work. Any reconfiguration that opens the door to vehicle access is something I will oppose.
• I am concerned about potential footprint changes — whether the new individual lease structure results in less overall outdoor dining space. I do not yet have a clear answer to that question, and I've asked for one.
• The businesses operating there need certainty, not aspiration. The administration's public statement said they 'hope' outdoor dining can continue through the summer. Hope is not enough. These restaurants need to know now whether they can count on being open this summer, because they have to hire staff and place supply orders. I have pushed the administration to make firm commitments rather than issue aspirational statements — and I will continue doing so.

I will keep you updated as this develops. In the meantime, if you have views on the future of outdoor dining at Market Space, the administration should hear directly from you.

Now, on to the budget — which is the most important policy work happening at City Hall right now.

My final FY27 budget analysis and proposed amendments

The Finance Committee has now completed its department-by-department review of Mayor Littmann's proposed FY27 budget. I've finalized my analysis and proposed amendments, shared them with my colleagues, and am posting both publicly below. Here is what I think residents most need to understand.

The budget is fiscally constrained — and every Council addition requires an offset. The General Fund sits exactly at its 15% reserve floor. To be clear: the City does maintain various reserve mechanisms — a Budget Stabilization Fund, a Capital Reserve Fund, and other contingency accounts. But those funds exist for specific purposes and emergencies. The General Fund's operating position is thin, and because the one-time fund has been fully appropriated for the first time in recent memory, any priority the Council adds must come from a reduction elsewhere in the Mayor's budget. There is no discretionary pool to draw from. That is the central constraint shaping all of the amendments below. This was a deliberate choice by this administration. They could have left some of the unallocated monies available for us to deliberate over how to use, without needing to cut any corresponding appropriation by the Mayor. Unfortunately this risks causing a very contentious budget meeting as we fight over what to fund and not fund.

Federal funding cuts are hitting our operating budget. The Office of Emergency Management has flagged that federal grants previously covering its Hazard Mitigation Plan, training, and emergency exercises are no longer reliable — roughly $400,000 now absorbed into the operating budget. This is a direct consequence of federal instability, and likely not the last place we see it. Positions and programs that previously relied on federal support are increasingly becoming City obligations — increasing our budget burden even when nothing else changes.

The Harbormaster's seasonal staffing was cut — not at the department's request. The proposed budget drops the seasonal salary line from $199,000 to $68,000. The deputy harbormaster testified that this level of funding is insufficient to maintain seven-days-a-week operations at City Dock and our creeks. The department's own written response confirmed a minimum of $180,000 is needed. My amendments restore $112,000 to bring total seasonal funding to that minimum.

The Mayor's Office is proposed at its highest level in recent memory — and I'm redirecting a significant portion toward documented service gaps. The FY27 Mayor's Office budget has grown 40% since FY24, to $2.26 million, while simultaneously eliminating the Constituent Services position. My amendments reduce four consulting contracts — the strategic consultants ($72,500), the state lobbyist ($50,000, which the administration itself indicated it intends to eliminate), the philanthropist consultant ($75,000), and the communications consultant ($97,500) — and redirect those resources toward the Harbormaster, a third OCS Social Worker Care Coordinator, restored constituent services staffing, and a transit marketing position in the Department of Transportation.

I am not funding the proposed AFD peak medic unit without operational data. The FY27 budget proposes six new firefighter positions at $588,000 to staff a peak-time medic unit. The department has not produced the standard operational metrics — Unit Hour Utilization rates, call-stacking data, or documented coverage gaps — that would justify this staffing decision. The Fire Department's own Strategic Plan calls for a 16-month analytical process before implementation. AFD is currently meeting its response time standards. I've redirected these resources toward departments with documented, measurable need.

I'm proposing to unlock stalled capital by adding a Real Estate Administrator to the Department of Central Services. At least $11.6 million in active capital investment is sitting idle because no single person in city government manages real estate workflows — easements, acquisitions, disposals, lease negotiations. My amendments fund that position at $157,000, offset in part by redirecting a $100,000 real estate consulting line the department head himself said was insufficient to solve the problem.

On sidewalks and sustainable mobility: Seven of eight Council members identified pedestrian infrastructure as a shared priority. My amendments transfer $500,000 from road resurfacing to non-brick sidewalk repair, with funding prioritized toward ADA accessibility gap closures. I've also proposed interim peak-hour bus service along the Riva Road corridor serving Annapolis High School and County offices, and a transit mobile payment system to modernize fare collection.

The complete package nets approximately $477,000 in savings while redirecting spending toward verified service gaps and documented operational needs.

📄 Read my complete FY27 budget analysis and amendment list here

You can submit written testimony here or testify in person Monday at 7 PM.

Ward 7 capital projects update

Here is where things stand on capital improvement projects relevant to Ward 7:

• Edgewood Road sidewalk extension — Annapolis Maritime Museum / Ellen Moyer Park campus (CIP #40045): In the design phase. Replaces existing oyster shell paths with smooth-surface sidewalk, solar-powered lighting, and ADA-compliant access along the Edgewood Road/Bembe Beach Road frontage of the park. Design to be completed in FY2027; construction anticipated FY2028.
• Edgewood Road redesign: Safety redesign. I believe this project is in the design phase but am awaiting a confirmation from Public Works.
• Tyler Avenue traffic calming: Tyler Avenue traffic calming is included in the City's Traffic Safety Improvements CIP (40060), which has been expanded to cover multiple corridors. [Awaiting updated timeline from DPW.]
• Bay Ridge Road road diet: [Checking in with DPW for an update — timeline to follow.]
• Mini traffic circle conceptual studies: Staff is working on this in-house, evaluating feasibility at several intersections, some in Ward 7. [Staff update forthcoming.]
• Bay Ridge Avenue sidewalk expansion — between Forest Hills Avenue and Forest Drive (CIP #40040): In the design phase; additional right-of-way acquisition needed. Design to complete in FY2027; construction FY2028.
• Downtown–Eastport–Ward 7 circulator (CIP #40088): Scope of work being refined. I expect a study within approximately six months. This would provide a more direct connection between Ward 7 and City Dock via the e-shuttle, without a lengthy bus transfer.
• Forest Drive Transit Study: Authorized last year. Will examine transit improvements, traffic, and safety on Forest Drive — modeled on the 2009 West Street transit study. Working with Anne Arundel County and the State to develop a scope of work.
• Baywoods crosswalk improvements (CIP #40078 — Pedestrian Activated Crosswalk at Bembe Beach Road): Fully funded from prior appropriations with no new FY27 request, indicating this project is in its final stages. [Awaiting completion update from staff.]

Ward 7 Town Hall — save the date!

A reminder that our next Ward 7 Town Hall is Thursday, May 28th from 6–8 PM at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library. More details to follow.

Closed session at 6 PM — City Dock litigation

The Council will go into closed session at 6 PM to discuss City Dock litigation, pursuant to Md. General Provisions §§ 3-305(b)(7) and (8). I don't yet know the substance of that discussion and will share what I can after the session. The open portion of the meeting begins at 7 PM — anyone arriving shortly before 7 will not miss anything on the public agenda.

Resilience Authority update

The Council will receive a presentation from the Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County on its FY27 budget needs (ID-109-26). The RA — created jointly by the City and County in 2021, and the nation's first multi-jurisdictional authority of its kind — has delivered over $50 million in resilience infrastructure with zero tax burden, leveraging federal and state grants. Worth tuning in for.

Action taken at the April 27, 2026 meeting

I was absent from the April 27 meeting, as I was in Kansas City, Missouri for the Community Streetcar Coalition Conference — networking with other cities exploring fixed-rail transit and highlighting Annapolis's Request for Proposals for a West Street streetcar feasibility study. I hope to find time to update you on this at a later date; at the moment the budget has taken up all of my spare time (haven’t had a day or evening off in a few weeks…) The following items were acted upon in my absence:

• R-16-26 — Resolution: Fees Related to Street Cafés (passed on suspension of rules, second reader)
• R-8-26 — Resolution: Fee Waivers for City-Supported Special Events FY2027 (passed on second reader, as amended to add Eastport a Rockin')
• Consent calendar: appointment of Marcia Ormsby to the Human Relations Commission (AP-19-26); $3,000 Recreation & Parks grant from the USTA/Mid-Atlantic Foundation (SA-20-26); fleet fund transfer (FT-9-26).

As always, full agenda details are laid out below. The meeting begins with a closed session at 6 PM, followed by the regular meeting at 7 PM. Submit public testimony at annapolis.gov/testimony.

Ok, now that this and my budget analysis are done, just in time for Mother’s Day, please don’t expect a response tomorrow. 😁 See you on the flipside next week.

Stay healthy and safe,

Rob

It’s a busy time at City Hall during budget season, and this meeting comes with a full agenda and several important highlights; so this is a long one today.

Ward 7 town hall – save the date!

First, a Save the Date for our next Ward 7 Town Hall: join me on Thursday, May 28th from 6–8 PM at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library. More details to follow, but mark your calendars now!

Joining virtually Monday

I want to flag that I will be joining Monday’s meeting virtually rather than in person. I will be in Kansas City, Missouri for the Community Streetcar Coalition Conference, where I am networking with other Cities that have streetcars, as well as with the companies that serve them, highlighting our Request for Proposals (RFP) for a feasibility study on reinstalling a streetcar system along West Street — an exciting sustainable mobility transit project pursued in partnership with Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland. As a reminder, this feasibility study came out of our delegation trips to Sweden and Netherlands where we learned about sustainable mobility, and builds off of our 2009 West Street study (also with the State and County) that called for such a long-term assessment of fixed rail options.

Budget hearing open

This is also the start of FY2027 Budget Season. The public hearing on the budget is open and I encourage you to share your input — testimony can be submitted online. I’m pleased to note that the Mayor’s proposed budget includes no property tax rate increase — the rate remains at $0.7380 per $100 of assessed value. While the Council's review is ongoing and I have not yet reached conclusions, I believe residents deserve a timely window into the questions being asked on their behalf — and an opportunity to weigh in before that window closes. To that end, see my comments in the next section.

Budget analysis

The City Council's Finance Committee is midway through its review of Mayor Littmann’s proposed FY27 budget. I want to share some preliminary observations — and some open questions — as residents consider whether to testify.

I want to be transparent: my review is not complete. Several departments have yet to present to the Council, and I have outstanding questions from those that have. I am not yet prepared to draw final conclusions. But the window to testify is limited, and I think residents deserve a frank early look at what I'm seeing.

The budget is structurally tight. The administration has acknowledged this directly. The General Fund sits exactly at the city's 15% reserve policy floor, with no margin for unexpected costs or emergencies. The administration itself described the budget as being "at policy minimums — no buffer for surprises." In a year of significant federal funding uncertainty, that is a meaningful vulnerability.

The Capital Reserve Fund is being drawn down without a clear replenishment path. In recent years, the city was able to make healthy transfers into the Capital Reserve thanks to strong fund balance growth. This year, with the General Fund at the floor, that mechanism is constrained. I have questions about the long-term sustainability of our capital funding approach that I intend to explore when the CIP is presented.

The Harbormaster's seasonal salary was cut by roughly 65% — not at the department's request. The proposed budget drops this line from approximately $199,000 to $68,000. The deputy harbormaster testified before the Finance Committee that this level of funding is insufficient to maintain current operations, including seven-days-a-week service from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The cut originated with the Mayor's office, not the department. If you use the harbor, care about on-water enforcement, or value waterfront access, this is worth knowing.

Public waterfront access investment in the capital budget appears to be reduced significantly. The Citywide Public Water Access Improvements project (40051) shows a reduction of $413,500 in Capital Reserve funding for FY27 compared to prior appropriations. I need to hear the CIP presentation before drawing conclusions, but the numbers in the capital budget warrant questions.

The Mayor's Office is proposed at its highest budget level in recent memory — $2.26 million — including $635,500 in contractual services. This includes a state lobbyist ($50,000), a communications consultant ($97,500), strategic consultants ($72,500), and a philanthropist consultant ($75,000) to pursue private gifts and donations to the city. I intend to ask hard questions about the value and necessity of this spending, particularly given the tight budget and competing unmet needs elsewhere.

The Mayor is proposing to add six new firefighter positions for a new peak-time medical unit — at a cost I have not yet confirmed but expect to be over $1 million annually. The Fire Department's performance metrics are genuinely excellent by national standards, and I will hear their presentation before forming a final view. But in a tight budget with competing unmet staffing needs across departments, I believe the Council must evaluate all new positions in that context.

Several departments that have already presented have identified unfilled or underfunded staffing needs. In ITS, a Cybersecurity Specialist position remains vacant and two analyst positions were requested but not funded. In the Harbormaster's Office, the seasonal staff cut described above threatens service levels. We have not yet heard from many departments, including Planning & Zoning, Police, Public Works, and others — and I expect additional staffing concerns will surface. The question of how we allocate limited resources across all of these needs is one the Council must answer holistically.

The budget for the Office of Community Services — which funds grants, rental assistance, and direct services to lower-income residents — is proposed at roughly $525,000, down from $705,000 in FY26. That's a reduction of about 25% on paper. Some of this reflects line items moving between categories rather than actual programmatic cuts, but OCS has not yet presented to the Council. I intend to ask pointed questions when they do.

Federal funding uncertainty is already showing up in the budget. The Office of Emergency Management explicitly flagged that federal grants that previously funded its Hazard Mitigation Plan, training, and emergency exercises are no longer reliable. The City is now absorbing those costs (around $400k) into the operating budget. This is a direct consequence of federal budget and program instability — and likely not the last place we will see it.

One-time use funds appropriated; Every Dollar Now Requires a Choice. In recent years, the administration's introduced budget has left a portion of one-time funds unallocated, giving the Council flexibility during the amendment process to address Ward-specific priorities that may not have been included in the Mayor's proposal. This year, for the first time in recent memory, the proposed budget appropriates the full $1.9 million available in one-time funds. That means that if the Council wishes to fund any priority not already in the Mayor's budget — whether restoring the Harbormaster's seasonal staffing, paying for studies, creating grant programs, or anything else — we will need to identify offsetting reductions elsewhere. That is a harder conversation, and more contentious than I'd hope for, but it is the one we are now required to have.

I have not made up my mind on the overall budget. I am committed to completing the review rigorously before doing so. But these are the questions I am carrying into the remaining work sessions, and I think residents who care about any of these issues — harbor access, emergency services, community programs, capital investment in waterfront infrastructure, or how the Mayor's office is staffed and resourced — should consider making their voices heard before the comment period closes.

Legislation that passed at the last meeting

• O-1-26 - Property Tax - Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, and Large Family Child Care Homes
• O-3-26 - Annapolis Harbor Lines at Hawkins Cove

I vote “Aye” on both of these.

As always, the full agenda details and my current thinking are laid out below. The meeting begins with a closed session at 6 PM, followed by the regular meeting at 7 PM. Public testimony can be submitted at annapolis.gov/testimony.

Stay healthy and safe,

Rob