First of all, here is an update on some legislation that passed at our previous meeting on February 10^th.

Passed legislation

O-28-24 - Police Department -- Property and Contraband Disposal

O-29-24 - Fence Permit Requirements Related to Buildings and Construction Standards in Title 17 (my legislation)

Monday’s meeting

At this upcoming Monday’s meeting there will be a public hearing on some proposed speed camera legislation, which may be of interest to you. We will also be officially receiving a report from the salary review commission that details their recommendations to increase the Alderpersons/Mayoral pay. Also note the survey link below from the Resilience Authority. They are looking for properties with flooding issues that they may work on resolving for you, so please take time to fill out the survey if this applies to you. Lastly, note the County will be holding an upcoming “safe routes to transit” event.

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Next Council meeting – 2/25/25 (agenda)

This meeting starts at 7pm and will be televised on local cable, YouTube, Facebook, and the City website.  You can submit public testimony at http://www.annapolis.gov/testimony. This will be an in-person meeting.

Public Hearings

• O-5-25 - Speed Monitoring Cameras - For the purpose of authorizing speed monitoring systems in the City of Annapolis to comply with changes in the State law changes; and generally related to traffic monitoring systems in the City. This is legislation I am co-sponsoring. The State legislature has authorized local jurisdictions to install speed cameras outside of just school zones. So what this legislation does is enact State legislation and adopts our own City process to allow us to start to do this. I support the installation of additional speed cameras, as it does help to slow down traffic, which is important because it helps to save lives. However, it needs to be stated that cameras only provide a very localized benefit. The more sustainable, longer term solution we need to do is install more traffic calming and “road diets” to narrow lane widths and separate pedestrians and cyclists from traffic. To that end, I’ll be introducing an amendment to ensure that all of the money raised through this effort will go into a Sustainable Mobility Services Fund that is dedicated to improving and providing safe pedestrian transportation alternatives.

Legislation being introduced on first reader

• R-8-25 - Mayor, Alderperson, and City Manager Compensation. For the purpose of reviewing and accepting the 2025 Salary Review Commission report dated February 4, 2025, which provides recommendations for adjusting the City Council and City Manager salaries for the 2025-2029 term. This legislation is required to be introduced by our Charter. Every 4 years, prior to the next Council term, we compose a Commission that reviews the salaries of the Council and Mayor, and then delivers a report to us with their recommendations. This Resolution simply accepts the report; it does not adopt any salary increases. Such increases, if the Council decides to move forward, must be introduced at a future data via Ordinance. In the Commission’s report you will see they are proposing to increase the Council’s salary to $38,000 by the end of the next term, which would put us closer to what the County Council gets paid. Right now I believe we are making around $18,000. The Commission recommended that the Mayor get paid $120,000, up from the current $90,000.
• R-9-25 - Annapolis City Council Support for Maryland House Bill 226/Senate Bill 569 (2025) For the purpose of showing the support of the Annapolis City Council for Maryland House Bill 226 and Senate Bill 569 (2025) - Anne Arundel County - Public Schools - School Schedule Options authorizing the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to eliminate early dismissal days if Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) has met the State requirement for annual school hours.
• R-10-25 - 2025 Annapolis Film Festival Fee Waiver - For the purpose of identifying the Annapolis Film Festival that will be held on March 27-30, 2025, as a Major Special Event; and waiving charges for certain City of Annapolis costs related to city services for that event.

Legislation on second reader (i.e. final vote)

• CA-2-24 – FY 2025 City of Annapolis Departmental Reorganization - For the purpose of recreating the Department of Human Resources; creating the Department of Integrated Technology Solutions; reassigning certain duties; and all matters generally related to such departmental reorganization. I’m inclined to support this, pending comments from you. I believe these department heads are already getting paid as directors, and so this just formalizes their conversions from offices to departments. There is no immediate fiscal impact.
• O-2-25 – WRNR Radio Tower Lease With the City - For the purpose of entering a ground lease of the City-owned radio tower located at 25 Silopanna Road with Cortona Media LLC dba WRNR Radio, a Maryland limited liability company; and all matters relating to said lease. I’m inclined to support this, pending comments from you.
• O-23-24 – Parking and Towing Regulations - For the purpose of eliminating the requirement that towing companies be within one mile of the City; allowing City contractors to oversee towing; and generally updating parking and towing regulations in Titles 7 and 12. I’m inclined to support this, pending comments from you.
• O-32-24 – Fire Sprinkler System Requirement Clarification - For the purpose of clarifying that the fire sprinkler systems requirements of 17.20.120(A) and when the requirement goes into effect; updating subsections B through D to comply with current national standards; reformatting the section; and generally dealing with City fire sprinkler requirements. This legislation clarifies that the sprinkler requirements apply to all non-residential houses on certain streets downtown. I am inclined to support this. There are two amendments. The first one seeks to modify the language to have it apply to residential houses as well, but the law office has informed us that this may not be legally compliant with state code, so I will likely not support it. The second amendment seeks to push the deadline back to 2032 I believe, to give property owners more time to get into compliance with this requirements.
• O-34-24 – FY 2025 Changes in Exempt Service Job Classifications - For the purpose of updating the classification grades for City employees in exempt service positions; and generally related to City employee salaries for exempt service positions. I am inclined to support this legislation but want to hear more on amendment #1 first.
• R-1-25 – Thompson Street Park - For the purpose of designating specific City of Annapolis-owned property as a street-end park; naming the street-end park at the southeast end of Thompson Street the "Thompson Street Park"; and generally relating to park amenities. I’m inclined to support this, pending any comments from you.
• R-2-25 - Demonstration Program to Build Green Roofs on City Bus Shelters. This is estimated to cost us around $5,000. I am inclined to support this, pending comments from you. However, I will likely be making a motion to send this to committee for further analysis. It was referred to my environmental matters committee but was never sent to us.
• R-6-25 - Non-Profit Vendors During Fall 2025 Boat Shows For the purpose of authorizing sales by certain vendors in the City Dock area of the Historic District during the Fall 2025 U.S. Sailboat and Powerboat Shows. We typically pass something like this every year. I am inclined to support this, pending any comments from you.
• R-7-25 - Itinerant Merchant Sales in the Historic District During Calendar Year 2025 For the purpose of authorizing hawker, peddler, and itinerant merchant sales in the Historic District in conjunction with certain special events during calendar year 2025. We typically pass something like this every year. I am inclined to support this, pending any comments from you.
• R-53-24 - FY 2025 Changes to Executive Pay Ranges - For the purpose of updating the Fiscal Year 2025 annual position classifications and grades; and specifying an effective date. This creates a pay range for executive positions, such as for directors. I’m generally inclined to support this but I’ve requested some supporting information/documentation to justify the increases in pay.
• R-54-24 - FY 2025 Changes in the Position Classifications and Pay Plan - For the purpose of updating the Fiscal Year 2025 annual position classifications and grades; and specifying an effective date. This updates our position classifications and pay based on the recently completed class & compensation study. There are seven amendments proposed that would make further tweaks, such as increasing pay for positions the Council deems needed, or creating career ladder positions, and adding positions into the classifications that were added during last year’s budget deliberations. I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to vote on this yet. We do need to update our pay scale, and I’m inclined to support the legislation and most of the amendments but I want to hear from my colleagues and the City Manager first.

Community & Political updates

Annapolis Go app, Transigo, now available on Android

City staff have finally gotten their contractor to make the Transigo app available on Android, so you now have another option to get around town. I don’t think the coverage extends to the entirety of Ward 7, but I will find out at our next Transportation Committee meeting.

Flooding issues on your property or nearby? Read on

The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis have partnered to address flooding, erosion, and sea level rise in the Back Creek and Spa Creek areas around Eastport with the Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative. To better understand issues residents are facing, they've developed a brief survey to learn how these environmental challenges have affected residents and what, if any, ideas residents might have to help address them. 

Please take five minutes of your time to complete the survey and let your voice be heard. 

Annapolis St. Patrick’s Parade and ‘Shamrock the Dock’ Set for Sunday, March 9