Council President Stephanie Rawlings Blake, Comptroller Joan Pratt, State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy, honorable members of the Baltimore City Council, other distinguished guests, and all of the citizens of Baltimore - the State of our City is strong, and getting stronger.
Thanks to the hard work and commitment of lawmakers, business and community leaders, public safety officials, educators, and citizens in every one of our more than 270 neighborhoods, Baltimore is becoming a cleaner, greener, healthier and safer city.
I am pleased with our progress.
But I am not satisfied.
I know that you are not satisfied. And we shouldn’t be satisfied.
Satisfaction will not come until all of our residents have opportunities to maximize their human potential, until all of our schools are performing at the highest level, until all of our streets are safe and clean, until all of our neighborhoods are free of blight and decay.
There’s a long way to go, but we are up to the task.
This will be a particularly important year in our pursuit.
Last year was a year of transition for me personally, for our schools, for our police department, for our city, and for our state.
This year I call on everyone in this room - every person in our city - to come together and work to make 2008 a year of transformation.
The Book of Romans says: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Our religious, racial and cultural diversity is truly a great source of Baltimore’s strength.
We are different in many ways, but I am convinced that we are of one mind and one heart when it comes to our commitment to making Baltimore better.
To that end, we must break with some patterns of the past and present, and we must do so while facing challenging financial circumstances in the year ahead.
In previous years, our progress came with a surge in tax revenues, thanks to the booming housing market. But the high rate of growth that we have enjoyed over the past few years has slowed. Now we must think more creatively, act more strategically, and spend more deliberately.
I know that we are more than capable.
The proof is in our early accomplishments.
For example, our public safety plan is producing real results. Last month we recorded the lowest homicide total for January in thirty years. And that wasn’t just a one-month blip, either. During the six-month period that closed last week, we recorded the lowest homicide total in twenty years.
That’s progress, but we can and will do better.
Our new single-stream recycling program generated so much enthusiasm that we had to order more bins.
That’s progress, but we can and will do better.
With our new Operation Orange Cone program, we were able to do twice as much street resurfacing in six months as we were previously able to do in an entire year.
That’s progress, but we can and will do better.
And we led the way for a statewide smoking ban.
That’s real progress.
But we live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world.
The smoking ban, for instance, went into effect three long days ago.
So I’m sure there are those who are wondering: What’s next? And when can I expect it?
It will come as no surprise that I share this sentiment.
Robert F. Kennedy expressed it best when he said, “The future does not belong to those who are content with today.” It belongs “to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society.”
Madam President and members of the City Council, I contend that the future is in our hands. We have what it takes…and more. We have the vision, reason, courage, and commitment.
And, we have a city full of extraordinary people: neighborhoods, businesses, hospitals, educational and cultural institutions, houses of worship, parks and so many other world-class amenities.
We have all the resources we need, so let’s get started on our future.
Good government, particularly in a time of slowing resources, is not about programs. It’s about systems. We must rethink our systems. In some cases, we must transform them to be more efficient and effective, and to deliver better customer service to our constituents.
This afternoon, I want to highlight just a few of our plans to make city government more responsive to the needs of residents, communities and businesses.
First, this is the year that we will transform our efforts to eradicate blight in our neighborhoods. We can no longer afford to tinker around the edges.
This year, working with our partners inside and outside of government, we will move forward with creating a Land Bank – either as a public authority, if the legislation introduced in Annapolis this session is adopted, or as a closely held non-profit entity working on contract with the Department of Housing and Community Development.
The Land Bank will have a targeted and well-defined mission of acquiring, maintaining, and selling vacant property.
As is evident from the past two years, real estate is a highly dynamic market. To successfully respond to changes in the marketplace, the City must possess speed and agility.
A special-purpose entity such as a Land Bank can be more innovative, adaptive, and flexible than the many departments and agencies that have collective responsibility for our swelling inventory of roughly 10,000 vacant buildings and lots. Free of many of the constraints that limit larger bureaucracies, a Land Bank will be more inclined to take risks associated with innovation. Moreover, a Land Bank will have access to a broader range of financial resources, which is critically important in a time of slowing revenues.
Foundations and other charitable organizations typically do not provide direct assistance to government agencies. As a non-profit, a Land Bank entity would have access to these important sources.
Second, I will ask voters to approve a charter amendment in the November election to separate the Bureau of General Services from the Department of Public Works to create a Department of General Services (DGS).
The focus of the new department will be to provide city agencies with services, including building construction, maintenance and operations, energy management and conservation, and fleet management.
A standalone DGS will provide cost-effective, high-quality and timely support services to city departments, groups, and agencies by delivering projects and services on-time and on-budget. The standalone DGS will communicate often and clearly. It will be accountable and hold other agencies accountable.
Such a department is needed to fulfill our vision to renovate, construct, and better maintain our public assets, such as schools, recreation centers, senior centers, parks and libraries. This vision will be apparent in our upcoming capital budget.
We will dedicate more money to these projects than ever before.
My proposed bond package for the November 2008 ballot includes, over the next two years, additional money for schools, recreation centers, cultural institutions, senior centers and libraries over our fiscal year 2009 voter-approved bond authorizations.
I am proposing to allocate, over the next two years, an additional $7 million for City schools. An additional $11.5 million for construction and maintenance of public buildings, including new libraries, an additional $7 million for City parks and an additional $1.5 million for capital projects at our cultural institutions.
Third, we want to improve the service we provide to customers when collecting money owed to the city. The Bureau of Treasury Management, which is part of the Department of Finance, currently has two primary divisions.
One is related to the investment of funds and debt management, the other is responsible for the collection of all money due the City.
The collections division has a lot of contact with taxpayers. It handles everything from property taxes to parking fines.
Under our plan, the collections division will become a separate bureau within the Department of Finance. It will be called the Bureau of Revenue Collections. The Bureau will be responsible for doing its job more efficiently, more effectively, and with a real focus on customer service.
Fourth, this year we will begin the long-overdue process of transforming and modernizing our zoning code.
Baltimore City’s current zoning code was adopted in 1971, a very different time in our city. Sustainable development, green building design, and global warming were unknown concepts. The subway and light rail systems had not been built. Biotechnology was in its infancy.
When our predecessors adopted the zoning code in 1971, planners believed that residential and commercial uses should be separate. Today, as we prepare for the Red and Green Lines and invest in building two biotechnology parks, we know better.
By grouping housing, retail, laboratories, offices and jobs near transit hubs, we take cars off the road, and we enable Baltimoreans who do not have cars to fully participate in all that the city has to offer.
The final issue I’m going to highlight today is hospitality and tourism – the second largest industry in Baltimore. We must do everything in our power to secure and promote the continued expansion of hospitality and tourism. This industry provides jobs for tens of thousands of Baltimoreans and pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into our local economy.
In the past year alone, we have cut the ribbon on three new hotels, and another four are under construction. Later this year, the Baltimore Hilton Convention Center Hotel will open, ushering in a new era of tourism development and anchoring the southern end of the Westside Initiative.
Two years ago, the citizens of Baltimore risked action on the faith that a $300 million dollar investment in a convention center hotel will attract more conventions to our city. I am pleased tell you that as of today, BACVA expects to exceed its ambitious goal of booking 400,000 hotel rooms this year.
The hotel’s construction is on time and on budget.
The project will meet or exceed all of its ambitious goals for contracting with minority- and women- owned businesses, utilizing union construction companies, and employing Baltimore City residents.
We owe it to all taxpayers to secure this important investment for our future.
This is why I am proposing to restructure and enhance the already close relationship between BACVA and the Baltimore Convention Center. Under this new structure, the Baltimore Convention Center director and staff will remain city employees but report to an expanded BACVA Board which will broaden its mission to include the maintenance and operations of the convention center.
There’s a lot of talent in both places. A combined team will produce even better results.
In the coming months, you will hear more about these and other initiatives to transform government. But as we focus on transforming government, we must always remember that the family and education are our primary systems.
A family defines each and every one of us.
Therefore, my administration has adopted the National League of Cities’ Family Strengthening Platform. We did this to ensure that family strengthening principles and practices are incorporated into our systems of human development and human services, from the beginning to the end of life.
So for example, we’re investing in our most vulnerable newborns and their parents by making skilled professionals available for home visits. These professionals work to ensure the health of 1,500 children, and they work to make sure these children are prepared to learn when they enter school.
As for our schools, we must deliver the education our young people need to grow and prosper.
We’re making progress.
Last year, the number of students passing high school assessment exams increased from the year before. We saw increases in Algebra, Biology, English II, and Government.
Madam President and members of the City Council, there’s a lot of work left to do, but we are moving in the right direction.
So I challenge you today just as I challenge myself and my team to put aside turf concerns and special interests and to open yourselves to new and better ways of doing the people’s business.
For my part, I pledge to work with you, to listen to your concerns, to find common ground, and then to act.
That is what we were elected to do.
I am excited about the work ahead.
We are well on our way to becoming a cleaner, greener, healthier, safer and SMARTER city.
I opened my remarks today by talking about government transformation.
I want to close with a story of personal transformation.
Moments ago, I talked about our $300 million dollar investment in a convention center hotel to attract more conventions to our city. That’s going to contribute to the transformation of our city.
But it is also contributing to individual lives.
In the summer of 2006, Dennis Rollins of East Baltimore was unemployed.
He turned to the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and visited our Baltimore Works One-Stop Career Center.
The center referred Dennis to the hotel’s general contractor, Hensel Phelps. Hensel Phelps hired him as a general laborer.
Dennis worked hard and it paid off. He earned a promotion to foreman and a nearly 50 percent pay raise.
Dennis went from unemployed to earning a nice living. We didn’t give Dennis a hand out. We gave him a hand up. We pointed him to an opportunity, and he seized it. He recognized — as we all should — that every opportunity comes with an obligation.
Dennis is working hard; he is fulfilling his potential, and he is serving as a role model and inspiration to others.
Dennis, we thank you.
I wish I could guarantee this kind success to every person.
I have wished this throughout my career, starting when I was a teacher. But no person can guarantee the success of another. What we can do is work hard every day to guarantee opportunity for all.
That is my purpose. That is why I stand here with you today.
Only when Baltimore is a City of opportunity for everyone will I be satisfied.
Thank you.
May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the great City of Baltimore.
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