Annapolis City Hall and the City’s Gorman Street offices lit up at night in October 2021. Council members convened at City Hall for more than 12 hours Monday to discuss budget amendments. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)
Child care, community partnerships and removal of carcinogenic firefighting equipment were the big-ticket budget items added to the Annapolis city budget Monday during a 12-hour meeting to discuss more than 40 proposed amendments.
All amendments were additions (or in a handful of cases, subtractions) to the $170 million budget proposed by Mayor Gavin Buckley in April. Some were technical corrections, and a few others adjusted fees and fines.
The city’s finance office declined to release a total dollar amount for the approved amendments on Tuesday, although they amount to several million dollars in additional spending, according to publicly available budget documents. Council is scheduled to adopt the budget at a special meeting set for 5 p.m. Friday at City Hall.
Monday found the council members arguing for more than 30 minutes for some amendments, with few receiving unanimous approval.
Six-figure proposals that were adopted by the all-Democratic council included an additional $350,000 for the fire department, a $250,000 child care program, a $200,000 community partnership program and more than $1 million in additional sidewalk projects.
Ward 4 Alderman Rob Savidge proposed both sidewalk allocations, one on Bay Ridge Avenue and another in front of Ellen O. Moyer Nature Park along Edgewood Road. Combined, they are expected to cost the city just over $1 million and will be in addition to $600,000 worth of sidewalk improvements already included in the general fund. The council has also already greenlighted a $308,000 sidewalk project for Cedar Park Road.
Fire Chief Douglas M. Remaley spoke in favor of boosting the fire department’s budget by $350,000 to mitigate carcinogenic chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. In April, the state legislature passed legislation requiring companies to stop using firefighting foam containing PFAS.
“Cancer in the fire service is something we are very concerned about it,” the chief said.
The department is currently fundraising for park upgrades in Eastport that will memorialize company members who developed terminal cancer after retiring from the service.
Remaley explained that foam is a necessary tool for fighting maritime fires, especially those involving petroleum and fiberglass boats. Although the company stopped using PFAS-containing foam several years ago and is in compliance with the law, it wants to properly dispose of carcinogenic foam in storage, which will be expensive.
“These are nasty chemicals,” Remaley said. In the process of researching foam disposal, the department also learned more about firefighting gear that contains PFAS. The $350,000 will also help ensure that the company has at least one set of safety gear for all 120 firefighters. For now, if firefighters are called to a blaze twice during a shift, some will need to either wear dirty jackets, or backup gear that may be less safe. Remaley said he plans to incrementally purchase backup equipment as newer, safer gear comes online.
“We want to have the very best gear for our fighters,” Ward 8 Alderman Ross Arnett said, affirming the plan. He also asked the chief to keep abreast of any possible legal action that could be taken against manufacturers who may have knowingly sold unsafe gear.
While the firefighting funding boost passed unanimously, two big-ticket social service plans passed in narrow 5-4 votes.
Ward 4 Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson successfully lobbied for $200,000 in funding for a violence reduction program that will pair community organizations with neighborhoods in Annapolis that experience upticks in crime. The program will be modeled after an ecumenical initiative founded 10 years ago in which churches agreed to adopt communities, including public housing projects.
Finlayson said church involvement in the neighborhoods has waned over time. Her new initiative will be managed by the Office of Community Services and look to include Black sororities and fraternities.
The office will also oversee distribution of $250,000 in funding for child care. Ward 6 Alderman DaJuan Gay proposed that measure, arguing that a lack of affordable child care is preventing some parents from rejoining the workforce post-pandemic. Gay said the program will be limited to two children from each family.
Previously reported measures that passed include the addition of a $10,000 boxing tent at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center, using a ring that formerly belonged to the Naval Academy, and the addition of lights to pickleball courts to allow evening matches that players will pay for by credit card. Both of those amendments were proposed by Buckley.
Among the amendments that failed to pass was a $700,000 proposal for a pilot guaranteed basic income program, also proposed by Gay, and a series of smaller projects and training programs for Parks and Recreation, which the majority of council members felt should have been part of the standard budgeting process rather than special requests during the amendment proceedings.
Council also punted to Friday on an amendment that would strip a $5,000 community grant from Eastport United Methodist Church. The delay gives the city’s lawyers more time to review the circumstances under which faith-based groups can receive community grants.