Statement from Comptroller Bill Henry on the March 1 Board of Estimates Agenda

Crest of the City of Baltimore

Bill Henry
Comptroller,
Baltimore City
204 City Hall - Baltimore Maryland 21202
(410) 396-5410

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Geoff Shannon, Public Relations Officer
(410) 387-5704

geoff.shannon@baltimorecity.gov

 

Statement from Comptroller Bill Henry on the March 1 Board of Estimates Agenda: 

"On February 15th, President Mosby and I purposefully did not enter the Board of Estimates chambers at 9am. We made this decision to intentionally deny the other members of the Board the additional members necessary for quorum, as defined in the BOE Rules. Instead, the Clerk read our joint statement to all present - explaining our position - and then left. Without quorum, the BOE was not able to hold its scheduled meeting that day.

During a later gathering in the chambers with the Mayor, the acting City Solicitor and the Director of Public Works, an unsuccessful attempt to vote solely on the BGE agreement was made, apparently so that the Administration could assert that the item had been approved, when in fact, those members were not capable of legally conducting business. No opening statement was read, no effort was made to call for a vote on the routine agenda (nor for any other items on the non-routine agenda), nor were any protests or statements of opposition noted or public comment permitted - all of which would have happened at an actual meeting of the BOE, as is required by the Rules & Regulations of the Board.

Given that no meeting occurred, the agreement with BGE has not yet actually been approved. All items on the February 15th BOE agenda are being moved to the March 1, 2023 meeting agenda. The March 1st agenda will be distributed and posted publicly on the Comptroller’s website."

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