Statement: Comptroller on BPD Supplemental Appropriations
Wednesday Sep 15th, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Baltimore, MD - Comptroller Henry shared the following statement on the Baltimore Police Department's supplemental appropriation.
"The City made a promise – which I fully supported - to provide hazard pay for our frontline workers. That’s not just police, but also sanitation workers, firefighters, and others. As I understand it, every other department was able to absorb this additional cost into their budget, except for the BPD.
It is disappointing that we have to once again shift additional resources to the police department. While I support hazard pay, we shouldn’t be pulling it from camera revenue. This funding source should be focused on making our infrastructure safer. Revenue from traffic cameras would be just about right for addressing the annual cost of our ADA compliance – which, as members of this Board know, we are being sued over. Anyway, that’s my two cents."