Meeting of the Annapolis City Council on Monday, April 13th, 2026 will be called to order at 7 p.m.

At this time, we will have a moment of silence to prepare ourselves for the business ahead.

At this time, would everyone willing and able please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States.

One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll?

Yes, sir.

One second.

Mayor Littman.

President.

Alderman Huntley.

Alder Woman O'Neill.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Alderwoman Alsiff Johnson.

Correct.

Alderman Shanna Meyer.

Present.

Aldwami Conte.

Alderman Savage.

President.

Alderman Thorn.

President.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney, please call the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is the state of the city address presented by you.

Mayor Littman.

He made it.

We're trying out a new microphone system today, so hope it works for everyone.

Good evening, and thank you so much for being here.

For this, my first state of the city, I want to start by talking about both the residents we serve and the dedicated staff who show up every day to keep the city moving forward.

Municipal government works best when it functions in the background of people's lives.

That means the trash is collected on time, the ambulance shows up when the family member is in need, and safe, clean, and delicious water comes out of your tap when you turn on the faucet.

Nearly all of those things are powered by people.

And tonight I'm proud to introduce a budget that helps us work towards that goal.

The headline fund the budget is clear.

We have balanced the budget, and we have done so without raising the property tax rate.

Thank you.

That is fiscal discipline and action and links to commitment I made during the campaign to make sure that Annapolis works.

But as as I've spent four months in office, I've continued to ask a question I know many residents ask.

Is Annapolis always working the way it should?

I asked myself that question.

And I ask it even though I know there's not a simple yes or yes or no answer.

For within that question is the expectation that residents and businesses set for us.

When you apply for something, it moves.

When you need help, you get it.

It sounds basic, but it matters.

And it starts with people.

People are what bind us together as an Annapolis community, and recognizing the work that happens in this community is important during a time of seeing seeming division.

We may hear a lot about what divides us, but on the ground in Annapolis, let's take the time to talk about what unites us.

I am pleased to announce that the state of the city of Annapolis is working to serve our residents respectfully, transparently, and with consistency and purpose.

Whether you're calling in with a question, applying for a permit, interacting with one of our employees in the field, we expect city staff to recognize that every interaction matters.

If you're a custom if you are having a customer service challenge, I'm about to share an email address that will help you get to our ombudsman who can help you resolve it.

It's Ombudsman at Annapolis.gov that's spelled OMBUDS M A N at Annapolis.gov.

Over these last over these past four months, we have worked to enhance the customer experience so that Annapolis city government shows up for residents, businesses, and visitors.

And tonight I want to show you what that looks like in practice, because we aren't just a collection of departments.

We are here to serve the community in a way that is fast and predictable, but also values-driven.

It starts with the culture of customer service.

During January snow and ice storm, we saw that in real time.

City staff didn't just log the issue and move on.

They got the driveway cleared, and they got that resident to the appointment.

And that's what good customer service looks like.

It's not perfect, but responsive.

Doesn't make the five o'clock news, doesn't show up on social media, but just one example on the ground of how we regularly serve customers on snowy days and sunny days.

And that same approach carries into our day-to-day day work as well.

In planning and zoning, permit turnaround times have reduced from 15 business days to an average of five to 10.

We're also hearing directly, getting emails that are forwarded to me from applicants saying, hey, the process is actually working better and faster than it has in the past.

And that is a credit to the team doing the work.

We're not where we need to be yet.

Residents and businesses still experience delays.

The process is not as clear and predictable as we want it to be, so we're going to keep working at it to improve it.

But at a basic level, someone wants to invest in Annapolis, the city should help them move forward, not slow them down.

The folks in our office of community service have helped hundreds of residents from everything from housing support and rental assistance to utilities, case management, and access to resources.

They're also working to improve how we partner with our community organizations.

That means making sure community grants get delivered on time, so the people doing the important work have the resources to do it effectively.

It also means increasing accountability, taking a closer look at outcomes so we understand what is working and what is not, and making sure that taxpayer dollars are used in measurable, meaningful ways.

In the mayor's office, we're expanding outreach and meeting residents where they are at town hall meetings, in ward and neighborhood walks, and in office hours.

So that residents can experience city government here here in City Hall or out where they live.

We hit the ground running in December with a series of staff roundtables where we learned what was working and what is not.

With Dewey's partners as consultants, we learned that directors and staff are often saying the same thing.

And with that data collected, we are now poised to work on an implementation strategy to ensure that city government is truly working both for staff and for taxpayers.

Traffic signals are operational, snow plows are tracked in GIS with real time, and trash and recycling are picked up as promised.

Striving towards perfection does not mean always perfect, but we know the goal.

Nearly everything I've just listed comes down to people.

People make all of that function well, and people are the key to making sure it functions well.

As I've already mentioned, we're striving to enhance engagement.

Another way we're doing that is through regular communication.

In the mayor's office, that means communicating ahead of council meetings, explaining what to expect, giving residents a window into the process of legislative decision making.

And if you haven't yet signed up and you're not receiving my newsletters, you can subscribe for free by going to the city website at annapolis.gov and in the search bar, use the keywords mayor's newsletter, subscribe so that you can stay in the no.

One recent example of listening to residents and translating that action into is our project at CARS Ictonia Beach, Word 7.

Our Department of Recreation and Parks held listening session with residents about exactly what a revitalized project could and should look like.

Any municipal government's public safety plan and process are best when prevention, response, and accountability are at the core.

It's another area where people are central to how well it works for residents, often in the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

The Annapolis Fire Department continues to exceed national standards for response times and has added another year with no fatalities, knocking on wood.

Add to that our best in class ISO rating that saves homeowners on individual home insurance policies, and you could see how your city government is working for you.

And in that moment of need, our goal is always for a fast and qualified response to maintain or improve that level of service.

This budget includes a peak medic unit with six new hires and a fifth ambulance coming into service on the busiest half of the day.

Our fire station facilities are going to see investments with an additional $2 million allocated to planning for fire station upgrades.

These initiatives, along with further training of fire department staff, ensure that we are investing in our future.

The Annapolis Police Department has had a leadership change, and I recognize how difficult that has been for some in our community.

I want to thank Acting Chief Amy McGuez for stepping into the role, and Deputy Chief Major Stanley Brantford for providing continuity of leadership within that department until we make a final appointment.

In just the last few weeks, Annapolis police cold case unit brought forward a 1989 murder for prosecution, demonstrating that there is no expiration date for good police work.

Of the four homicides in 2025, three have resulted in charges filed.

Motor vehicle crashes are down 9%, reflecting a more proactive approach to traffic safety.

And we have also rebuilt capacity within the department.

Over the last year, the city added 29 new employees, including 17 sworn officers, plus a new K9, Officer Delta.

That is a very good dog.

That progress matters.

Across the city.

Thank you.

Earlier this year, I was proud of our African American outreach team's presentation of Rooted in Revolution series in Black History Month.

The program was hosted in coordination with the Bush Library, and I thank them for that collaboration.

Our team is currently working on summer resource fairs and the Robinwood Open House series, as well as the CEO Academy, where we guide young entrepreneurs from a great idea to a successful launch.

Learn more at Annapolis.gov and use the keywords CEO Academy.

We're also incredibly proud of the Knapptown anti-dope movement, NAM, which can which continues to provide outreach, education, and real support for residents dealing with substance abuse challenges.

For example, NAMS pre New Year's Eve celebration and resource fair help residents navigate a difficult time when the urge to join the party can destroy months or even years of sobriety.

The work matters and it shows results.

And I want to acknowledge the Office of Emergency Management.

Saw Kevin over there.

Alongside with NAMS team's efforts, cross-departmental collaboration is a key to that success.

And tonight, we can say that uh overdoses in Annapolis are down 55%, making 2025 the second lowest in the past 10 years.

Congratulations.

The histor the Hispanic, they're different than historic.

The Hispanic Outreach Team continues to build bridges across our city, celebrating young creativity with poetry books, connecting more than 200 residents to local support networks, and coordinating visits with consulates and creating opportunities through the Latin Breakfast Business Breakfast.

They've also supported families during a time of increased concern around federal immigration enforcement.

The city of Annapolis, including the Annapolis police, does not receive information about ICE activity from the federal government.

We often learn about it from residents calling in, and we thank members of our community for being our eyes and ears out on the streets.

Sometimes when our officers arrive, the action is already over.

Other times, reported ICE activity turns out to be a false alarm or a criminal warrant service.

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating today.

Being an undocumented immigrant is not a crime.

It is a civil violation.

This is often a very difficult issue to navigate, and we aren't the only municipality in this country facing this challenge.

We're also aren't alone in our desire to build a community of trust and belonging.

We are seeing strong engagement across the city.

Recreation and parks is ensuring that events, activities, and well-equipped amenities are available for residents of all ages and abilities.

They have seen record-breaking attendance at events like Community Fun Day and the Hispanic Heritage Festival.

These events bring and bring residents together and strengthen the community.

The work of the recreation and parks department was recognized last year when Racquet Sports Industry named the Truxton Tennis and Picklebull Courts as National Public Park of the Year.

Congratulations.

And for our residents who connect with us digitally, city communications have reached more than three and a half million views since just December 1st.

That tells us that people want to stay informed and connected.

And we know our website needs improvement.

We're assembling a team to modernize it, making it easier to navigate and to use.

And that will take time, but it's obviously necessary.

In Annapolis, we're nurturing and building community, both in person and online.

Now let me shift to the future.

City Doc, one of the most important projects in our history and before us.

It's not just about infrastructure, it's about protecting the economic and cultural center of Annapolis, and we've secured significant funding, including a $35.5 million FEMA grant, plus other federal funding, along with state and county support.

This is a complex project, and it's gonna take time.

There's going to be challenges and disruptions.

It's obviously necessary.

Across our city, we're seeing the impacts of flooding in neighborhoods and streets along Annapolis's 22 miles of coastline.

That means we have to think beyond this one project.

In some areas, the answer will be infrastructure, better stormwater systems, improved drainage, and investments that reduce flooding before it happens.

In other places places, the solutions are more difficult.

Property owners may be facing choices about elevating structures, building barriers, or in some cases, just retreating.

These are not easy conversations, and they're but the issues are real.

Our role as a city is to provide guidance, to invest where it makes sense, to work with residents and property owners so that we're making thoughtful, informed decisions about the future.

We're also planning for long-term resilience by advancing our climate action plan, or CAP, through our deputy city managers team who are gathering input from city partners and the public.

The CAP will guide the city's actions to reduce pollution, increase clean energy, protect property, support residents and businesses, and be in becoming a more energy efficient and habitat-friendly city.

I want to mention our partners at the Resilience Authority for Annapolis and Anarono County, an idea that originated in this very room during a city dock action committee back in 2019.

The Resilience Authority has proven to be a true partner in our environmental and resilience work, and I thank our director Matt Fleming and my former colleagues on the board for their active engagement in projects here in Annapolis.

Together, we're securing millions of in environmental grant funding and expanding energy efficiency and sustainable initiatives across all city departments and operations.

In transportation and central services that's using solar, electrifying the fleet, and installing the infrastructure to keep it all running smoothly.

In recreation and parks that may include how we maintain our parks by limiting harmful herbicides and pesticides and converting equipment from gas to battery power, just like we asked our residents and businesses to do.

In planning and zoning that's inspecting building sites to make sure that in fill development solves stormwater runoff problems that weren't addressed in original development plans.

There is an Iroquois philosophy that says in every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.

That is a call to stewardship and a reminder that though we inherited a 400-year-old city, we are only her temporary caretakers.

As we look ahead and plan investments, we also need to stay grounded in what makes Annapolis special.

That includes working collaboratively once again with historic Annapolis to preserve the character and charm that define our city.

At the same time, we need to make sure that Annapolis is accessible and livable for more people.

That means working closely with the housing authority of the city of Annapolis or Hacka to modernize communities, improve housing conditions, and with other zoning changes, make more of Annapolis accessible and enjoyable for more residents.

It includes coordination around broader redevelopment efforts, including work that can help connect housing, infrastructure, and public space, and opportunity in a way that better serves families and neighborhoods.

We also need to recognize the importance of our maritime culture and our working waterfront.

Annapolis is not just a place to look at the water.

It's a place where people make a living on the water through boating, marine trades, charter operations, and the small businesses that support them.

With projects like City Doc, we're creating an environment where our maritime economy can thrive, and preserving it is a core part of who we are as a city.

Yet there's more work to be done.

As we think about our future, we also need to plan for where and how to efficiently deliver government operations.

For example, our release at 145 Gorman Street, which houses planning and zoning, public works and human resources, is coming to an end.

It's expensive because we don't own it.

Meanwhile, we've maintain a portfolio of old buildings that are increasingly expensive to maintain.

We had four buildings last summer that lost AC.

Yet we own land on Spa Road that could be redeveloped.

I would like this council to weigh the pros and cons of a consolidated government center to save taxpayer money and improve public access to city operations.

It is not in this year's budget, but by next year, we need to reach a consensus vision with public input on how to move forward.

On quality of life issues, let me share some of the work funded in this budget across the wards.

Ward one, of course, we have City Doc, but we also have critical water and sewer infrastructure projects on East Street, King George Street, College Av, with some of those lines more than a century year or century old.

In Ward 2, we have, of course, the Robert East Park is continuing.

But this public park on College Creek has been delayed by winter storms and soft spots in the soil, and that requires additional stabilization.

This park will not only provide public water access, it's gonna be the site of a memory for beloved community member.

This budget adds $500,000 to the existing six million dollars previously allocated because we are honoring a commitment commitment to invest in communities that have historically been overlooked.

Ward three, we'll see major sidewalk and drainage improvements, connecting gaps in pedestrian infrastructure, and improving accessibility across multiple streets.

Ward four, Annapolis Walk, a community in Bywater.

We'll soon see resurfaced multi-sport courts and additional parking to better support that community.

Ward five will see sidewalk improvements along Spa Road, helping better connect the Forest Drive Corridor to get to downtown.

In Ward 6, we're repairing traffic and pedestrian infrastructure on Bay Ridge Ave and Barbud Lane to improve safety and stormwater drainage.

Barbud Lane was an issue back when I was a city council member many, many years ago.

Finally, hopefully getting to it.

Sorry, didn't mean to cut off the applause.

Thank you.

And we're gonna do that while cooperating with the housing authority with its Choice Neighborhood Initiative, a program to reimagine Eastport Terrace and Harbor House into a mixed use, mixed income community.

Ward 7, obviously, we have a work at Cars Beach.

It's not only going to be a public publicly accessible beach, but also a place to honor African American history and the two enterprising women who turned the ugliness of Jim Crow into a beautiful Chesapeake Bay destination for families on the western shore.

And this is something we heard together.

We're also investing in speed cameras and sidewalks along Edgewood Road as requested by residents.

Flooding at street and parks in Esport is a big challenge.

Where tidal backflow at the Maritime Museum, Second Street, and other street ends regularly create inundations.

We will move some of these projects from design to construction in this year's capital budget.

The city code requires a balanced budget, and I have delivered that to you tonight, just within the last half hour, perhaps.

Before I became mayor, I ran a budget.

I managed that budget and knew where every dollar came from and where it went.

A municipal government budget is on a different scale, but I approached the work with our budget team using that same philosophy because managing taxpayer dollars is fundamental to being to doing the job as your mayor.

Unlike cities in most states, though, Annapolis does not receive a share of sales tax revenue, and our revenue from tourism-related taxes is fairly limited.

So maintaining city services, making investments, and moving the city forward within the constraints of the city's tax base is a challenge.

We have approached this budget by prioritizing our expenditures and being disciplined in not only taming our wish list, but cutting expenses that do not align with our top priorities.

In our capital project's budget, we remain under our debt limit, which will help us maintain our high bond rating.

And I'm excited to share, Harry, Alderman Huntley, we've used pay-go money, essentially cash on hands, rather than borrowed money for sidewalks.

And this proposed budget and this proposed budget does not raise property tax rates.

That is intentional.

Forgive me for using first name.

I meant to use Altimate Huntley.

In my proposal you want as long as you fund the sidewalks.

There we go.

In my proposal, while we were not able to fund the cost of living allowance or COLA in this in this year for city staff, we have fully funded merit increases for all staff who meet or exceed performance standards.

That said, union negotiations are ongoing, so if the city secures a different outcome during negotiations, then I or any alder person would need to introduce an amendment to match those terms.

That would either mean cutting services elsewhere, raising taxes, or using that paygo money.

I am sure we will have a lively debate.

As members of City Council begin to dive into the numbers over the next few weeks, I want to thank them and remember the incredible amount of work done by a team that is largely behind the scenes.

Please join me in thanking our budget team led by the list of few people, so let's hold applause for a moment.

Please join me in thanking our budget team led by acting city manager Vicky Buckland, acting finance director Joel Plackle, Deputy Finance Director Karen Ajay, and our budget analyst Capri Turner, I think I saw Capri earlier.

I think I saw Capri earlier.

There we go.

Capri, thank you.

And budget team members Darren Johnson and Suzanne Flattery.

Thank you.

We appreciate all the time and energy that you put into getting the numbers right and the difficult conversations you have with department directors to push back on their expenses.

Work on the budget is a year-round process with a hard deadline that ended oh one hour ago.

Thank you.

Now I know I just mentioned Vicky Buckland, but I'd like to give her a second shout out.

She stepped into the role of acting city manager last May.

On Friday, we announced nominees for city manager Yolanda Lewis and City Attorney Tony Cooper Smith.

And they'll be on this council uh before the council for confirmation tonight, and I'll say more then.

But back to Vicki.

Vicki, you've held down the fort for almost a year.

It'll be a year by the time you actually get to go back to your the role that you're looking forward to going back to.

And I've seen over the past four months not only how hard you work, the time and dedication you put into this role, but how thoughtful and good you are at the job and solving problems.

I know you will be an important asset to the new city manager, Yolanda Lewis.

Let's give it up for Vicky.

Our federal partners have really come through for us.

Senator Chris Van Holland, Senator Alsa Brooks, Congresswoman Sarah Elfrith are always champions of Maryland's Capital City.

And in the state, Governor Moore, Senator Shanika Henson, delegates Dana Jones, and Dylan Baylor, who finished their work in about three and a half hours, have delivered to Annapolis the following.

Lost my notes here.

100,000 and the five 500,000 that is coming to the city to support Hacker Properties, Capital Projects.

County County Executive Stuart Pittman and his team have also helped fund the welcome center at City Doc and numerous other projects.

And oh, sorry, out of order.

And 100,000 for a fully combined explosive storage vessel for the Annapolis bomb squad.

Do not ask what's been happening up till now without that uh storage vessel.

To deliver on these prop priorities, leadership matters.

In closing, four months is not a long time.

In the 377-year history of Annapolis, it's the blink of an eye.

But it is enough time to set a direction.

We are building a city that works for the people who live here, for the people who work here, for the people who invest here, and for the people who want to feel safe here.

A city that is responsive, a city that is predictable, a city that earns your trust.

There is more work ahead, and there always will be, but the direction is clear.

We are doing the work every single day to make sure this city works for you.

Because at the end of the day, this is your city, and Annapolis should work for you.

Thank you so much for your time this evening.

And Miss City Attorney, if you can please slowly present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda.

Do I hear a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved.

Video.

Sorry, we were not ready to move on to the next item on the agenda.

Will you please give your attention to one of the screens so we can enjoy the video that Julian has been hard at work with with the help of Mitchell, our PIO.

When I launched my campaign in January of twenty twenty four, I set out to build a supportive, diverse, inclusive, and effective team.

We want to focus on what matters most, how we can together make Annapolis work better for everyone.

A strong, well-run city depends on all the systems working well together.

Because when we work together, Annapolis works.

That was great.

Often for our presentations, I get a preview ahead of time.

I didn't have a preview for that once.

That was my first shot.

Great job, uh Mitchell and and Julian.

Okay.

Did I forget anything else before moving on?

All right.

Now I'm a city attorney.

Please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is approval of the agenda.

Thank you.

At the time I entertain a motion to approve the agenda.

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman uh Shandelmeyer.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

Motion passes.

Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is petitions, reports, and communications, beginning with the reports by committees.

Thank you.

Any uh chairs of committees wish to present a Alderwoman O'Neill and then Alderman Savage.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Mayor.

Um we have a public safety committee meeting next Wednesday at 445 here in council chambers.

But I wanted to give a quick shout out to both our fire and police department.

As last week, our fire department departments um graduated eight cadets um in their newly formed cadet program, um, which is really amazing because there are eight cadets that could possibly be employees of the city of Annapolis um within the next year or so.

And the police department had an equally um amazing um retirement and promotion ceremony on Thursday evening, where were recognized either for promotions or retirements um in the city.

So it was really amazing to be able to honor all of those folks that are doing such great work.

So thank you for that.

Alderman Savage.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh yes, so environmental matters, we needed to reschedule last week's meeting uh so we could have staff uh attend, and so we rescheduled it to this Thursday, 3 p.m.

We're gonna be hearing uh the uh moring ball legislation.

Blank it on the number right now.

Um and then we'll be getting the the normal update on resilience and sustainability.

Any questions for Alderman Savage?

Alderman Thorpe and then Alderman Huntley.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh the audit committee met March 16th and approved the audit and the 2025 single audit report.

I want to compliment the acting director of finance, Joel Polcall, and the acting city manager, Vicky Bucklin, as well as Karen and Sean for their work on the audit.

Uh, they did a great job completing the 2025 audit and the single audit report.

We received an unmodified clean opinion that the financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects and conformity with U.S.

generally accepted accounting principles or GAP.

Additionally, along with the audit, the city annually receives a single audit report, which reports on the compliance for each federal uh each major federal program.

The city also received an unmodified clean opinion for 2025 that the city complied in all respects uh with the types of compliance requirements that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major federal programs.

Again, the audit committee has has approved the audit and the consent agenda tonight.

This uh includes the city accepting the audit.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alderman.

Thorpe.

Alderman Huntley.

Well, the finance committee doesn't have a lot of work on its plate right now.

We're keeping things pretty light.

Uh that was a joke.

But I left, I got it.

Um Thursday is really the operative thing for the public to know that we'll be having a work session.

This is actually a full council work session at 5 p.m.

But the mayor's team will walk through the budget.

So anybody who's looking to have a more in-depth understanding of it, that's really the place to start.

We'll then follow that up with about three weeks' worth of hearings where the finance committee will meet three or four days a week for the next three weeks, starting next week to dig into each department.

And then uh the other notable uh thing in the short term is that on the 30th, I believe it is.

This Thursday, 16th, yeah, 30th, we'll have another work session.

We were where we will go through debt affordability and the CIP.

So for the public looking to chat tune in, start with Thursday at 5 p.m.

That's an amazing amount of work, and I appreciate you uh uh Alderman Huntley as chair and Alderwoman O'Neill and Alderman Thorpe for uh making that much time to uh do your due dil do your due diligence.

Thank you.

Any other uh chairs of committee members, Alderman Smith Brown?

Yes.

So um our committee, our rules and city government committee met on April the 2nd 2026, where we had uh daycare providers join us as we were reviewing the uh ID 3026 in our agenda, um, children's families grants, as well as zero um oh, excuse me, one twenty-six, the property tax child care centers, family child care homes and large family.

Um now with the daycare providers, we had uh two guests join us.

One was uh Diego, um, who spoke about his little one's child care center uh that he has here uh in Annapolis.

He is opening that up at Calvary, which is a church locally off of 301 Rao Boulevard.

He talked about the process uh that has been offered by the city and how um awesome this process has been for him to open up this child care center with his, and we'll talk about this a little bit later when we talk about the legislation itself, um, with his um experience uh of over 15 years, his family and over five years, uh he's been a teacher.

Uh he shared with us that he would be um very supportive of the uh child talk tax care child care tax credit.

Um we also had uh Jennings Janik Smith, who is a resident, I believe actually, uh she has a child care center in my ward.

Uh she has the little lines of Judah and Ward 3.

Uh she also shared her interest and support for this legislation.

Uh, based off the feedback of those two and any others who provided that, um, our committee has provided a recommended favorable uh as amended.

Uh so the three amendments that you see tonight have all been recommended favorably uh from us.

Um we also had uh a children family success grant, acting city manager.

Thank you, uh city manager Buckland, um, as well as the community engagement administrator and director Young and social work care coordinator Lee.

Uh, they were present to answer uh questions that we had.

The background uh is that this is a program that helps to enhance children after school programs through summer months uh as well.

Uh and so if anyone's interested in this, if you have a nonprofit or an organization, you're more than willing to apply for this.

Um, and that's uh majority of what we spoke of.

Uh our next meeting will be Thursday, May 7th at 6 30 p.m.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Any questions for that alderman?

No.

Any other committee reports?

Okay.

The uh next time uh next item on the agenda, please.

Next item on the agenda is comments by the general public.

Okay, we don't have anyone signed up to speak today, but if you'd like to come to the podium and address the council, now is your time to do so.

Feel free to come on up.

And if there's anyone else that uh wants to speak next, feel free to line up along the window so we can move you fish.

Can you go to the podium right over there, please?

Thank you.

Let's start with your name and address, please.

Uh my name's Chris Bird.

My address is two Silapano Road, Annapolis.

Thank you.

Perfect.

Um thank you all for what you do.

Um I'm just wondering uh two things.

Um before the parking all went to an app, um, city residents used to get a couple hours to go shopping and eat now, all that.

And I'm just wondering, I'm 66, I'm not really good with you know all this.

I've tried.

Um, is there a discount for city residents anymore?

So I am very happy to answer your question with the good news that you still get all residents get two hours free every single day.

And so you can start.

I'm gonna try to give you the really abbreviated, but maybe I shouldn't be so abbreviated because I want to make sure everyone understands it.

We the city has four garages, and you get this two hours free at each of those four garages.

The city operates three of those garages parkplace, Goths, and night in.

When you go to Annapolis uh.gov, if you search for uh Annapolis parking, you'll get redirected to a second website that spells all this out.

For all three of those garages, there's one code that you get.

It's uh SP Plus is the is the operator, and they use Metropolis as the app.

You get a single code that works for all three.

If you go to the website, it'll explain it in more details.

That fourth garage, which is Hillman, right next door, is operated by a different entity.

Premium parking is the app that they use.

And so you get for that one, you get a code.

But with improvements, a couple things I want to point out.

All four garages are drive in and drive out.

Let me say that's different.

Let me just say that again.

The three garages I talked about initially, Goss Park and Knighton, drive in, drive out.

And you uh once you drive in, you put in your code and it takes the discount off of however much you stay until you don't get penalized.

Currently, Hillman Garage, when you drive in, you put your code in and you get two hours free.

The improv one of the improvements is that code is now saved to your account.

So once you set up your account, you put the code in once, it's there every time.

That is still a prepaid account, though.

So if you think you're gonna be there for three hours, you get your two hours free, and you add one hour of parking, so you only pay for that one hour.

I am working very hard along with the colleagues and along with administration to get premium parking to be post-paid like the other three, meaning you don't have to estimate how much time allows.

All three apps allow you to add time as the longer you stay there.

I also want to say one other thing.

You mentioned your age.

We tried a pilot uh in early March to early April called Golden Pass parking, and that allowed any senior age 62 and older, resident or non-resident, to get two hours free parking every single day during the pilot on Main Street, Maryland Ave, and Hillman Garage.

It worked well enough to go to another pilot, and so I'm sharing the news now, debating whether to include it in my speech because it's not we don't have all the um details worked out, but we're gonna relaunch that from May 1st for three months.

So again, that's I got timed out.

So again, for Golden Pass parking, it might be younger, might be uh younger than 62.

That's some of the details that haven't been worked out, but at least age 62 and older, city resident or not city resident, will be able to again be able to pay for parking at home before you leave the house by phone or by website, no apps needed.

And once you pay a one payment, it was $20 a month.

I think we're keeping that $20 a month.

You can you're you have unlimited um two hour per day parking.

So if you sign up for one month, you pay $20.

Every day for 30 days, you can park for free for two hours.

Again, Maryland Ave, Main Street, and Hillman Garage.

But now we're doing it for three months.

Longer answer than you were expecting.

Yeah.

Um, so um what was the website again?

I I have the Annapolis.gov.

Mitchell, if you want oh, though you're I'm gonna be I have the city website, I mean the parking garage app.

Yep, somebody gets that to you right now.

I'm gonna get safety or put some better accurate information.

Mitchell Stevenson, PIO for the city of Annapolis, it's Annapolis Parking.com.

And then you're gonna go to Complimentary Parking Validations.

You just put that in the search bar.

But if you want, I'm gonna walk over and share the URL with you.

Okay, thank you.

That's that's that's you've been very kind.

Uh I have one more quick question.

Good.

I live on like right off, I live on Silapana, uh, right on a corner off Spa Road.

And there's a sidewalk there, and um, I mean, I see I know the city has some form of budget, like they have flags, they do art, you know, they did they even painted my little wall on my corner.

So um I'm just wondering, I'm trying to clean up that area there and want to beautify it and plant some cherry trees and things.

I'm wondering if there's any kind of thing there along spa, it's along SPA Road there, um, across from the apartments.

Um, is there any kind of like help with my I mean could the city bring a crew by and I I'll cut everything down and they stick it in a truck and take it off away or something?

I I don't know.

Is there any kind of help with that for so that's gonna be a longer answer, and I'm gonna suggest that you connect with uh uh Acting City Manager Buckland um offline.

But I spawned road is not a city road, but to so it's the state road.

So we have for the road itself, I'm not sure how helpful we can be, but perhaps we can figure out something to uh take advantage of uh a volunteer spirit and um make something happen.

But I don't want to oh please I didn't realize because I was you said something about the spa road beautification curbing and something earlier.

I don't know.

Again, I'm gonna be saved by someone who's smarter than me.

The email address is Ombudsman or Annapolis.gov.

Yeah, I got that.

That's your send very much for take taking my ticket great.

Thank you.

Please start with your name and address.

Hi, I'm Diane Gentilette, and I live at 137 Stilly Way, which is in the Parks High Preserve at Quiet Waters.

Hopefully y'all are familiar with that.

New neighborhood.

Um I've been we've been there for a year.

We moved here from uh Bethesda, so it's it's all this is all new to us, all this stuff.

We do get the two hours of free parking, which I appreciate.

Um, but our neighborhood has not yet been turned over to the city of Annapolis, even though our road is city of Annapolis.

So we don't get any of those other nice things like snow plows or trash removal, any of that stuff.

We pay for all that ourselves.

Um and last week, the development and association in conjunction with the city put up no parking signs in our entire neighborhood.

The whole single family part of it has no parking at all anymore, and there's only 39 spots in the entire neighborhood for we have 130 homes.

Uh so there's no place for residents to park.

There's no place for construction people to park contractors, you know, there's there's just no parking.

Um, you know, our daughter drops off her baby every day for us to baby set.

There's no place for her to park.

You know, it's just we live two miles from the closest parking garage.

It's not like we're in the city where we can just park in the garage or on a city street.

There's just no parking.

And so um, my questions are you know, I understand that it's uh I did speak to the fire marshal's office, they were very responsive.

Whoever that is, thank you for your response.

Um, and they suggested that I talk to the uh traffic engineer um about possibly making it a one-way road and allowing parking on one side of the street.

Uh that person did not respond to me.

Um so I would like to know like how we can go about working this out, and also I'm really curious as to why the city approved the site plan by the developer.

Um I understand why the developer did it.

They're trying to make a lot of money.

I don't understand why the city approved a neighborhood with no parking.

You know, it's just not viable.

And I, you know, I'm all about public safety and fire fire access, and I think that's great.

I think it's important, great.

It's great that Annapolis is making sure that it's safe.

I just think we gotta find a way to make the developer put in some parking spots.

Um they're also adding 10, I think 10 new houses.

So, you know, without any plan for this, I would like to see about the possibility of pausing that development until the developer addresses the parking situation.

Uh like the last person, if you write to an umbudsman at annapolis.gov, our ombudsman will be in touch with you.

The email address again is ombudsman om B U D S M A-N at Annapolis.gov.

Okay.

For all of those questions.

Yep.

Sounds a little like I'm being put on the page.

So this okay.

This is a public hearing, so this is where we can receive information.

It's not where we have everyone assembled already ready to answer everyone's questions.

Yeah.

There you're the your questions you raised are complicated.

And so rather than try to uh fake an answer, like we'd like her to have the opportunity to get you a more detailed answers.

Okay, thank you.

Mr.

Mayor, yes, Alderman Savage.

Ma'am she ma'am, uh you you have my card now.

Um please get in touch, I'll be happy to help you out.

Okay, anyone else wish to speak during the general comment period?

We have one separate public hearing after this that's separate.

Okay.

Not seeing any uh motion in chambers.

I declare public hearing uh to be concluded.

Uh Ms.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is public hearings beginning with the charter amendment charter amendment 126, updating requirements for publication of the charter and code of the city of Annapolis.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone wishing to speak on CA1 standing requirements for publication?

Please come to the podium now.

Seeing no motion in chambers, I declare the public hearing closed.

And please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is a public hearing on ordinance 626 oversight of the city's firing range.

Is it sorry?

Is that um getting referred to the committee?

This is just the public hearing.

Okay.

Anyone wish to speak for the public hearing for 0626?

Seeing no motion in chambers, declare the public hearing closed.

Okay, Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is approval of the consent calendar.

The items on the consent calendar include uh beginning with journals of proceedings, CCM 3926, the regular meeting minutes, CCM 32326 special meeting minutes, moving on to fund transfers.

We have FT726, a transfer um the enterprise funds transferring 25,000 dollars from the stormwater sewer and water funds to the standard specs and construction detail project.

Next is FT 1026 debt services, um non-allocated mayor salaries and benefits and the amount of 36,300.

This budget revision transfers 36,300 of appropriations from the non-allocated debt service account to the mayor's office salaries and benefits account.

Uh the next item on the consent calendar is the council acceptance of ID 7026, which is a fiscal year 2026 City of Annapolis audit report.

That's the end of the consent calendar.

Thank you.

Is there any objection to the consent calendar?

Alderman Savage.

Mr.

Mayor, I would like to remove FT 1026.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Okay.

I'd entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar as amended to remove FT 1026.

So moved.

Thank you.

General Meyer is there a second.

Second.

Thank you.

Um Madam City Clerk, please call the roll.

Yes.

Alden Savage.

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Alderman Huntley.

Aldwoman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman's Brown.

Aldwoman Alsip Johnson.

Aye.

Alma Channel Meyer.

Aye.

Aldwoman Conte.

Aye.

Thank you.

Okay.

Uh Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is business miscellaneous item that was just removed from the consent calendar.

The fund transfer FT 1026.

Thank you.

Uh interchain any motion to accept FT 1026.

Thank you, Alderman.

Channel Meyer is there a second.

Second.

Thank you.

Um discussion.

Alderman Savage.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Yeah, I just wanted to pull this off because I thought it warrant some warranted some context.

Um so I know we had some disagreement on the original proposal, and I did not support the original proposal, but uh just explain my vote.

I do I will support this tonight because it I see it more as a uh uh transfer as far as how to pay for the position that was already authorized with our last vote.

Um so that's my explanation for tonight.

Very good.

Thank you.

Any further discussion?

Okay.

All those in favor of the budget transfer, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Thank you.

The motion carries.

And Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is legislative actions on first reader beginning with fiscal year 2027.

Budget ordinance 0826, annual budget and appropriation and property tax levy for the purpose of adopting the city budget comprising the annual operating budget for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027.

The capital budget for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027, capital improvement program for the fiscal years ending June 30th, 2028, June 30th, 2029, June 30th, 2030, June 30th, 2031, and June 30th, 2032, appropriating funds for all expenditures for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30th, 2027, levying and imposing a property tax for the use of the city of Annapolis for the taxable year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30th, 2027, and fixing the rate of city the city property tax for the taxable year.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt 0826 on first reader?

So moved.

Second.

Alderman Thorpe.

Thank you for the second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

The motion carries, and I refer 0826 to the planning commission, the finance committee, and the financial advisory commission.

Ms.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

I'm sorry, Alder Woman O'Neill.

Um, I have a question about um the 0826.

And um, I would like to formally request that we have one more year of printed budget books.

I believe that a printed budget book is a much easier and more thoughtful way for especially our new council members to approach this year's budget.

I get that it takes a lot of paper and time and energy.

Um, but it's really hard to really get a good grasp of the budget by just looking at it online.

Appreciate the question.

It's a more complicated answer.

It's not just about saving uh paper, and so I'm gonna ask the uh acting finance director to give a more thorough answer of why it's not as simple a request as it might sound.

Um yeah, to be able to speak to that, it really comes down to the technology that we have.

We load everything into open gov, and currently the PDF capability out there requires the team to manually update each individual page.

Um it is something that we can explore for sure.

Uh, I don't want to immediately just say no, but uh, I would love to just make sure that people understand that it is a large manual effort that would command a lot of time from the team and has historically taken significant effort from the budget team to pull together.

Wetten uh we are very proud just to speak to open govern the format that's been created.

The budget team spent a lot of time there to make it very accessible and very uh easy to use and managing through hyperlinks to get into the various uh data points.

So uh happy to help people get more acclimated to that as well.

So just a couple points to emphasize.

It is not as simple as just as if this was a PDF that we could just hit print and make the binder.

So that does that it does not exist in that format to do that.

So to just reiterate and emphasize it would require lots of time and resources, and if this council directs it, uh directs him to do so.

I think he can accomplish that.

But I want you all to have the context of we are asking our city employees all the time to get up to speed on new technology and new systems to make things cheaper, faster, more predictable, um, more consistent so we don't have old old versions of things.

And so we are if we were asking them to put in that effort, not only is it hard and complicated and time consuming, it's also inconsistent with what we're asking our city staff to do to get up to speed with new processes.

Then I would respectfully request that on our work session on Thursday.

There's a very good tutorial because in the past it has not been intuitive for us to find the information we were looking for in open gov.

It's been really difficult, and that's even coming from somebody who feels like I'm pretty computer competent.

As a first-time user of OpenGov with this, it was really really great, and I think the team's done a really great job to make it intuitive and make it so that you can drill down.

So I'm looking forward to actually having that tutorial.

I think it would be really really helpful for everyone.

Thank you.

So, yes, you will get that tutorial, right?

Yep, on Thursday.

Okay, thank you.

We could also revisit this as we go.

If it's not working, we we need to make it work.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any further okay?

Next item on the agenda.

I'm sorry, the next item on the agenda is fiscal year 2027 budget resolution R 1026, the fiscal year 2027 annual fees schedule.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt our 1026 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Huntley.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

The motion carries.

I refer R 1026 to the Finance Committee and the Financial Advisory Commission.

And Mr.

Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is fiscal year 2027 budget resolution R1126, which is fiscal year 2027 annual find schedule.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R1126 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Huntley.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Uh all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

The motion carries.

I refer R 1126 to the Finance Committee and the Financial Advisory Commission.

Ms.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is fiscal year 2027 budget resolution R 1226 fiscal year 2027 position classification and pay plan.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 1226 on first reader?

So move.

Thank you, Alderman Thorpe.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say no?

Motion carries.

I refer R 1226 to the Finance Committee and the Financial Advisory Commission.

Mr.

Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution 826 fee waivers for city supported special events in fiscal year 2027.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 826 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Thorpe.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

Motion carries.

I refer R 826 to the finance committee.

Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution 926, the filing of the grant application with the Maryland Transit Administration.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R926 on first reader?

So move.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Is there a motion to suspend the rules to allow passage of the resolution at the meeting at the on the uh of its introduction?

So moved.

Thank you.

Second.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Just for before we ask for a vote, um, can we have someone from the administration discuss the the reason?

More specifically, there not you don't need to explain the whole grant, just why we're suspending the rule, why we're being asked to suspend the rules tonight.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Marcus Moore, Director of Transportation and Parking.

Do I deputy director?

Thank you.

This is a uh normal process for us to operate our transit system that we go through each year, and suspending the rules will allow us to move forward quickly with um this resolution to get uh to obtain these uh grant funds uh for operation.

Uh Dr.

Door, do you want to add anything else?

Good everything.

So uh I certainly understand we all understand that suspending the rules allows you to move quickly.

Why is that important?

Why can this not wait?

To get the money um as we need to operate, uh, because it once we go through this um this step, this process going to second reader to actually vote on it.

Uh just takes us a little longer into the process of going back to the M DOT MTA to get our funds.

In addition to that, uh the deadline has actually come and gone.

Uh there was one federal report that we couldn't get on time.

So sending their resolution allow us to submit it very quickly because it takes time for MTA to actually review the entire application as you see it here.

Okay.

Anyone have questions for our staff?

Okay.

Thank you both.

Appreciate you.

Okay.

We have the motion.

It's been uh it's been seconded.

Any further discussion?

Okay, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Is there a motion to adopt R926 on second reading?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Chandelmeyer.

Is your second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

Madam City Clerk, please call the roll.

Yes, sir.

Mayor Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Savage.

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley.

Aye.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Aldwoman Alsip Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Shannemeyer.

Aye.

And Alderman McConte.

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I believe the motion carries.

Ms.

City Attorney, please call the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution 1326, compensation of acting city manager Victoria Buckland.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 1326 on first reader?

I think I heard Alderman Thorpe first.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Is there a motion to suspend the rules?

So moved.

Thank you, Waldeman.

Alderwoman O'Neill, excuse me.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Before we get to um vote, I just want to explain.

So city code allows the mayor to appoint someone to an acting position for six months.

Once we get past up to that six month uh time period, then the city council has to approve uh any extension that prevents a mayor from just um avoiding the consent process of uh naming someone to uh to fulfill a permanent position, and so that's what we're doing here tonight.

Um as we talked about earlier, uh acting city manager Bucklin was first nominated last May, so she already had an extension six months later, and now we're coming up to when we're up to the last six months.

This uh increase in pay is only until such time until we have a new city manager, which we uh believe will be very very soon.

Um, but until uh because it's just like a three-week window where it's we're past six months before the start of someone new, so that's why we're here today.

So um thank you for my indulgence of explaining why we're why we're here doing this.

All right, all that said, is there um we already had it the discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye, thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 1326 on second reading?

So moved.

Thank you.

Madam City Clerk, please call the roll.

Aye, Alder Savage, aye, Alderman Thorpe.

Aye, Alderman Huntley, aye, Aldwoman O'Neill.

Aye, Alderman McBrown.

Aye, Aldwoman Alsip Johnson, aye.

Alderman Shandelmeyer, and Alderman Conte.

Aye, thank you.

Thank you.

Miss City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution 1426 to confirmation of Anthony TK Cooper Smith as city attorney.

Thank you.

Is there a motion uh to adopt R 1426 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Chandemeyer.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, the motion carries.

Uh is there a motion to suspend the rules to allow the passage of this resolution at the time of its introduction?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderwoman.

Uh O'Neal, is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

And if you'll indulge me for some discussion, uh, I'm certainly proud proud to present two public servants tonight, and we'll get to city manager in a second.

Before I move on, though, just like I did for um acting city manager Buckland.

I want to take a moment to pause and thank Acting City Attorney Berger, who loves the spotlight.

As much as City Manager Buckland.

City Attorney, I think I said the full time.

Acting City Attorney Berger, you've done an outstanding job stepping in, frankly, frankly, mostly at a moment's notice, and it's been seamless.

When I was discussing with new city manager candidates, for instance, and new city attorney candidates, for instance, I was always able to say this is not a department on fire.

This is a very stable department, and that's really thanks to you for ensuring that all of the legal issues, all the litigation that we've had, uh, our council meetings, everything has been perfectly seamless, and I'm just really impressed with the job that you've done, and I continue to be impressed with your legal skills and judgment.

Um thankful that you're you'll be continuing in our city attorney's office, and I have a hundred percent confidence you will be a huge asset to our next city attorney.

So thank you very much.

Anthony Cooper Smith is nominated to be our next city attorney.

Mr.

Cooper Smith's career path has prepared him to be our city attorney on day one.

He understands land use, zoning, environmental law, both as a former county attorney in Talbot County and an attorney here in private practice in private practice here in Annapolis.

He's an Annapolis resident who brings a collaborative spirit and a sharp results-oriented legal mind to help us lead the office of law.

Tony is here tonight in one of the first of many city council meetings.

Hopefully, please stand and be recognized.

Thank you.

Appreciate everyone's indulgence.

So uh we have the motion to suspend the rules.

Some any other discussion.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed.

Motion carries.

Do I have a motion?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those uh any discussion.

Okay.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any nays?

The motion carries.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

We look forward to uh seeing you as our next city attorney.

And uh me getting out of order my script made me forget an important detail.

Roll call, please.

Mayor Littman?

Aye, Alderman Savage, Alderman Thorpe.

Aye, Alderman Hatley, aye, Alderman O'Neill.

Aye, Alderman Smith Brown, Alderwoman Alsip Johnson, aye, Alderman Shannelmeyer.

Aye and Alderwoman Conte.

Aye.

Thank you.

Congratulations officially now.

Ms.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution 1526, the confirmation of Yolanda L.

Lewis as city manager.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to confirm?

Yolanda L.

Lewis is city manager.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Is there a motion to suspend the rules to allow the passage of the resolution at this meeting?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman.

Chandelmeyer, is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

And I have a little discussion.

And so first.

Yolanda Lewis is nominated for the position of city manager.

Miss Lewis is a powerhouse in public administration with more than 20 years of experience man managing complex government systems.

From her time as chief administration, administrative officer for Fulton County, Georgia, to her most recent national level strategic work.

She has proven herself as a leader who knows how to improve service delivery and ensure that every tax dollar is used effectively.

She's here tonight, and I welcome her to her first of many council meetings.

Will you please stand and be recognized?

Thank you.

Any further discussion on the motion to suspend the rules?

See none.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Madam City Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Need a motion to adopt on second reader.

There we go.

Then you do a call.

So move.

I'll pick up on it.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Thank you.

And let me just get say the motion fully so we had the rec good record.

Do I have a uh motion to adopt our numbers?

15 or 26 on second reader.

Yes, so moved.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Madam City Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Yes, sir.

Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Savage.

Hi.

Hi.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Alderwoman Alsib Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Shannon Meyer.

Aye.

And Alderwoman Conte.

Aye.

Congratulations and thank you for joining us.

Okay.

Ms.

City Attorney, uh, please call the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is legislative actions on second readers beginning with ordinance 126, the property tax for child care centers, family child care homes, and large family child care homes.

Thank you.

Alderman Shandemeyer, is there a motion to adopt R 126 on second reader?

So moved.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

I believe we have some amendments.

Would anyone like to be uh recognized?

Alderman Shandemaier, do you want to do your go in order?

Motion to move amendment one.

Second.

Thank you.

Uh is there any discussion?

Alderman Chandelmeyer.

Thank you, Ms.

Mayor.

So uh Amendment one scales the tax credit down from ten thousand dollars to four thousand dollars.

There were two reasons for this.

One was the legislation as proposed had a fiscal impact that had some folks uh justifiably a little concerned.

Uh so I did a deep dive into what the potential property taxes these child care facilities would be paying, and the vast majority of them were far below ten thousand dollars.

Uh so by lowering it down to four thousand dollars, we're still providing these uh child care facilities the ability to get a tax cut uh tax credit with some room to grow while lowering that potential uh fiscal impact variable thank you all those in favor.

Oh I'm sorry, any other discussion?

Okay, all those in favor of amendment number one, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed motion carries.

Thank you.

Is there a motion for amendment number two?

Alderman Thorpe.

Uh yes, I'd like to uh move amendment two.

Uh the reason is to second second, thank you.

Discussion?

Thank you.

Uh the reason is uh in an effort to to continue to bring more accountability to the the city, uh that a report be required to uh by the staff to be provided by the city manager to the city council uh as to the results of the program any further discussion, Alderman uh Shandemeyer, then Alderman Savage.

I support this amendment.

Thank you.

Alderman Savage?

I support this amendment.

I just wanted to point out something for the law office to take a look at uh because it seems like we are a little bit inconsistent with who or what we assign some of these reporting duties to.

Sometimes it's to city manager, sometimes it's to a director, sometimes to a department.

Um may just need some further standardization in the future.

Thank you.

Point noted.

I see the uh director Bucklin making notes as we speak.

Any further discussion on amendment number two?

Okay.

All those in favor of motion of amendment number two, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed.

Motion carries.

Alderman Smith Brown, would you like to move um 0126 amendment three?

Absolutely.

I move amendment three.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Any discussion?

Alderman Smith Brown.

Yes, so amendment three was actually in light of the conversation we had with the two guests uh who joined us and just some further thinking.

Uh what this does is it really clarifies that the tax credit will not only go to property owners, uh, but they will also be uh provided a tax credit if you are leasing your property to a state state like licensed or registered child care operator.

Um is Jennique, I believe was her name, who is on our call, as I mentioned, she does live in the ward, uh and she said that she rents uh from this property, uh, and she has this child care facility on the property, and she was concerned that she may not uh be able to do um renovations uh or that the tax credit wouldn't go to the property owner for any renovations, and so we're just clarifying and specifying that that does extend to them as well.

Um that's pretty much the majority of it.

If you take a look at uh the language here, uh it does read quite well, if I do say so myself, thank you, Cynthia, uh, as well.

Uh but yes, that's an overview of the legislation.

Our committee did uh pass this favorably.

Thank you.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I have one question about uh this amendment um that we didn't have a chance to talk about earlier.

Um and that is is there a way that we can ensure that um it's a legitimate daycare renting space from a property owner in order for the property owner to get the tax credits, and can we also ensure that once they have received the tax credit that it's continues to be rented to a child care provider?

Um City Manager Buckland, do you have any Chandelmeyer?

Chandelmeyer, thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

So in order to qualify to get this credit as a landlord, you still need to have a registered licensed child care facility in that property.

Uh and the tax credit only applies to the portion of the property that is being used for child care.

Uh tax credits are applied for annually, so if you can't just apply for it and then cut and run, um it will sunset if the facility closes or if your tenant moves out.

And our rationale for putting this in if an individual if a landlord is renting to uh uh renting a home, a child care facility can be potentially damaging to that home, and they may be discouraged for allowing that.

So this would allow that property owner uh an incentive to allow that type of use, and in larger public centers, we wanted to give uh bigger landlords an incentive where they could uh an incentive to rent out this type of business because every little bit helps uh in order to get this type of facility in.

Thank you.

Mayor, if I may, I actually had that same if I may, Mayor.

Sure, of course, all the time.

I thank you.

I might actually have that same question, which is why uh we look deeper into this this update this amendment.

Um, but so thank you for even bringing that to the floor.

But we definitely discussed this, which is one of the reasons uh why it took some time coming out of committee.

Okay, do that answer your question.

Yes, thank you.

Okay, any other discussion on amendment number three?

Okay.

All those in favor of amendment number three, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, the motion carries.

Before I ask if there's a motion to adopt 0126 on second reader, I want to ask uh the council if anyone wishes to make a motion on whether the uh legislation as amended is considered substantive enough for you that you want to have a uh delay to the next meeting before we get to the next vote.

It would automatically will automatically go to the vote automatically.

Just want to give you all that opportunity.

Okay, seeing no motion.

Is there a motion to adopt 013?

I'm sorry, 0126 as amended on second reader.

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman.

Chandelmeyer, is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

Uh all those in favor of adopting 0126 as amended on second reader, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

Sorry.

Just Alderman Smith Brown.

Um that was a yes vote to be clear.

Um, I was just gonna say add me as a co-sponsor, please.

Thank you.

Very good.

Thank you.

All right.

Um, congratulations, Alderman Chandelmeyer.

Point of order, third reader.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Is there a motion to adopt 0126 on third reader?

Sorry.

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman.

Channel Meyer is your second.

Second.

Uh Madam City Clerk, please call the roll.

Yes, aye.

Alderman Cavage.

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley.

Aye.

Alderman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Shannon Meyer.

And Alderwoman called.

Aye.

Now congratulations, Alderman.

Channel Meyer and Own East Child Care Centers.

I'll forget about our families and children.

Ms.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is ordinance 326, Annapolis Harbor Lines at Hawkins Cove.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt 0326 on second reader?

Thank you, Alderman Thorpe.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

Um is there uh sorry, Alderman Thorpe, would you like to move amendment number one?

Uh yes, please.

Uh what amendment number one?

Yeah.

Yeah, you just have to say I move.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh is there a second?

Any discussion, Alderman Thorpe?

Thank you.

Um what the amendment does is to move the harbor line so that we don't have to come back and do it again to include uh goes quite frankly inbound in inboard towards the shore uh to save time in the future if MDE does in fact uh recommend this way forward.

Any questions or discussion on the amendment?

Seeing none, none.

All those in favor of amendment number one, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

The motion carries.

Any further motions or discussion?

Seeing none again, I'll ask the question.

Um anyone here wish to make a motion um to um to delay vote on second reader because the amendment was substantive, substantive.

Seeing none, I will ask for we'll go right to the vote then.

All those in favor of 0326 on second reader as amended, please say aye.

Aye by aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Is there a motion to adopt 0326 on uh third reader as amended?

So moved.

Thank you.

Alderman Alderwoman O'Neill is there a second.

Second, thank you, madam city clerk.

Please call the roll.

Yes, I may am it.

Aye, Alderman Savage, aye, Alderman Thorpe.

Aye, Alderman Hunt?

Aye.

Alderman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Alderwoman Alsip Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Shannon.

Aye.

Co-sponsor.

Alderman Alderman McConte.

Thank you.

Okay.

Ms.

City Attorney, is please present the next item on the agenda.

The agenda is completed.

Thank you.

Is there anything else for the good of the order?

All right.

Seeing that there is not, uh, is there a motion to adjourn?

Thank you, Alderman O'Neill.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Blessing.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

We're adjourned.

Thank you.

And congratulations again.