11 TV Hill: Conversation with the mayor
IT’S BEEN A YEAR. FACED WITH NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR BALTIMORE CITY THIS MORNING WE TALK WITH MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT ABOUT WHAT MAY LIE AHEAD FOR THE CITY IN 2024, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO CONVERSATIONS SURROUNDING CRIME, UM, AND CRIME REDUCTION. CITY MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT JOINING US THIS MORNING. GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOOD TO SEE YOU, SIR. THERE ARE SOME IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS. I THINK YOU’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET OUT TO FOLKS JUST SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE’S SOME CHANGE IN BALTIMORE AND THAT’S THE HOMICIDE NUMBER. FIRST, TELL ME ABOUT HOW WE ARRIVED TO THIS POINT. RIGHT NOW AND WHAT YOU ATTRIBUTE SOME OF THIS TO. WELL, LISTEN, JASON, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU WERE HERE A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN I SAID WE WERE GOING TO SET A GOAL OF REDUCING HOMICIDES BY 15% IN THE CITY AND PEOPLE SAID THERE WAS NO WAY THAT THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, THAT WE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO BUILD UP A SYSTEM TO DO IT THAT FAST. WELL, WE’RE SEEING A 20% REDUCTION IN HOMICIDES AND AN 8% REDUCTION IN NON-FATAL SHOOTINGS. AND THAT INCLUDES, OF COURSE, THE TRAGEDY OF BROOKLYN. BUT WE GOT THIS WAY BY DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY. WE BUILT A COMPREHENSIVE, THE FIRST EVER COMPREHENSIVE VIOLENCE REDUCTION STRATEGY IN THE CITY OF BALTIMORE, GROWN, GOING THAT OUT FROM THE BOTTOM TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, FOCUSING IN ON OUR FLAGSHIP, THE GROUP VIOLENCE REDUCTION STRATEGY, WHERE WE FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO BE THE VICTIM OF PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE. GO TO THEM, GIVE THEM CHANCES AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE. BUT IF THEY DON’T REMOVE THEM, AND THAT’S A PARTNERSHIP LED BY MY MAYOR’S OFFICE, NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENGAGEMENT, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR STATE’S ATTORNEY AND OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS AS WELL. BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ECOSYSTEM THAT WE’RE GROWING HERE IN BALTIMORE, EVERYTHING FROM VIOLENCE, INTERVENTION, WORK, HOSPITAL BASED RESPONSE, A VICTIM SERVICES, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A COLLABORATION OF GOVERNMENT THAT WE HAVEN’T SEEN IN THE PAST. AND WE SHOULD BE UNDERSTANDING AND HIGHLIGHTING THAT THIS DROP WOULD BE THE SINGLE BIGGEST DROP IN HOMICIDES YEAR OVER YEAR, THAT THE CITY HAS EVER SEEN. YES, WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I’M VERY PROUD OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE’VE MADE. WE HAVE DONE THIS NOT JUST ON OUR OWN. SO THIS THIS GOES OUT TO EVERY POLICE OFFICER, EVERY PERSON THAT WORKS AT MUNCIE, EVERY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION WORKER, EVERYONE THAT WORKS IN OUR PARTNERS IN THE STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, ALSO THE FEDERAL ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS ON THE FEDERAL SIDE, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIKE WE ARE US, ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER UNDERNEATH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WE PRODUCE. AND NOW WE KNOW THAT WE CAN TAKE THIS EVEN FURTHER IN BALTIMORE BECAUSE IT’S NOT JUST THE HOMICIDES AND THE SHOOTINGS THAT ARE DOWN. CARJACKINGS ARE DOWN 20% IN THE CITY OF BALTIMORE. AND WE’VE ACHIEVED TAKEN 2700 PLUS GUNS OFF THE STREET, WHICH IS A 9% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR. BUT I THINK ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL PARTS ABOUT THIS IS THAT WE’RE REDUCING HOMICIDES. JASON, AND YOU SAW THROUGHOUT CONSENT DECREE PARTNERS THAT WE’RE ALSO REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF ILLEGAL ARRESTS MADE BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, GETTING AWAY FROM THAT OLD NARRATIVE THAT THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU COULD DO IT WAS GOING OUT CRACKING HEADS AND DOING THINGS THE WRONG WAY. WHERE WE’RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY IN PARTNERSHIP, POLICE, COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT, EVERYONE WORKING TOGETHER. YOU MENTIONED CARJACKINGS. I THINK THAT’S TOP OF MIND FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO EVEN SAY I’M NOT, YOU KNOW, I’M NOT COMING TO THE CITY. IT’S NOT WORTH THE RISK. THERE WAS A DUDE I TALKED TO RECENTLY. I MENTIONED TO THE GOVERNOR EARLIER WHO SAYS, I’M GETTING A GUN. UM, TELL ME ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING TO TURN THAT AROUND, BECAUSE I THINK THAT’S A BIG ONE FOR PEOPLE AS WELL. I THINK THAT JUST COMING INTO THE CITY IS WORRISOME. YEAH. LISTEN, AND WE KNOW PEOPLE ARE COMING IN, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT, UH, WE OPEN THE CFG BANK ARENA IS NOW ONE OF THE TOP TEN GROSSING IN IN THE IN THE WORLD. WE KNOW THAT OUR ECONOMY IS THE EIGHTH FASTEST GROWING IN THE COUNTRY. PEOPLE ARE COMING INTO BALTIMORE. BUT WE DO KNOW EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A 20% REDUCTION IN CARJACKINGS, THAT WE WANT TO GO EVEN FURTHER. BUT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT SOME CITIES AREN’T SEEING THAT OUR SISTER CITY IN DC HAS SEEN THAT CARJACKING AND HOMICIDES AND SHOOTINGS RISE SIGNIFICANTLY THIS YEAR. AND WE’RE GOING THE OTHER WAY, BUT WE’RE DOING THAT BY FOCUSING, RIGHT, ALLOWING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO FOCUS USING THE TECHNOLOGIES OR LICENSE PLATE READER UNITS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE ARRESTS. AND NOW THAT WE HAVE A GOVERNOR THAT WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE STATE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES ARE INVESTED IN, UNLIKE HIS PREDECESSOR, GOVERNOR MOORE IS AT THE TABLE, AND WE’RE GOING TO WORK WITH HIM AND HIS TEAM TO CORRECT ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SO THAT WE’RE NOT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. MY POLICE OFFICERS AREN’T CONSISTENTLY ARRESTING THE SAME PEOPLE OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR THE SAME CRIMES. TELL ME ABOUT THIS VACANT PLAN, BECAUSE IT IS AMBITIOUS. A $3 BILLION NUMBER IS BIG. AND THEN YOU’RE FORCED TO GO AFTER IT WAS A REVEREND O’CONNOR WHO JUST HELD THE HE HELD THE CROWD TOGETHER THAT NIGHT. YES, HE DID, BUT BUT YOU BUT YOU DID YOUR JOB. BUT TELL ME WHEN IT COMES TO THAT NUMBER, IT IS HUGE. $3 BILLION. IS IT SOMETHING YOU THINK THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE? WE CAN ACHIEVE IT. AND SOME FOLKS HAVE SAID THAT THE PLAN IS TOO BOLD AND TOO MUCH. RIGHT. AND WHAT I WOULD DARE SAY IS THAT WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT HAS PLAGUED THE CITY LONGER THAN YOU AND I HAVE BEEN ALIVE COMBINED, IT HAS TO BE BOLD AND WE CAN USE THOSE SAME THINGS, BECAUSE WHAT YOU HEARD FROM ME AND EVERYBODY AND OUR PARTNERS, AND THIS IS NOT JUST THE CITY, RIGHT? THIS IS THE CITY. THIS IS BUILDING RELIGIOUS PARTNERS. THIS IS PRIVATE PARTNERS. THIS IS GBC AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ALL COMING TOGETHER TO SAY THE SAME THINGS THAT WE’VE DONE FOR HARBOR EAST, THE INNER HARBOR TO HARBOR POINT, USING TIPS. WE CAN USE THAT IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS TO GET RID OF THESE VACANT HOUSES ONCE AND FOR ALL. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT OVER 15 YEARS, JASON AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING THINGS THAT ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW, AS YOU AND I ARE TALKING, BALTIMORE HAS THIS LOWEST NUMBER OF VACANT PROPERTIES IN 20 YEARS, AND THAT NUMBER GOES DOWN EACH AND EVERY DAY THROUGH THE WORK THAT WE’RE DOING WITH HOUSING. AND IN REMOVING ALL OF THOSE THINGS AFTER BEING STUCK AT 16,000 FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, THIS IS TALKING ABOUT TAKING THAT PLAN, THAT THING, THAT WORK THAT HAPPENED EVERY DAY THAT IS WORKING, THAT HAS TAKEN OLIVER AND JOHNSON SQUARE FOR NEARLY ALL VACANT AND NEARLY ALL OCCUPIED. RIGHT. AND TAKING IT TO SCALE, IT’S NEVER BEEN ABOUT WHETHER THE WORK IS BEING DONE. IT’S ABOUT THE CAPITAL. AND WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THAT MONEY ALL AT ONCE. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT INCREASING, LIKE FOR THE CITY. THE CITY HAS SPENT 7 TO $8 MILLION A YEAR ON DEALING WITH VACANCY FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. RIGHT. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT $300 MILLION THAT WE’RE GOING TO PUT UP FRONT FOR THAT, YOU’RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT OVER 15 YEARS, YOU’RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT TAKING IT UP TO $20 MILLION A YEAR. WE KNOW THAT WE CAN DO THINGS. WE ARE ASKING FOR THINGS THAT CAN HELP US, BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES THIS PLAN ADDRESS THE VACANCY ISSUE, IT ALSO ADDRESS ANOTHER ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, AND THAT’S PROPERTY TAXES IN BALTIMORE CITY. WHY IS IT THAT EVERY AMERICAN MAJOR CITY THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE, WHETHER IT’S NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, SAINT LOUIS, WHEREVER THEY GET TO KEEP SOME OF THEIR LOCAL SALES TAX, ALLOWING BALTIMORE TO DO THAT? WELL, NOT ONLY ALLOW US TO KEEP 2% OF THE SALES TAX, WE’RE NOT ONLY ALLOW US TO PULL DOWN ANOTHER BILLION DOLLARS TO DEAL WITH THIS VACANT WORK, EVERY HOMEOWNER IN THE CITY COULD IMMEDIATE WE GET $1,000 OFF THEIR PROPERTY TAXES, PUTTING US IN LINE WITH EVERYONE ELSE. WE CAN DO IT. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, JASON, I WANT THE RESIDENTS OF BALTIMORE TO HEAR ME THAT IF FOLKS ARE TELLING YOU THAT WE SHOULDN’T BE USING THIS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS TO DEAL WITH VACANTS, THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE TELLING YOU IS THAT THEY DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH TIFS. THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH TIFS THAT BENEFIT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE REDLINED, THAT WERE BLACKBALLED, THAT WERE DISINVESTED IN ON PURPOSE. AND THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE AND WHO BENEFIT AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL NOT STAND FOR. AND THE IDEA BEHIND TIFS, WHERE PEOPLE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND, IS BASICALLY YOU’RE MAKING A BET ON THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT IT’S GOING TO WORK. AND IF IT DOESN’T WORK, THAT MONEY COMES BACK AND YOU REINVEST EXACTLY THE SAME BET THAT WE MAKE ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? WHEN WHEN WE WERE DOING HARBOR EAST AND WE DID A TIF, OR WE DID PORT COVENANT DID A TIF, THEY SAY IF YOU INVEST IN THIS ON THE FRONT END, THE CITY WILL BENEFIT IN THE BACK END. RIGHT? THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS THAT NOW WE’RE DOING THAT UPTOWN BECAUSE HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN NEWS STORIES WHEN PEOPLE ARE YELLING AND SCREAMING AT CITY COUNCIL HEARINGS, LIKE, YOU KEEP GIVING ALL THE TIPS, ALL THE INVESTMENT IS GOING INTO DOWNTOWN AND PLACES THAT TOUCH THE WATER. I AM ANSWERING THAT LONG AWAITED CALL FOR EAST BALTIMORE, WEST BALTIMORE, NORTH WEST BALTIMORE AND SOUTH BALTIMORE AND SAYING THAT WE’RE BRINGING THE SAME THING TO YOU BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT. I WAS GETTING WORRIED ABOUT THE ORIOLES DEAL. I WASN’T SURE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I WASN’T YOU WEREN’T WORRIED. I WASN’T THE STARTS AND STOPS. I WAS UNSURE OF WHY. IT SEEMED LIKE A NO BRAINER. THE HOME OF THE ORIOLES. WE’D STAY AT CAMDEN YARDS. TELL ME ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE NOW. WELL, JASON, AS I SAID BEFORE, EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKS ME THIS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, I’VE SAID I HAVE 99 PROBLEMS. AND THE ORIOLES LEAVING BALTIMORE IS NOT ONE OF THEM, BECAUSE I KNEW I KNEW THE DETERMINATION IN JOHN ANGELOS AND HIS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY STAYED HERE IN BALTIMORE. I KNEW THE DETERMINATION OF GOVERNOR MOORE. I’LL CHAIR OF THE STADIUM AUTHORITY, GREG THOMPSON, AND THEIR DETERMINATION TO GET A DEAL DONE. AND I KNEW THEY WOULD GET IT DONE. AND NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT ANOTHER GENERATION OF OF OF BIRDLAND FANS THAT WILL ENJOY THE BALLPARK THAT CHANGED AMERICA. BUT AS I SAID, THE OTHER DAY, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT ALL THE FOLKS THAT ARE GOING TO COME IN AND ENJOY. WE LOVE THAT. BUT IT’S ALSO ABOUT THOSE WOMEN AND MEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THAT STADIUM, THAT LIVE IN THIS CITY, AND THAT NOW ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES. BECAUSE PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THIS. THE ORIOLES ARE ONE OF OUR BIGGEST YOUTH WORK SITES, RIGHT? EVERY YEAR I GO AND TOUR THE STADIUM WITH THE ORIOLES AND THEIR LEADERSHIP, AND WE TALK TO ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE, SOME OF WHICH WHO STARTED AS YOUTH WORKERS AND ARE NOW PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE DON’T THINK ABOUT SOMETIMES WE THINK ABOUT THESE STADIUM DEALS, ALL OF THOSE RESIDENTS WHO WORK THERE WHO DON’T JUST CHEER
11 TV Hill: Conversation with the mayor
Updated: 11:30 AM EST Dec 24, 2023
As the end of 2023 nears, we reflect on what has been a year faced with new challenges and new accomplishments for Baltimore City. We talk with Mayor Brandon Scott about what may lie ahead for the city in 2024, especially when it comes to conversations surrounding crime and crime reduction.
As the end of 2023 nears, we reflect on what has been a year faced with new challenges and new accomplishments for Baltimore City. We talk with Mayor Brandon Scott about what may lie ahead for the city in 2024, especially when it comes to conversations surrounding crime and crime reduction.
