August 11, 2025 Community Meeting

Video recording of the meeting

Delegate Mark Edelson Discusses the Legislative Session

Delegate Edelson opened by talking about the challenging fiscal picture for Maryland. Since he is on the Appropriations Committee, he is one of the legislators working on the state budget which is required to be balanced every year. They were facing a $3.3 billion deficit and had to figure out a way to close the gap. They did this in a number of ways:

1. Raise taxes on the wealthiest 6% of Marylanders

2. Cut projects and programs unless they are "absolutely necessary" to support Marylanders and drive the economy forward

Delegate Edelson emphasized that the cuts did not affect organizations like the Developmental Disabilities Administration or the public schools (the Blueprint for Maryland has been maintained).

Incidentally, the Baltimore Light Rail is also getting a revamp with new cars and power sources.

Questions asked to the Delegate:

• What can we do to protect our immigrant neighbors?

• How to make sure BGE and DPW are not undoing each other's work?

• What to do about ICE wearing masks which means that people can impersonate them?

• What to do about people with Virginia license plates causing damage on the streets and not paying their fines?

• How can neighbors help identify roads that need attention?

Residents can contact Delegate Edelson by emailing mark.edelson@house.maryland.gov

Pickup and Drop-off Procedures at Patterson Park Public Charter School

The principal of Patterson Park Public Charter School, Miguel Cervantes del Toro, discussed policies at the school and what they have been doing to ensure that children arrive at school and are picked up from school safely while also not holding up traffic. Parents are given the handout shown below which lays out the procedures for proceeding safely.

Baltimore Baby Fund

The Baltimore Baby Fund is a proposed amendment to the Baltimore City Charter which would create a dedicated fund to provide financial support to newborns and their parents. This originally started as the Baltimore Baby Bonus, but their initiative was struck down by the court system as not proper for the city charter. In this election cycle, they have modified their proposal in order to come into compliance.

A proposed charter amendment must gather 10,000 certified signatures from city residents in order to be put on the ballot. The signatures must be ink on paper (digital signatures will not suffice).

You can find out more at https://www.baltimorebabybonus.com/

Community Announcements

We heard from the Baltimore Abolition Movement which is bringing people together in conversation about the Johns Hopkins private police force.

We also got an update about the mural at 156 N. Lakewood. You can check the progress here, and be sure to come to the mural dedication party on October 24!