Mayoral Initiatives

Investing in Education Innovation

Mayor Rawlings-Blake is committed to investing in innovative programs that support the Baltimore City Public Schools’ efforts to improve academic achievement. Accordingly, she has instituted new educational grants to programs like Teach for America and Experience Corps, which are proven to promote student achievement.

Better Youth Program Coordination

Mayor Rawlings-Blake is also focused on improved coordination of youth programs to empower Baltimore youth to learn more. The Mayor’s “Youth BMore” initiative will ensure all City, State and nonprofit youth-focused agencies are working in concert to maximize learning and earning outcomes for Baltimore City youth.

Enhanced Focus on Gun Violence

Mayor Rawlings-Blake will implement new ways to target gun violence by focusing enforcement efforts on criminals most likely to carry illegal guns and commit acts of violence.

Accelerated Recruitment of New Police Officers

Mayor Rawlings-Blake launched a strategic plan to hire 100 new police officers by the end of 2010 and a record 350 police officers in 2011. The new plan will keep pace with attrition rates and fill funded positions in the Baltimore Police Department budget. The police officer hiring plan calls for additional measures to enhance and expedite the Police Department’s hiring process.

Technology as a Force Multiplier

Mayor Rawlings-Blake will invest in new innovative, proven technologies to improve public safety. Police Officers will have access to state-of the-art technology to help fight crime. Additional smart crime cameras and gunshot recognition technologies will be deployed in areas with historically high rates of crime and violence.

Eliminating Vacant Housing and Blight

Mayor Rawlings-Blake will launch “Vacants to Value”, a new approach to rehabbing vacant homes in Baltimore City that does not rely on taxpayer subsidies to create value. Vacants to Value can be broadly applied and produce outcomes that best address the scale of the vacant housing problem facing Baltimore today. To get results quickly a new enforcement regime will be implemented with citations in amounts up to $900 for vacant buildings.

Boosting Baltimore's Tourism and Image

Mayor Rawlings-Blake secured a 5-year agreement with Baltimore Racing Development (BRD) to allow for an IndyCar® ‘Baltimore Grand Prix’ street-racing event around the iconic Inner Harbor and Camden Yards in August of 2011. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend, making the race a massive economic boost for the City. Over five years, the race is expected to generate $11 million in direct city tax revenue, create nearly 2000 full-time equivalent jobs and $250 million in spending injected into the City’s economy, according to the economic impact report. The race will be broadcast on national television to more than 3.5 million domestic viewers. Related positive media and marketing exposure for Baltimore is valued at an estimated $27.5 million over five years.

B’more for Healthy Babies

This initiative is built on the realization that reducing infant deaths will happen only if people throughout the community play a part – whether it’s the leaders of the key city agencies, physicians, nurses and social workers; community groups and teachers; or fathers, grandmothers, caregivers and pregnant women themselves. For the first time, Baltimore has created a strategic initiative that brings together the right agencies and people to improve an often-fragmented health care system and reach families that are hardest to serve. Collaboration and cooperation among institutions is vital to our goal of reducing infant mortality and improving the health of Baltimore families.

Budgeting for Outcomes

The City will improve upon its efforts to budget for outcomes. Whereas traditional budgets start with last year’s spending and are organized by agency, outcome-based budgets start with the results that matter to citizens and fund programs based on their value in achieving those results.