THe City and State Budgets must change

On January 9th at 6pm, we are gathering at Douglas Memorial Community Church to discuss and take action on the Baltimore City Budget, as well as the one in the state of Maryland. Without work and some significant changes at BOTH levels, our schools will remain underfunded for the next ten years!

Public schools in Maryland and Baltimore City are grossly underfunded. It’s time for the Maryland General Assembly and Baltimore's Mayor and City Council prioritize a meaningful solution - one that addresses all aspects of the problem - so that every child and every neighborhood has a great public school. 

We demand that our state legislators recognize:

• Every child deserves the opportunity for a world-class education. The General Assembly must support a revenue package that fixes our upside-down tax code, which now asks the least of those most able to pay.
• They must commit to the investments in the education system in Maryland. For the third year in a row, major reforms to Maryland’s education system will be on the agenda when the General Assembly convenes for its 2020 session we demand they put a stop to tax breaks to special interests that don’t help our economy. 
• The Kirwan Commission’s proposals can succeed only if policymakers back them with sufficient resources. The source for these investments is reform of Maryland’s tax code to make it effective and equitable.
• The Fair Funding Coalition’s proposals are focused on 1) eliminating loopholes and tax breaks that benefit special interests, and 2) fixing our upside-down tax code, which allows the wealthiest individuals to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes.

---

We need to fix our tax system to support significant new state investments in education and ensure that large corporations and wealthy individuals are paying their share for the public services we all rely on.

​We demand that our Mayor and City Councilmembers:

• Prioritize the educational, social and emotional welfare of every child in Baltimore.
• The Mayor must write and the City Council approve a budget package that reverses the pattern of over-spending on ineffective police, criminalization and a "justice system" that is anything but just.
• The Mayor and City Council must commit to investments in high quality public education and appropriate and equitable public services throughout Baltimore City. 
• Admit that the BPD has promised for years to cut waste and corruption within its ranks. We cannot tolerate anything less in the FY2020 budget. Their budget must be right-sized to reflect their actual capacity to improve conditions as evidenced by their past success - and failure
• Stop providing property tax breaks, subsidies or financing in exchange for promises. These deals have historically lacked means to assess compliance or refund subsidies, and have resulted in theft from our economy or and our communities, who shoulder the bill for needed services (police, fire, etc). Be prepared to ask NPOs who have a PILOT Agreement to renegotiate and account for the benefits they offer Baltimore's citizens.
• Recognize that the $330M additional dollars needed to fund the Kirwan Commission’s proposals can succeed only if LOCAL policymakers back them with sufficient resources. The source for these investments is revision of Baltimore's Budget to make it effective and equitable.
• The Communities United’s proposals are focused on 1) permanent annual budgetary redistribution away from the BPD, and 2) investment in public health based solutions to the City's most pressing problems: opioid overdose and addiction, criminalization of poverty, and lack of educational resources and opportunities for Baltimore's families, children and youth.

---