BALTIMORE — Thursday night marks 100 days in office for Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott.
The kid from Park Heights who became the leader of the city came in facing a laundry list of issues and a pandemic.
“Throughout the day I often ask myself have I done everything I can to uplift Baltimore? Have I made Baltimore safer?” Scott said.
100 days into Brandon Scott’s administration homicide numbers are down from where they were last year but we’ve still had 57 homicides so far and had 115 non fatal shootings.
“This is unacceptable and this what keeps me up at night. This issue is personal for me. It’s about my friend Dante Barksdale.”
To combat violence Mayor Scott hold/ police stats meetings every other week with BPD.
Including a comprehensive crime strategy, new policies and a gun tracking system that will be up and running soon.
“63% of the guns recovered in Baltimore we originally purchased outside the state of Maryland. That fact is alarming and unacceptable. We will continue to focus on those who commit violence in our city and hold them accountable, but it’s also essential that we focus for the very first time on those bringing weapons into our city.”
The Mayor announced an executive order aimed at helping people get jobs.
“To suspend pre employment drug screenings for public employees in non safety sensitive positions. This is a long overdue first step to increasing opportunities for our hard to employee residents.”
Scott talked about the young people of Baltimore and making sure Baltimore City Agencies take a trauma informed approach to how they interact with city residents.
And addressing how he’s handle the pandemic and re-openings.
“Each and every decision related to COVID-19 was made out of my love for our people. Guided by science, public health experts, and data we were able to formulate a plan to slow the spread of COVID and we have seen real results.”
The Mayor broke down several new policies and resources that are on the way, here’s a full list.
- Launching Open Checkbook to explore City expenditures
- Directing the Finance Department to ensure no one loses their home to tax sale during this pandemic
- Establishing a local language access mandate to provide access to City services in languages beyond English
- Issuing an executive order to suspend pre-employment drug screenings for public employees in non-safety sensitive positions
- Reopening recreation centers on April 5
- Opening the world-class Cahill Fitness and Wellness Center in West Baltimore
- Introducing City Council legislation to reduce the number of false alarm calls BPD responds to in order to prioritize police response to calls demanding most urgent response;
- Committing to leveraging our world-class institutions to ensure residents experiencing behavioral health or substance use crisis receive response from a clinician rather than a police officer
- Implementing a cutting-edge 911 diversion pilot program to send the most appropriate resources when residents call for assistance
- Committing to engaging hotel owners to add more permanent supportive housing to the portfolio of housing options within our community
