After teachers and students protested, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake adjusted the City's budget so that $4.2 million will fund community and after-school programs.
She described the cuts as "painful," pulling money from city services like public health, graffiti removal and libraries. The next step is for the council to approve supplemental budgets and a clean Ordinance of Estimates.
The mayor slammed the City Council in a press release, saying that coming to a decision was difficult.
"I have welcomed the opportunity to have constructive dialogue about the decisions we had to make, but clearly there is little willingness on the part of the City Council leadership to enter into good faith negotiations to get things done," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "Instead they have relied on pointless rhetoric versus meeting their fiscal obligations to the city."
Rawlings-Blake did introduce other ways of bringing money into the budget. She proposed an increase in the parking tax to help fund the Charm City Circulator. However, the Council may not pass that bill, which could end the Banner and Green Circulator routes and the Purple route extension.
The mayor also said that she takes her role seriously and she doesn't want people to think otherwise.
"One of my major responsibilities is to maintain the city's fiscal bond rating and ensure the city is on sound financial footing, as demonstrated by my track record," she said. "Let me be clear, I care deeply and am passionate about the city's children and to imply otherwise is not based on the facts."
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