Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is planning to sell off four city-owned parking garages.
The act is expected to be made without the approval of the Baltimore City Council, a move that’s being met with resistance from council president Jack Young.
The mayor has been pushing for years to sell the four garages--located at 11 South Eutaw Street, 22 South Gay Street, 101 South Paca Street and 210 Saint Paul Place--to private companies.
Rawlings-Blake plans to circumvent the council altogether. She announced Monday that she intends to convene a public meeting with the Off Street Parking Commission Thursday to discuss selling the garages. The commission hasn’t met in years, but will be made up of members of Rawlings-Blake’s staff.
The decision would need approval from the Board of Estimates.
Young called the decision “unscrupulous,” saying the mayor should be focusing on other issues in her last weeks in office, such as the DOJ investigation of the police department or on dealing with the city's vacant properties.
The mayor has said the money from selling the garages would be used to bring back recreation centers that have been shut down. Young’s proposal to generate that revenue is to sell the city-owned Hilton Hotel, which he says costs the city money to operate, while the garages bring in revenue.
Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android
