About the Board of Estimates

Overview

The Baltimore City Board of Estimates is a central governing body overseeing fiscal operations, including budget formulation, contract approvals, and procurement policies. Established by the City Charter, the Board ensures that the city's financial practices are transparent, equitable, and aligned with Baltimore's strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities

Budget Formulation: The Board prepares the annual Ordinance of Estimates, which outlines the city's operating and capital budgets. This ordinance is then submitted to the City Council for approval.
Contract Oversight: It reviews and approves contracts, ensuring that city funds are allocated appropriately and that procurement processes are fair and competitive.
Procurement Policies: The Board establishes regulations governing city procurement, including policies related to minority and women-owned business enterprises, and oversees debarment and suspension procedures.

Role of the City Council President

The President of the City Council is also the chair of the Board of Estimates. The City Council President presides over the weekly Board of Estimates meetings and prepares the President's Memo which lists the agenda items to be considered on the Routine Agenda (items voted upon in aggregate) and the Non-Routine Agenda (items voted upon individually).

Composition

The Board comprises five voting members.

Zeke Cohen, President of the City Council (serves as President of the Board)
Brandon Scott, Mayor
Bill Henry, Comptroller (serves as Secretary to the Board)
Ebony Thompson, City Solicitor
Matthew Garbark, Director of Public Works

This structure ensures a balance of executive and legislative oversight in fiscal matters.

Guidelines for Testimony

Persons wishing to offer oral testimony must sign-in and state their name, the community in which they reside and whether they are testifying on behalf of themselves or an organization for the record.

Written testimony may be given to designated staff at the hearing.

Representing Yourself - Residents who want to testify on behalf of themselves will be limited to a single 2-minute presentation.
Representing an Organization - If multiple people from an organization or affiliated group are present, one representative must be designated to speak on behalf of that organization or group. The representative will be limited to a single 2-minute presentation.

All individuals and organization representatives will be permitted to testify only once. If the individual or organization representative has points they wish to raise that cannot be addressed in the allotted 2-minute time period, they may submit written testimony to the staff at the hearing.

Anyone failing to comply with any of these guidelines may be considered disruptive and asked to leave the hearing room.