Governor Larry Hogan Announces $15.2 Million in New Funding for Baltimore City; Including Baltimore Safe Streets

Also Funds Transportation, Park and Community Center Projects; Part of Historic $5.5 Billion in Local Aid

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today held his sixth Regional Cabinet Meeting at the Shake & Bake Family Fun Center in Baltimore City. The governor was joined by Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, former delegate and Baltimore City Council member Keiffer Mitchell, who served as emcee for the event, as well as more than 40 cabinet secretaries and directors representing agencies across the state, and numerous state and local officials.

At the meeting, Governor Hogan announced $15.2 million in new funding for programs and projects that will directly benefit Baltimore City and its citizens. This includes $5 million in new funding for violence intervention programs, such as the Baltimore Safe Streets initiative; along with $3 million for much needed repairs to the Hanover Street bridge.

“Baltimore City has endured some difficult times, but a strong Maryland depends on a strong Baltimore,” said Governor Hogan. “That’s why, over the past four years, we have been overwhelmingly supportive of the City, providing more than $5 billion in local aid, more than $2 billion for transit projects, and our state investment into Baltimore City’s school system is three-and-a-half times more than the state average.”

The governor allocated $5 million in his upcoming budget for the Maryland Violence Intervention and Prevention Program Fund, which will support effective violence reduction strategies by providing competitive grants to local governments and nonprofits in areas of the state disproportionately impacted by violence. This fund was created by legislation the governor signed earlier this year as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan package of bills aimed at reducing violent crime, including the governor’s historic legislation to toughen sentences for repeat violent offenders and people who commit crimes with a gun.

This funding will be available to support evidence-based programs that use public health principles to prevent gun violence, such as the Baltimore City Safe Streets Initiative. The Safe Streets Initiative employs outreach workers with firsthand experience in the community to intervene with individuals at high-risk of violence and has seen promising results.

“I’m pleased that the Governor has been supportive of the budget priorities we submitted,” said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. “We have many additional needs and appreciate the Governor’s commitment to working with us as we continue to move our City forward. Without question, the prospects for our success depend on a strong partnership with the State.”

Governor Hogan also announced $4 million in funding to the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus (UMB) for the UMB Community Engagement Center on Poppleton Street. Funded through the Seed Community Development Anchor Institution Fund, which is intended to provide grants and loans to qualified anchor institutions to support community development projects in defined blighted areas of the state, this center will focus on economic empowerment and leadership, educational advancement and character development, and health, and wellness.

To help address the City’s infrastructure needs, the governor announced $3 million for resurfacing and badly needed repairs to the Hanover Street Bridge (Maryland Route 2), which crosses the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River and connects the City to communities in Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, Cherry Hill and northern Anne Arundel County.

Also announced today was an additional $3.2 million in Project Open Space funding, which will be used to benefit community parks and recreation centers across the City.

Education is the Hogan administration’s top priority, with $3.8 billion committed for K-12 education in Baltimore City since the governor took office – including an additional $15 million in emergency assistance for heating and air conditioning at City schools. In total, Governor Hogan has provided over $47 million above the legislative formulas for Baltimore City Public Schools. The governor has also proposed a lockbox to ensure that billions in casino revenue will go directly into classrooms for the improvements needed to make schools safer, a measure that will be on ballots in November.

“We believe that every single child in Maryland deserves a great education, regardless of the neighborhood they grow up in,” said Governor Hogan. “Every parent should feel confident in their child’s learning environment and their safety when they send them off to school which is why we will continue pursuing innovative approaches to safety, to learning, and to school system accountability.”

In total, Governor Hogan has committed a historic $5.5 billion in local aid to Baltimore City, as well as $3.9 billion for City transportation infrastructure and transit projects in the state’s six-year Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP). The Hogan administration is steadfastly committed to improving safety, education, and economic opportunity in Baltimore City.

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