Baltimore City Council Demands Oversight on Youth Fund Spending

The Baltimore City Council is set to intensify its scrutiny of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) as it prepares for public hearings on a new bill aimed at enhancing oversight of taxpayer funds. The hearings will commence on December 18, 2023, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over the management of more than $16 million allocated annually for youth programs in the city.

The proposed legislation seeks to impose stricter regulations on BCYF, which has faced criticism for failing to submit required financial audits for the past three years. The hearings will explore how Baltimore can ensure transparency and accountability regarding its youth funding initiatives. Currently, the fund operates with a degree of self-regulation that some council members argue is insufficient.

New Legislative Measures Under Consideration

The bill, supported by seven council members, would mandate a performance audit by the Baltimore City Comptroller every three years, beginning in 2025. Additionally, it aims to prevent BCYF from allocating city funds to organizations affiliated with its board or staff members, a move intended to mitigate conflicts of interest.

Councilman Zack Blanchard, a cosponsor of the bill, anticipates that community input will shape its final form. “I suspect that we’re going to have some amendments to the bill,” he stated in an interview with Spotlight on Maryland. “There’s going to be all sorts of unintended consequences.”

The bill comes at a time when concerns about BCYF’s financial oversight have grown. In the current budget, more than $16 million was allocated to the fund; however, $7 million of that amount was redirected to the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development for programs such as YouthWorks. Meanwhile, BCYF’s budget for grants to local organizations was reduced by approximately $6 million.

Contention Between Council and Mayor

Mayor Brandon Scott has expressed his opposition to the proposed bill, arguing that it would limit his office’s ability to allocate funds effectively towards youth programs. “The bill as it stands right now has issues for me,” Scott remarked on WYPR radio in October. “It would prevent programs like YouthWorks, which BCYF supported with 2,000 jobs this summer, from receiving funding.”

Blanchard countered the mayor’s concerns, clarifying that the legislation is not designed to ban funding but rather to establish a more rigorous application process for city programs. “It would just make the city apply,” he said.

Councilman Mark Conway, another cosponsor, emphasized that the bill’s intent is to promote fairness rather than exclude city agencies from funding opportunities. “The bill simply says that there has to be a process,” Conway explained. “They would actually have to go through a full application process and be vetted against the other programs that they’d be competing against.”

The mayor’s office has not commented on specific alterations it seeks regarding the BCYF bill. The legislation is sponsored by Councilmembers Mark Parker and John Bullock, with support from Council President Zeke Cohen and other council members, bringing the total number of sponsors to seven. To override a potential mayoral veto, the council would need ten votes.

Concerns about the management of BCYF funds have persisted, particularly regarding travel expenses. Spotlight on Maryland previously obtained documents revealing that BCYF spent approximately $300,000 in taxpayer dollars on travel for its staff and grantees to various states, raising eyebrows among council members.

“We want our young people to have the highest quality programs,” said Conway. “But if there’s no accountability and no transparency on how the money is spent, it’s really hard for us to ensure that we have that going forward.”

The Baltimore City Inspector General, Isabel Cumming, recently released a report indicating that the Baltimore City Department of Audits has no record of receiving financial audits from BCYF for fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. This lack of oversight has heightened calls for regulatory changes.

BCYF has voiced concerns that the proposed bill could jeopardize its operations. However, the organization has not provided a detailed explanation of its objections to the legislation. According to Larry Simmons Jr., chair of BCYF’s board, the bill’s introduction was largely prompted by media scrutiny rather than collaborative review.

As the Baltimore City Council prepares for the upcoming hearings, the future of the BCYF and its governance remains uncertain. The outcome could significantly influence how taxpayer dollars are managed and allocated for youth programs in Baltimore.