BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

ADMINISTRATION

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS


[photo, City Hall, 100 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland]

ADMINISTRATION

The City Council established the position of City Administrator as the City's Chief Administrative Officer in August 2020 by Charter Amendment, ratified by the voters on November 3, 2020 (City Council Resolution no. 20-26),

Appointed by the Mayor, the Chief Administrative Officer oversees City agency performance, accuracy of information, and government’s response to residents.

City Hall, 100 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland, June 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


Answering to the Chief Administrative Officer originally were the Department of Human Resources and fifteen offices: Cable and Communications (CHARMTV); Children and Family Success; Correspondence and Constituent Services; Employment Development; Equity and Civil Rights; Government Relations; Homeless Services; Immigrant Affairs; Information Technology; Inspector General; Neighborhood Safety and Engagement; Performance and Innovation; Promotion and the Arts; Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Development; and Sustainable Solutions.

Since an April 2021 reorganization, the Chief Administrative Officer oversees five departments: Finance, General Services, Human Resources, Public Works, and Transportation. Also, under the Chief Administrative Officer are sixteen mayoral offices: African-American Male Engagement; Cable and Communications (CHARMTV); Children and Family Success; Conrrespondence and Constituent Services; Equity and Civil Rights; Immigrant Affairs; Information Technology; Infrastructure Development; Neighborhood Safety and Engagement; Neighborhoods; Older Adult Affairs and Advocacy; Performance and Innovation; Promotion and the Arts; Recovery Programs; Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Development; and Sustainable Solutions. At the same time, the Chief Administrative Officer began to oversee Broadband and Digital Equity, the Chief Data Officer, the Board of Elections, Employees’ Retirement Systems, and the Environmental Control Board.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE ENGAGEMENT
In February 2018, the Mayor's Office of African-American Male Engagement was established by the Mayor.

The Office supports and expands mentoring and other services to help African-American boys and men avoid falling prey to crime and violence.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CABLE & COMMUNICATIONS (CharmTV)
The Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications operates Charm TV (Channel 25), Baltimore's commercial-free 24-hour cable television station, through a franchise agreement with Comcast.

In February 2020, the Office moved from 8 Market Place, Suite 200, Baltimore to 621 East Pratt Street, Baltimore.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CHILDREN & FAMILY SUCCESS
In 2019, the Mayor's Office of Children and Family Success was created.

The Office supports and strengthens families by improving educational attainment and socioeconomic mobility, and positions all Baltimore communities to thrive. It works to improve early childhood development, decrease youth food insecurity, reduce youth homelessness, and increase youth literacy. The Office also seeks to increase the availability of trauma-informed care for youth, increase youth diversion practices, and break down historical barriers to success for African-American boys and young men.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CORRESPONDENCE & CONSTITUENT SERVICES
The Mayor's Office of Correspondence and Constituent Services helps constituents access services provided by government agencies or nonprofit service organizations.

Constituent Services representatives help residents with questions and concerns regarding City services. The Correspondence Team tracks citizen correspondence to the Mayor and prepares ceremonial documents, such as certificates of recognition, proclamations, and greeting letters.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF EQUITY & CIVIL RIGHTS
The Mayor's Office of Equity and Civil Rights originated as the Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement. It reformed under its present name in January 2020.

To eliminate inequity, inequality, and discrimination is the work of the Office.

Under the Office are the Civilian Review Board, the Community Relations Commission, the Mayor's Commission on Disabilities, the Police Accountability Board, the Veterans Commission, the Wage Commission, and the Commission for Women. The Office reports directly to the Chief of Staff.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS
In 2014, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs was established as the Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs in accordance with recommendations of the New Americans Task Force. The Office assumed its present name in 2019.

Community wellbeing, economic development, and the integration of immigrant communities into Baltimore are promoted by the Office. By identifying needs and opportunities that immigrants bring to the City, the Office develops public-private partnerships to strengthen the development of these communities.

The Office seeks to facilitate the development and progress of immigrants and refugees in the workforce and increase their access to entrepreneurial opportunities, thereby meeting the needs of employers and promoting the growth and betterment of the City. In addition, the Office works to increase and promote Baltimore’s unique housing opportunities, while promoting safer and stronger neighborhoods.

By enhancing the service capacity and receptivity of City agencies, and nonprofit and community-based organizations, the Office works to better address the needs of immigrants, and facilitate inclusion and mutual understanding among immigrant communities, service providers, and receiving communities.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Digital networking and infrastructure for City government is managed by the Mayor's Office of Information Technology, which also provides agencies with e-mail service and web access. The Office develops and procures hardware and software for the City, and gives instruction and technical assistance to agencies. For residents, networks managed by the Office allow e-payment of bills to the City by computer or phone.

Advising the Mayor and the Board of Estimates on technology programs and needs of the City, the Office operates the City’s Enterprise Geographic Information Services (EGIS), and the 311 One Call and Dispatch Center. With one phone call, 311 services allow residents to reach a City agency while EGIS coordinates information sharing among City agencies, making available data more efficient and accurate. These services enable residents to easily notify the City of concerns, and allow for quick resolution of problems.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
In June 2022, the Mayor's Office of Infrastructure Development was authorized by the Mayor.

The Office supports and advises City agencies on how to secure State and federal infrastructure grants, use grant funding, and report on their work.

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Formerly under Public Safety, Operations, and Citistat, the Office of Inspector General was transferred to the Chief of Staff in September 2012, and to Administration in 2014.

Violations of civil and criminal law, City regulations, or employee standards of conduct by City agencies are investigated by the Office of Inspector General. The Office audits and investigates to detect program weaknesses, contract irregularities, or other institutional problems. Annually, the Office audits procurement by the City, and submits its annual report.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY & ENGAGEMENT
In December 2020, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement was formed by the Mayor to replace and expand the scope of the Office on Criminal Justice.

The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement coordinates City agencies and community partners in the fight against violence in Baltimore. In its work with law enforcement agencies, including the Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office, City agencies from the Health Department to the Department of Recreation and Parks, and community-based organizations, the Office coordinates public safety efforts across the City. The Office also works to ensure accountability through Baltimore’s holistic violence reduction strategy.

Interagency goals are established and monitored by the Office, reimagining preventative, interventive and rehabilitative policies and practices, and implementing the Mayor’s group violence reduction strategy.

In October 2023, the Office relocated from City Hall to the historic Hebrew Orphan Asylum Building at 2700 Rayner Avenue in West Baltimore.

The Office is aided by the Citizens Advisory, Commission for Public Safety, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF OLDER ADULT AFFAIRS & ADVOCACY
The Mayor's Office of Older Adult Affairs and Advocacy was established by the Mayor in September 2023.

As an advocate for older City residents, the Office helps the elderly access resources and services provided by Baltimore agencies. The Office also coordinates a citywide planning process designed to transform Baltimore into an age friendly community.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PERFORMANCE & INNOVATION
In May 2019, the Mayor's Office of Performance and Innovation formed from the merger of the Office of Innovation and the CitiStat Office.

Using data, design, and innovation, the Mayor's Office of Performance and Innovation works to ensure equitable, user-friendly and efficient government operations that improve the lives of Baltimore City residents.

The Office oversees CitiStat, Innovation, and the Data Fellows Program.

OFFICE OF PROMOTION & THE ARTS
Established in 1977, the Office of Promotion and the Arts formed as the Baltimore Office of Promotion and Tourism. The Office merged with the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association in 1989, and was renamed the Office of Promotion. The Office assumed its current name in 2002, when it merged with the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Arts and Culture. In 2004, the Office incorporated as a nonprofit corporation.

Coordinating dozens of art, cultural and sport events for the City, the Office of Promotion and the Arts manages events, such as Artscape; the Baltimore Book Festival; the Baltimore Grand Prix; the Baltimore Farmers’ Market; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Parade; the Showcase of Nations Ethnic Festivals; and the annual lighting of the Washington Monument. The Office also arranges the Mayor’s town hall meetings, and supervises the Municipal Music License Administration.

The Board of Directors of the Office is composed of ten members.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF RECOVERY PROGRAMS
The Mayor formed the Mayor's Office of Recovery Programs in July 2021.

The historic $640 million in investment to Baltimore City through the federal American Rescue Plan Act is managed by the Mayor's Office of Recovery Programs. All aspects of the Act's funding and regularly reporting to the federal government, as well as to the public, are administered by the Office. In Baltimore, priorities for these federal funds focus on putting Baltimoreans back to work, investing in neighborhoods that have historically been left behind, funding community-based violence reduction initiatives, and closing the digital divide.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF SMALL, MINORITY & WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Mayor's Office of Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Development originated as the Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development, and adopted its present name in 2017.

Working to improve the success rate of Baltimore’s minority and women-owned private businesses, the Office of Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Development contracts services to companies owned by minorities or women, reducing the City’s procurement needs, and increasing contracts available to qualified contractors. To meet these ends, the Office manages the Minority and Women-Owned Business Development Fund, which, in coordination with City procurement resources, helps the City finance necessary contracts (City Code, Article 5, sec. 28).

The Office oversees the Local Contractor Development Program, the Annual Procurement and Outreach Fair, the Women’s Business Forum, and the Vendor Seminar Series. The Office works in cooperation with government and private agencies and organizations, such as the Small Business Resource Center, the City Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Greater Baltimore Committee.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
The Mayor's Office of Sustainable Solutions was founded by the Mayor in 1999 as the Office of Citistat. Formerly, it came under Public Safety, Operations, and Citistat, but transferred to the Chief of Staff in September 2012. It reformed under its present name in 2017.

Sustainable Solutions is a data-driven, performance-based management system to improve the performance and effectiveness of City services and offices. Conducting audits of current data and information, the Office reviews agency performance, polices, and procedures. The Office and agency representatives meet with the Mayor bi-monthly to address the Office's questions, concerns, and recommendations.


COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT


EQUITY, HEALTH, & HUMAN SERVICES

Equity, Health, and Human Services began as Health, Human Services, Education, and Youth and was reorganized under its present name in April 2021

Under the Deputy Mayor for Equity, Health, and Human Services are the Community Action Partnership, Homeless Services, and the Re-Entry Program, as well as the Youth Commission.


PUBLIC SAFETY

The Deputy Mayor for Public Safety oversees Government Relations.

MAYOR'S OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The Mayor's Office of Government Relations began as Government and Community Affairs and reformed as Government Relations and Labor in 2014. It was renamed Government Relations in December 2016, and placed under the Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety in 2019, who was renamed Deputy Mayor for Public Safety in 2020.

The Deputy Chief for Government Relations advises the Mayor on matters of government responsiveness to City residents.

Under Government Relations are four offices: Communications, Government Relations, Labor Commissioner, and Neighborhoods.


COMPTROLLER

In Baltimore City, the Comptroller supervises the Department of Audits and the activities of the City Auditor; and is responsible for the proper conduct, management, and operation of the Department of Real Estate.

With the approval of the Board of Estimates, the Comptroller purchases insurance for the City, and represents the City claims against insurance companies on policies held by the City. Funds awarded in settlement are received by the Mayor and City Council for disbursement.

The Comptroller is elected by the voters to a four-year term, and serves ex officio on the Board of Estimates, and the Board of Finance (City Charter, Article V, secs. 1-11; City Code, Art. 5, sec. 1).

Under the Comptroller are three Departments: Audits, Communication Services, and Real Estate.

DEPARTMENT OF AUDITS
Through independent audit consultative services, the Department of Audits provides financial statements, reports, and recommendations to improve the accountability of government to the citizens of Baltimore.

The Department conducts audits of the financial transactions of every municipal agency, except the Department of Audits; an annual audit of all accounts, revenues, and receipts of the City; and biennial audits of principal agencies. It also may audit the expenditure of City-granted funds by any public or private agency that receives such funds; and City contracts, grants, subgrants, and other agreements as required by the terms and conditions of these instruments and, when the contracts, grants, subgrants and other agreements require that audits be conducted by other auditors, review such audits. The Department makes such other audits as the Comptroller or the Board of Estimates may request, provided that those requested audits do not, in the judgment of the City Auditor, unduly hinder the performance of regular audits.

Appointed by the Comptroller, the City Auditor heads the Department (City Charter, Article V, secs. 7-11).

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES
Under the Comptroller, the Department of Communication Services provides communications technologies and services for Baltimore government.

The Department is responsible for the Municipal Telephone Exchange and the Municipal Post Office. The Municipal Telephone Exchange maintains the telecommunications system through which voice, data and wireless services are provided for City government agencies. The Municipal Post Office distributes U.S. Postal mail and interdepartmental mail to City government agencies.

DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE
The Department of Real Estate acquires real property for the use of the City. Moreover, for any property no longer needed by the City for public use, the Department arranges for its deposition. The Department also manages the use of City-owned docks, wharves, piers, and other facilities which constitute the City-owned portion of the waterfront.

In overseeing the Department of Real Estate, the Comptroller records all agreements, contracts, deeds, and leases related to City properties, and maintains an inventory of these records. With the Director of Finance, the Comptroller updates and verifies the accuracy of this inventory quarterly.

The Department is headed by the City Real Estate Officer, who is appointed by the Comptroller (City Charter, Article V, secs. 4-6).


DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

The Department of Finance collects required City and State taxes and levies, issues and maintains lien records, conducts property sales, and adopts rules and standards for City purchases. The Department manages deposits and withdrawals of accounts, and submits a monthly summary of City finances to the Board of Estimates and the Board of Finance. The Department also oversees the financial records of City agencies. Annually, the Department makes a full report of all income, expenses, assets, and liabilities to the Board of Estimates.

To assist the Board of Estimates in formulating the City’s budget and ordinances, the Department annually prepares a preliminary operating budget, which it submits to the Board. The Department implements and enforces actions of the Board of Estimates, and provides the Board with its reports and recommendations (City Charter, Article VII, secs. 5-19).

The Department is assisted by the Board of Finance.


DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES

[photo, Baltimore City Department of General Services, Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland] On July 1, 2009, the Department of General Services was created (City Charter, Art. VII, secs. 130-134). Formerly, it had been the Bureau of General Services under the Department of Public Works.

The construction, demolition, alteration, operation, and maintenance of all municipal buildings and related improvements is the responsibility of the Department. All plans and specifications for these City buildings and related improvements, including those involving engineering questions, must be submitted to the Director of General Services for approval.

A system for the uniform identification of all real property within the City is supported by the Department. Plats and other records of all parcels of real property within the City also are maintained by the Department. These plats and records note the ownership of each parcel, and the symbol by which each parcel is identified. Added to these are plats and records of tunnels, pipes, mains, sewers, conduits, and other underground structures, both public and private that are maintained by the Department.


Department of General Services, Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland, November 2016. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


The Department approves new streets and street names, determines building numbers, adopts rules and regulations regarding plats and plans relating to the location of streets, and prepares these plats and plans as required by the Board of Estimates or by ordinance.

Reporting to the Department are the Office of Performance Management, and six divisions: Administration, Capital Projects, Facilities Maintenance, Fleet Management, Historic Properties, and Sustainable Energy.

ADMINISTRATION DIVISION
The Administration Division was formed in 2009 when the Department of General Services was made an agency separate from the Department of Public Works.

CAPITAL PROJECTS DIVISION
First, the Capital Projects Division originated as the Building Engineering Division and the Construction Division under the Department of Public Works. Then, these divisions later reformed as the Major Projects Division and the Design and Construction Division. These divisions merged to become the Capital Projects Division, which transferred to the Department of General Services in July 2009.

The Division oversees four sections: Architectural and Engineering Design, Construction Management, Contract Administration, and Design and Construction.

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE DIVISION
In July 2009, the Facilities Maintenance Division was placed under the Department of General Services.

FLEET MANAGEMENT DIVISION
The Fleet Management Division transferred from the Bureau of General Services under the Department of Public Works to the Department of General Services In July 2009.

The Division maintains, repairs, and operates all motor vehicles and related equipment owned by the City (whether held for general service or assigned for the use of a particular office or agency), including Police and Fire Department vehicles and apparatus. Related garages, depots, and shops also are maintainned and operated by the Division. Moreover, the Division inspects all City vehicles and related equipment and keeps records of how these vehicles and equipment are handled and operated. In addition, the Division is responsible for the assignment of these vehicles and related equipment for the use of officers and other City agencies, and the maintenance or the hiring of any hauling or passenger service needed by any municipal agency (City Charter, Article VII, secs. 132 (g)).

MAJOR PROJECTS DIVISION & DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
The Major Projects Division and Design and Construction started as the Building Engineering Division and the Construction Division under the Department of Public Works. Both merged to form the Design and Construction Division within the Department of General Services in July 2009.

Construction and engineering services are provided and coordinated by the Division.


DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Management of City staff is overseen by the Department of Human Resources, which develops and implements policies to hire, train, and supervise City employees. Employee and retirement benefits also are overseen by the Department, which sets employee classification and pay. In cases of collective bargaining, the Office of Labor Commissioner determines wages, benefits and work environment standards.

The Mayor and the Civil Service Commission hear and rule on issues related to human resources, and may amend or overturn current policies and procedures. Implementation of decisions is made by the Department (City Charter, Article VII, secs. 96-98).

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