Blanchard on Baltimore

Who Really Controls Baltimore's Budget? with Bill Henry (Baltimore City Comptroller)

Baltimore City's budget is one of the most powerful — and least understood — documents in local government. In this episode, Councilman Zac Blanchard sits down with City Comptroller Bill Henry, who spent 13 years on the City Council before being elected Comptroller, for a candid walkthrough of who actually controls the city's $5 billion budget and why. Bill traces how a 1960s "professionalization" push under Mayor Theodore McKeldin quietly stripped the Comptroller's office of its financial authority and handed it to the Mayor — creating what Bill calls a "strong Board of Estimates system" hiding behind the label of a strong mayor system. He and Zac dig into why that concentration of budget power matters for everyday Baltimoreans, using the BG&E conduit deal as a case study in what happens when 16 of 17 elected officials disagree with the Mayor and the deal moves forward anyway. The conversation also gets personal: what budget week actually feels like from inside the Council, the "choose or die" dynamic between the Mayor's and Council President's competing asks, and the three very different kinds of agendas council members are juggling — citywide policy, district-level needs, and basic staff resources. Bill closes with his own proposal for fixing the imbalance: putting the Department of Finance back under the Comptroller's office, independent of the Mayor. Contact: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.zacblanchardd11.com/ Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - Introducing City Comptroller Bill Henry (00:41) - The #1 thing Baltimoreans should know about the budget process (02:16) - Why the Mayor holds nearly all the cards (03:50) - A brief history of Baltimore's strong mayor budget system (04:40) - The mid-1960s power grab that moved Finance under the Mayor (07:42) - "We don't have a strong mayor system, we have a strong BOE system" (08:30) - Why citizens should care about who controls the purse (09:44) - The BG&E conduit deal as a warning sign (11:39) - Why unchecked executive budget power kills transparency (13:54) - Looking ahead to the 2028 charter reform cycle (14:07) - What "budget week" (really budget month) looks like for Council (15:22) - Taxpayers' Night, then and now (18:18) - The information asymmetry problem facing Council members (19:30) - Baltimore vs. the federal model: no CBO equivalent for Council (22:44) - Bill's pitch for a "super strong comptroller" (23:26) - Life on Council during budget season: "choose or die" (25:27) - How Mayor-Council President budget negotiations actually work (27:32) - The three competing kinds of Council agendas (30:40) - If Bill could change one thing about the budget process (33:05) - Why not make Finance a fully independent agency instead? (36:07) - Closing thoughts

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The Case for a Land Value Tax with Vanessa Beck (Baltimore Thrive)

What if Baltimore could lower property taxes on homeowners and small businesses while raising them on blighted, vacant, and speculator-held land, at no net cost to the city? Zac talks with Vanessa Beck of Baltimore Thrive about the land value tax shift, a policy that splits the property tax into two rates: one on land, one on buildings, and shifts the burden away from productive use and onto speculation. Vanessa walks through how the shift would actually change Baltimore's commercial corridors and vacant lots, the real-world results from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where vacant properties dropped from over 5,000 to a few hundred, and how the policy is designed to be revenue-neutral rather than a tax increase. Zac and Vanessa also dig into where the state-level legislation stands, what a land value tax shift would mean for over-assessed neighborhoods in West, East, and South Baltimore, and what happens next as Baltimore Thrive pushes for state enabling legislation. Learn more or get involved: baltimorethrive.org Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show.

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A Bill of Rights for Small Business with Tanner Mobley

When a small business gets pushed out by a bad landlord, it's not just one storefront that goes dark — it's a signal to the whole block that there's no future there. Zac talks with Tanner Mobley, co-owner of Affogato Cat Cafe in Fells Point and organizer of the Baltimore Small Business Bill of Rights Coalition, about what's actually happening to small businesses on the ground. Tanner shares the story that catalyzed the movement — a fellow business owner whose ceiling collapsed from an upstairs leak, whose unreachable landlord sent someone to clean up sewage with a bottle of Fabuloso, and who later discovered the landlord had filed an insurance claim in her name and kept the money. Tanner and Zac dig into the specific protections the coalition is fighting for: 90 days' notice before a rent hike or eviction, basic maintenance standards, and a vacancy tax paired with tax credits to get Baltimore's estimated one-in-four empty storefronts back in use. They also talk through the bureaucratic maze that makes it hard to open a small business in the first place, and what's next as the coalition heads toward introducing legislation this fall. Learn more or get involved: bmoresmallbusinessrights.com Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - – Why Commercial Corridors Matter (01:09) - – Meet Tanner Mobley & the Coalition (02:14) - – How the Movement Got Started (06:01) - – Ernestine's Story: A Cautionary Tale (09:50) - – The Policies: What the Coalition Is Fighting For (10:37) - – The 90-Day Notice Proposal (12:59) - – Baltimore's Vacancy Crisis, By the Numbers (14:32) - – A Carrot-and-Stick Approach to Vacancy (19:24) - – How the Coalition Is Organizing Citywide (23:31) - – What They've Learned Along the Way (28:19) - – What's Next After the Bill Passes (30:18) - – Closing Thoughts & How to Get Involved

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Market Center: Baltimore's Next Comeback Story? with Anne Winder & Lieanne Navarro

Home to the world-famous Lexington Market and a stretch of historic but largely vacant department stores, Market Center is one of downtown Baltimore's biggest opportunities — and one of its toughest challenges. Zac talks with Anne Winder of the Market Center Merchants Association and Lieanne Navarro of the Market Center CDC about what it will actually take to bring this 27-block corridor back to life. Anne and Lieanne describe a neighborhood that's a genuine melting pot — one of the city's most immigrant- and Black-owned business corridors — while being honest about the real safety and vacancy challenges it still faces. They walk through the community-led Market Center Strategic Revitalization Plan passed in 2024, and what real partnership between residents, business owners, and city government looks like in practice. Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - – Why Market Center Matters to Downtown Baltimore (01:05) - – Meet Anne Winder & Lieanne Navarro (02:15) - – The History of Market Center (06:30) - – Public Safety Challenges in the Corridor (13:17) - – The Market Center Strategic Revitalization Plan (14:50) - – What a Five-Year Public Safety Plan Should Look Like

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Rashfield Park, Harborplace, and the Future of the Waterfront with Dan Taylor

There's a lot happening at the Inner Harbor right now, and Waterfront Partnership president Dan Taylor is right in the middle of it. Zac talks with Dan about the upcoming Rashfield Park ribbon cutting, the ongoing redevelopment of Harborplace, and the plan to convert the Light Street Spur into new park space. Dan and Zac get into the real trade-offs behind these projects — construction surprises, aging infrastructure that has to be fixed regardless of what else happens, and the traffic questions on everyone's mind. They also talk about two of the summer's biggest wins: the record-breaking Sail 250 event and the push to expand water taxi service into a real transit option for residents, not just visitors. Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - – A Big Year at the Inner Harbor (01:27) - – The Best Job in Baltimore? (03:36) - – Biggest Surprise on the Job (05:58) - – Rashfield Park: What's Opening & Why It Matters (14:24) - – Behind the Scenes of Construction (22:47) - – Why the Bulkheads Have to Be Fixed (24:00) - – Harborplace Redevelopment, Explained (31:00) - – The Light Street Spur Debate (37:29) - – Sail 250: A Summer to Remember (45:01) - – The Case for Better Water Taxi Service (49:30) - – What's Next for the Waterfront

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Join or Die: Why Community Might Save Us with Pete Davis

Zac sits down with his friend and new Baltimorean Pete Davis — co-creator of the Netflix documentary Join or Die — to talk about a question that shapes everything else in local government: what actually holds a community together? Pete unpacks the ideas behind Join or Die, built on Robert Putnam's research into declining civic participation, and makes the case that democracy doesn't just run on good government — it runs on clubs, neighbors, and ordinary relationships. They also preview Pete's upcoming second book, working title Hail the Cultivators: Why Slow Culture Is Our Only Quick Fix, which pushes back on the idea that any city problem has a silver-bullet solution. Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - – Why Community Comes First (02:05) - – Join or Die: The Documentary (08:08) - – Robert Putnam & the Decline of Civic Life (09:04) - – A Story About What Community Actually Does (18:35) - – Baltimore's Own Neighborhood Culture (18:56) - – Pete's Next Book: Hail the Cultivators (20:05) - – Why There's No Silver Bullet (25:04) - – Building Real Expertise in Community

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Rehabbing Baltimore, One House at a Time with Victor Akinnagbe

Baltimore has cut its number of vacant, blighted properties from 16,000 to 11,500 in the last few years — and is on pace to get under 1,000 by the mid-2030s. Councilman Zac Blanchard sits down with Victor Akinnagbe, director of Rebirth Baltimore, to talk about how that turnaround is actually happening on the ground. Victor shares his own journey — flunking out of high school, finding his way to Coppin State University, and eventually returning to Baltimore to rehab the very neighborhood that shaped him. He and Zac dig into what it really takes to bring a vacant rowhome back to life, how Baltimore's approach compares to cities like Detroit and New York, and the biggest remaining hurdles — from licensing rules that keep skilled tradespeople sidelined to buyers who don't know the resources available to them. Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show. (00:00) - – Baltimore's Vacant Housing Crisis, By the Numbers (03:01) - – Meet Victor & Rebirth Baltimore (04:23) - – What Rebirth Does & How It Started (07:52) - – Victor's Origin Story: From Flunking Out to Coppin State (13:57) - – Lessons from Detroit, New York & Trenton (17:18) - – What Elected Officials Get Wrong (20:47) - – What's Changed in the Last Few Years (23:11) - – The Biggest Remaining Hurdle: Licensing & Trades (25:01) - – Closing Thoughts

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Welcome to Blanchard on Baltimore

Introducing Blanchard on Baltimore: District 11 Councilman Zac Blanchard sits down with the people shaping city government to explore what's working, what isn't, and why. No spin, no tell-alls — just honest conversations about how Baltimore really runs. Contact Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office: Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/ Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11 Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Blanchard on Baltimore so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating or review — it helps more Baltimoreans find the show.