Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s proposed $4.6 billion budget accounts for millions less in state and federal dollars next year, but the plan could still change substantially depending on the whims of President Donald Trump, officials said this week.

The fiscal year 2026 spending plan, which Scott’s office unveiled Wednesday, plugs an $85 million deficit — the difference between revenues and expenditures — with increased fees on landfill use, EMS transports, and ride-sharing and taxi rides, while also shaving costs across multiple city agencies.

The plan, which must still be approved by the City Council, assumes the city will receive $200 million in federal funding and does not account for any cuts to income tax revenue as a result of Baltimoreans laid off by the federal government. Both are assumptions that are far from certain as Trump’s administration embarks on widespread cuts to federal funding and drastically slashes the federal workforce.

City development programs as well as health and education programs and homelessness services are among the initiatives covered by the $200 million federal pot. Since Trump took office in January, the city has not yet seen reductions to those large formula-based grants, which is why they currently remain in the proposed budget, senior city officials said during a briefing Tuesday.

The city’s capital budget anticipates more federal money to be used for city transportation and highway projects.

Even without additional cuts, some city departments would see sizable reductions in their budgets as a result of lost federal funding. The Health Department, for example, has a $184 million allocation under Scott’s plan, down from $208 million in fiscal year 2025.

Scott’s proposal, based on projections built last fall, also does not account for a reduction in Baltimore’s federal employees, who are currently on the chopping block for Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, officially the U.S. DOGE Service. City officials said they know of at least 12,000 federal employees who work in Baltimore, but there are untold more who commute to other locations or work from home in the city.

City officials said they hope to retain employees who are laid off, but the average salary among the 12,000 federal workers the city is aware of is about $103,000. There is concern, city officials said, that they may relocate elsewhere, driving down not just income tax revenue but property tax revenue as well.

Baltimore finance officials estimated that $3 million to $5 million worth of income tax revenue could be at stake.

Scott told the Banner he was equally concerned about the prospect of losing grant funding and coming up short on income tax revenue. Governors, county executives and mayors across the country face the same threat, he said.

“The one thing we know about this administration is they are uncertain at every second of every moment,” Scott said. “We also have to honor our responsibility to balance a budget as the world exists today.”

Adding to the uncertainty for the coming year is a challenging budget outlook at the state level. Scott’s proposed plan accounts for $16.6 million in state costs that were passed onto the city.

The spending plan holds the line on property taxes, and instead covers an $85 million shortfall with a series of fee increases and cuts to spending.

The largest projected revenue generator is a proposed doubling of the landfill tipping fee to $135 per ton of waste from $67.50. Tipping fees have not increased since 1993, according to city officials, and would produce an estimated $8.9 million more in revenue.

Officials have also proposed raising the cost of ambulance rides by 20% for all non-Medicaid recipients, which would produce an estimated $5.5 million for city coffers. Current costs are $10 per mile and $700 for basic life support.

The cost of hailing a car will also rise, slightly, with the city taxi tax slated to increase to $0.38 a ride from $0.25 a ride. The city expects $1.95 million in additional revenue as a result.

A series of fines and fees are set to increase in the fall — things like parking violations, littering, illegal dumping and various service delivery-related charges — by about 15%, city officials said. The Scott administration said it would not know which specific fees are impacted (the city has more than 2,000 on the books) until a study examining the current structure is completed. Together the city budget office is predicting $6.5 million in additional revenue from those hikes.

Council President Zeke Cohen said Wednesday that the prospect of increasing fees will be “very challenging” for the City Council as it weighs the budget. Residents have already been hit with substantial increases in their bills from Baltimore Gas & Electric and hikes to city water and sewer rates, he said.

“We are in a moment where I think Baltimoreans are really feeling the pinch,” he said.

Budget Director Laura Larsen said the administration is not considering increases to fees for services like recreation activities and will instead consider hikes on business licenses and services offered by the Department of Transportation.

The proposed budget calls for an additional $5.2 million investment in the Department of Public Works’ solid waste division, part of an ongoing effort to address criticism of city trash collection. That money would pay for contracted trash collectors in summer 2025 and pave the way for the city to hire 15 new trash crews by spring of 2026, officials said.

Scott’s proposed budget would continue his push to add civilian jobs in place of sworn officers at the Baltimore Police Department to mitigate ballooning overtime costs and deal with the shortage of patrol officers. The proposed budget calls for nine new civilian jobs, which would net a savings of $1.1 million, officials said.

Scott’s proposed budget must be considered by the City Council, which has until June 26 to adopt a final plan. The new fiscal year begins on July 1. Before then, the budget proposal will first be considered by the mayor-controlled Board of Estimates. Residents will be invited to weigh in at two taxpayers’ nights, the first of which will be held April 23. Budget hearings are expected to start in late May.