The campaign may be over, but Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is still making promises.

In his first State of the City address since winning a second term in office, the Democratic mayor expanded his focus Monday, making pledges to tackle issues that have long dissuaded some Marylanders from making Baltimore their home.

Foregoing his typical lectern and opting instead to deliver remarks in a casual TED Talk-style backed by a massive video board, Scott outlined plans to reduce in property taxes, increase student test scores and better promote city arts and cultural groups.

Below are more details of Scott’s agenda for his second term in office:

Reduce the property tax rate

In Baltimore, where property owners face the highest tax rate of any jurisdiction in the state, leaders have long felt pressure from residents and business leaders alike to offer relief. In his first term, Scott largely avoided the issue, condemning a citizen-driven effort to halve the rate as a move that would bankrupt the city.

On Monday, Scott, a Democrat, offered his own more modest proposal: a step-down of the property tax rate to under $2 for every $100 of assessed value by 2028. Currently, city property owners pay $2.248. The mayor offered no details about how the step-down would be structured and did not commit to a firm rate.

City officials have said the rate decrease will come on top of relief offered by the Targeted Homeowners Tax Credit which has allowed homeowners to pay a tax rate equivalent to $2.

During his speech, Scott called attention to an op-ed that ran in The Baltimore Sun from city resident Daniel Brennan questioning why he should not move to Baltimore County.

“We know the real thing that’s stopping a lot of folks from moving here or pushing them out is our tax rate,” he said. “This is good news for our city, for our economy, for our friend Daniel ... and for all of the people who want to move to or stay in Baltimore.”

The announcement comes in spite of warnings of financial uncertainty ahead for the city. Scott’s proposed $4.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 includes increases in fees and fines to help close an $85 million gap between revenues and expenditures. City budget officials are bracing for an additional shortfall in income tax as cuts are made to the federal workforce. At least 12,000 federal employees work in Baltimore.

More students hitting reading and math goals

Baltimore mayors have a complicated relationship with the city’s schools. The system’s multimillion-dollar budget is technically allocated by the city, but decisions about city schools, including the selection of school CEO Sonja Santelises, is the purview of the city’s school board, not the mayor.

Still, the city’s politicos have long campaigned on proposals to overhaul the management of city schools, and the performance of Baltimore’s education system is often cited by voters when they make their decisions on who to vote for.

In his speech Monday, Scott targeted one of his loftier goals for the school system, saying he aims to increase the number of students passing the literacy portion of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program exam by over 10% by 2027. On the math portion of the test, he pledged to double the percentage of students passing.

The goal mirrors a target set by city school leaders to increase the number of students passing the literacy exam to 40%. While scores for city students have increased over the last eight years, absent several during the pandemic, just 28% of city students passed the exam in 2024.

City scores on the math portion of the exam have lagged further behind. Just 14% of Baltimore students passed the math test in 2024. By comparison, 48% of students statewide passed the literacy MCAP exam in 2024, while 24% of students passed the math test.

Still, Scott defended city students Monday, arguing they have been unfairly targeted by people “who have never spent a day in our schools.” President Donald Trump cited city math scores in support of his plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

“As a proud graduate of the best public school in Baltimore — don’t argue with me, argue with your mother — I know the good, the bad and the ugly of our school system,” Scott said.

“Federal funding cuts won’t make any of this easier, but we’re not going to let their problems derail our children’s progress,” he added.

Promote the arts

Scott’s first term in office wasn’t especially controversial, particularly when considered alongside those of several of his predecessors. But over his first four years in office, he was repeatedly dogged by the dissolution of his relationship with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts.

Better known as BOPA, the quasi-governmental agency once responsible for mounting the city’s best-known festivals, including Artscape, was stripped of its contract by Scott last year. The move came after the revelation that the group was unable to pay fundamental expenses without the assistance of the city, but it also followed years of skirmishes, including the resignation of CEO Donna Drew Sawyer after Scott demanded as much.

Since BOPA’s contract was terminated in January, officials in Scott’s office have been working with remaining BOPA officials to manage city arts events. On Monday, Scott announced the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment in an effort to centralize operations.

Ahead of Monday’s speech, Scott said he did not view the new office as a replacement for BOPA, and noted that city staff have already taken on running some key cultural events. Scott said the creation of the new office will make it easier for the city to stage events, but he also wants the office to be focused on supporting the city’s broader arts community.

The office will also promote ideas to improve the city’s nightlife, something Scott said he views as a critical part of Baltimore’s cultural scene.

Baltimore Banner Reporter Liz Bowie contributed to this report.