Discussions over Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s proposed $4.6 billion budget plan got off to a to a lively start Wednesday as members of the Baltimore City Council peppered the city’s top bureaucrat with questions about fine and fee increases, the bungled rollout of a new permitting platform and money allocated for the city’s immigrant population.

On the first of what will be six days of hearings, City Administrator Faith Leach fielded the queries, defending Scott’s spending plan which fills an $85 million gap with increased fees on landfill use, EMS transports, and ride-sharing and taxi rides, as well as other yet to be determined fees and fines.

While the proposed budget holds the line on property taxes, several members of the council have objected to proposed fee increases, arguing they unfairly burden city residents as other costs of living escalate.

On Wednesday, Leach set out to correct the record as well as set the tone, opening the day with a video circulated on the mayor’s social media accounts in which she responded directly to council criticisms about escalating overtime at a committee meeting last week.

“When you call 911, were going to make sure an ambulance arrives or a police officer reports on the scene even if that means an officer is working on overtime,” Leach pledged, directly addressing city residents in an uncharacteristic public appearance. “When the Key Bridge collapsed, we had folks working overtime.”

As the City Council marches toward an end-of-June deadline to pass a budget, here are the highlights from the first day of discussions:

New online permitting is not going well

One of Wednesday’s most dramatic moments came more than halfway through the hearing as Councilwoman Odette Ramos denounced the city’s new online permitting system as an “abomination.”

The system, unveiled in February, was expected to shepherd improvements to the city’s notoriously lengthy process for issuing permits. It has instead bogged down the office, drawing the ire of developers and everyday residents, Ramos and other members of the council said.

“The fact that it is supposed to be a redo to make things better is laughable,” Ramos said, emphasizing how urgent a response must be. “It’s bad. It’s not even a little bad. It’s really bad.”

Leach said she “echoed” Ramos’s sentiments and told the council she has deployed a “tiger team” from her office to coordinate a rapid response to the situation.

The mishap has provided lessons for the implementation of other new city systems that are yet to come, Leach said, and has encouraged officials to rethink their approach.

“We need to completely flip that system on its head,” she said in an interview.

Discontent with immigration funding

A federal crackdown on immigrants living on U.S. soil has caused fear across immigrant communities including Baltimore’s. The Scott administration has responded with a pledge to stand with the city’s immigrant population, even as the threat of funding cuts continues to mount against so-called “sanctuary cities.”

That pledge has not, however, translated into additional funding for immigrant services in the city, several council members lamented Wednesday. Scott’s budget allocates about $966,000 for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, a modest increase over the previous year.

“It seems as though the response from our side, to the extent that we have the capacity to respond ... is to do as much as possible to limit harm and protect our neighbors,” said Councilman Mark Parker, who represents the city’s 1st District, which includes neighborhoods, such as along Eastern Avenue, that have become a hub for the city’s immigrant population.

“Would you agree it’s time for the city to make such an investment, to continue that investment with general funds?” Parker asked.

Leach said the city is still in the process of spending $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated in 2022 for the Baltimore New American Access Coalition to provide services to immigrant and refugee communities. Leach acknowledged, however, that the funds will likely run out in six to eight months.

Leach committed to having discussions with the council about what further investment is needed.

Battle for the ‘narrative’

Jockeying to control the messaging behind the budget began well before hearings got underway around 9 a.m. Wednesday, and the push and pull between the administration and the council permeated discussions throughout the day.

Concerns expressed by Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer about increases to both taxes and fees in Scott’s proposal provoked members of the administration.

“I want to control this narrative that this budget at all increases” taxes, Scott’s Chief of Staff Calvin Young interjected as Leach was taking questions from Schleifer. “There are no new taxes in this budget.”

“When we talk about raising fees, it is not a tax, and when we say that it is a tax, we’re purposefully confusing the residents,” Young added.

Schleifer dissected Young’s answer, showing an image of a city slide deck in which city budget officials explained a proposed increase to the city’s tax on taxis and a plan to reallocate the city’s grocery bag tax.

“I want to make sure we’re not putting out sound bites that the average resident when they watch TV, when they read the news ... tells them they’re going to have a broad-based tax increase,” Young responded. “For most residents they’re not going to see the taxes or fees we’re talking about.”

Schleifer said both fees and taxes will ultimately be passed along to city residents.

“It’s a little concerning that there’s such an emphasis being put on the narrative,” Schleifer said after the meeting. “I’ve been on the council for nine years. I don’t think we’ve ever had conversations on narrative.”