Baltimore will pay $2 million to cut the reins with a stable that houses the city’s police horses, the final straw in a yearslong effort to end the program.

The payout, which will be considered by the mayor-controlled Board of Estimates next week, was negotiated between the city’s legal team and the First Mile Stable Charitable Foundation LLC, the stable’s manager.

According to board documents, the city’s lease agreement for the stable, which is on B&O Railroad Museum property, requires the city to cover the cost of the stable’s construction if the agreement is terminated before its end date. The 15-year lease, signed in 2018, does not expire until 2032.

The $2 million payout is $1.1 million more than the city would have paid toward the remaining lease payments for the facility because it includes a termination fee equal to costs for the stables that haven’t yet been amortized. Annual rent for the stables began at $96,000 in 2018 and escalated by 1.5% each subsequent year, according to the lease. Baltimore paid more than $703,000 toward the lease as of 2024. Another $898,000 would be owed if the city continued making annual payments.

Baltimore has been paying for the stable space annually in spite of the City Council defunding the mounted unit in 2020. That year, the council cut $554,000 dedicated to the unit from the city Police Department’s budget as part of a $23 million package of cuts spearheaded by the council, then controlled by Brandon Scott, now the city’s mayor.

Defunded only in theory, the mounted unit continued to incur other costs. About $1 million has been spent annually between the Police Department and the Department of Recreation and Parks, budget director Laura Larsen said earlier this year. About half that cost was paid from the police budget for overtime to officers who continued to use the horses for various events, Larsen said.

Funds in the Recreation and Parks budget paid for the stable lease and three employees dedicated to caring for the horses. Under the care of the parks department, the horses were supposed to be used for “community engagement,” according to the city budget documents.

Baltimore’s fiscal year 2026 budget, which began in July, formally defunds the mounted unit.

One horse was given to the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, while two others were retired and transferred to the A&D Farm, said Lindsey Eldridge, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Police Department.

Baltimore leaders were warned before they disbanded the mounted unit that it could lead to a substantial payout. Then-Police Commissioner Michael Harrison cautioned in a 2020 email obtained by WYPR that ending the lease early could result in a $1.5 million liability.

A spokesman for Scott did not respond to a question about whether he stands behind the decision to defund the unit.

Baltimore’s horse stable was constructed for $2.5 million shortly before the city moved to disband the mounted unit. Community members and the state pitched in money for the state-of-the-art 12-stall facility, which was constructed with a classroom and exhibition space. State bond documents said the center would be a community resource and tourist attraction. Organizers also hoped the presence of the horse unit would increase public safety in southwest Baltimore.

Formed in 1888, Baltimore’s mounted unit was the oldest continuously operating unit in the country before it was disbanded. The West Baltimore stable location replaced a downtown facility in a former car dealership beneath the Jones Falls Expressway.

Councilman John Bullock, whose district includes the stable, said he was aware the city would face financial repercussions from the decision to end the mounted unit, but he was nonetheless disappointed. The partnership was viewed as a positive by the community, he said.

Bullock said he would like to see other groups continue to use the stable to do programming for neighborhood children.

“There may be some options, but it might be too early,” he said. “You don’t want it to go to waste.”