July 12

Hello Eastport!

1. Last City Council Meeting – 6/22/26: The agenda can be downloaded here and the meeting can be viewed here. Highlights included:

FIRST READERS (Ordinances and Resolutions being introduced)

• Right to Park in Front of Residential Private Driveways (O-17-26): Legislation was introduced that will have a major impact on Eastport as it will allow residents to either park in front of their driveway or authorize, on a case-by-case basis, others to park in front of their driveway. We will be discussing this at our next Town Hall on July 23rd at 7pm at the Eastport Volunteer Firehall. I, along with the entire Council, voted in favor of introducing this legislation to get the conversation going on the pros and the cons. Some of you have already shared thoughts about this proposal. I look forward to hearing more of your feedback.

SECOND READERS (This leads to the final vote on the legislation)

• Finance Director – Karen Ajayi (R-19-26): I am very excited that Karen Ajayi was confirmed. She is on the job and already having an impact.

• Reducing the Human Relations Commission Membership (O-10-26): Legislation passed to reduce the membership from 15 to 9 members to make the Commission more functional. This is part of the Mayor’s laudable effort to streamline the Boards and Commissions.

2. Next City Council Meeting – 7/13/26:

CEREMONIAL ITEMS

• Arnett-Finlayson Scholarship Recipients

• The Annapolis Police Department's annual Gone Fishing Award

COMMENTS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC

• All City Council meetings begin with an opportunity for public testimony on any topic you wish.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

• Art in Public Places (O-14-26): Reconstitutes the Art in Public Places Commission (AIPPC).

• Forest Conservation (O-16-26): Implements new state requirements regarding forest conservation and protection of the City’s tree canopy with local changes to meet Annapolis’ needs. For more information on this legislation, the joint meeting of the Environmental Matters Committee and Rules Committee should be available on the Annapolis Boards and Commissions YouTube page in the next day or two.

• Right to Park in Front of Residential Private Driveways (O-17-26): Allows legal occupants to park or let guests park in front of their driveway on the street.

  • AS NOTED ABOVE, THIS LEGISLATION WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT EASTPORT – PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING AND TESTIFY IF YOU HAVE OPINIONS, CONCERNS AND/OR SUPPORT FOR THIS PROPOSAL.

BUSINESS & MISCELLANEOUS

• Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis: HACA will present the agency's quarterly report to the Council.

FIRST READERS (Ordinances and Resolutions being introduced)

• Expanding the Preamble of The Charter of the City of Annapolis (CA-3-26): Responds to the Charter Commission recommendation to modernize the City's Charter Preamble. 

• Removing Streets from Special Residential Parking District, Number 5 (O-12-26): removes Forbes Street and Monterey Avenue from District 5 covering West Annapolis. 

• Cottage Food Businesses as Home Occupations (O-15-26): implements a new state-allowed home occupation: cottage food businesses. Annapolis residents will be permitted to prepare specific foods—such as breads, cookies, jams, jellies, and hard candy—in their home kitchens for direct sale to consumers. State law caps their sales at $50,000, and they are not required to obtain a health department license or undergo kitchen inspections. Sales are limited to within Maryland.

• Update of Fiscal Year 2027 City Fees (R-29-26): This updates fees for: 1) City-owned parking facilities and certain metered spaces, 2) rental operating licenses for 50 or more units, 3) one mooring field in the City Harbor, and 4) temporary special liquor licenses. 

SECOND READERS (This leads to the final vote on the legislation)

• Designating City Attorney Tony Kupersmith as the City’s resident agent (R-21-26): This is routine and means that he receives the City’s legal notices. I intend to vote yes.

3. Help Shape the Search for the new Annapolis Police Chief: The City of Annapolis is committed to conducting a transparent, inclusive, and community informed search for a Police Chief who will lead with integrity, accountability, and a strong commitment to public service.

As such, the City is inviting residents, business owners, employees, and community stakeholders to attend one of three interactive public engagement sessions designed to gather meaningful input on what the public wants to see in the City's next Chief of Police. The three events are at 6:30pm on:

• Thursday, July 9, at Pip Moyer Rec Center (already occurred)

• Wednesday, July 15, at Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis (121 S. Villa Ave)

• Thursday, July 16, at First Baptist Church of Annapolis (31 W. Washington St)

Additionally, a community survey is available here that asks residents to identify the professional experience and public safety priorities you believe should guide the selection of the Police Chief. This feedback will help inform the recruitment and selection process.

There is a lot more information in the City’s press release. Also, the membership of the search committee is available here, and the agenda for their meetings is available here.

4. Fireworks Traffic Clearing: Another round of applause for the Annapolis Police Department who did a tremendous job clearing the traffic from Eastport after the Fourth of July Fireworks. Please email me with any feedback you have on the effort. I will consolidate inputs and pass them to Captain Guy Thacker who we look forward to hosting at our Ward 8 Town Hall in September to review the results of the effort.

5. Enhanced Parking Enforcement in Eastport: As a reminder, please remember and tell your neighbors and visitors that Annapolis has increased enforcement of parking violations in Eastport.

6. Harbormaster Retirement: Harbormaster Beth Bellis has retired, effective July 1, 2026. Currently, Deputy Harbormaster, Tyler Northfield, is acting Harbormaster.  A national search for Harbormaster for the City of Annapolis will begin in late July.

7. 6th Street Water Access into Back Creek: Construction is now anticipated to begin mid-July. The project includes the installation of a fixed pier with a floating dock at the existing bulkhead and is expected to take about two months to complete. Construction will occur between 7:00am and 7:00pm.

8.Upcoming Community Events in Eastport:

• Town Hall: Please join us for the next Town Hall on July 23rd from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the Eastport Volunteer Firehall. Topics include budget/discussion in advance of the Mayor’s Budget Town Hall in October, updates on street end parks and water access, and discussion on authorizing parking at driveway entrances.

• Eastport Blood Drive (Eastporters needed!): Annapolis Fire Department and Eastport Volunteer Fire Department are hosting a blood drive July 26, 10:00am to 4:00pm, at the Eastport Volunteer Firehall located at 914 Bay Ridge Ave. This is a great opportunity to help those in need. If you can donate, please book your appointment here. 

• CPR/Narcan/AED Training: Annapolis Fire Department and Eastport Volunteer Fire Company are proud to offer a free (non-certification) hands on CPR/Narcan/AED training class on August 10th at the Eastport Volunteer Firehall located at 914 Bay Ridge Ave. If interested, please register here.

• Eastport Civic Association Picnic: Spend time with your neighbors and friends at the Eastport Civic Association’s annual picnic on August 18th from 6-8:00pm at the Safe Harbor outdoor pavilion (519 Chester Ave).  Tickets go on sale soon.  Not an ECA Member?  You can join here.

• Comedy Show (fun!): Eastport Volunteer Fire Company is proud to present the first Comedy Show Fundraiser night on Sept. 26th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the Eastport Volunteer Firehall. The event is rated PG13 with adult content. Join us in a good laugh for a good cause. Food and beverages, 50/50 raffle, hand carved wooden flag raffle… grab your seat here, space is limited! Let’s sell this out!!!!

All the best,

June 8

Hello Eastport!

1. 2027 Budget: The City Council’s review of the FY27 budget is complete - the only task remaining is the final vote. In the end, the following amendments were approved:

   • Traffic Safety - FY27 proposed budget removes $175,000 from this budget. This amendment put $150,000 back into traffic safety to fund upcoming traffic and parking improvements.

   • General Waterways - This amendment added $100,000 to improve water access points in Eastport. This will put Eastport on the path to having safer and appropriate water access.

   • General Sidewalks - This amendment adds $150,000 to fund our work with the Department of Public Works to fix the gaps in our sidewalks.

   • Hawkins Cove – This amendment provided the $80,000 The Department of Public Works identified is needed to fully fund the project.  

   • General Roadways – This amendment for $200,000 will move us closer to keeping pace with roadway maintenance but not get us fully up to needed funding.

   • Turner Park – This amendment funds the design work for the park, located at the corner of 3rd St and Chester. Our next step will be to put a small group together to advise on the future of the park.

   • Bus to Annapolis High School – This amendment funds a pilot project to provide much needed bus service from Annapolis to Annapolis High School.

   
   

   Fees & Fines

   • Increases the fee for a Short-Term Rental license from $400 to $650 for Annapolis residents and $750 for non-residents

   • Increases the fine for an unlicensed Short-Term-Rental to $1,000/day

   • Increases the fine for a tour bus parked in Annapolis from $100 to $300

   • Makes the penalty for parking in an area with “No Parking” signs or on a red-curb both $300/day. My amendment to decrease the fine to $200 failed.

   
   

   Of note in the budget, I am pleased to report that the final operating budget that will be voted on is $20,000+ less than the proposed budget, and the capital project budget will require approximately $440,000 less borrowing. Good news is that this budget cycle put “not spending” on the list of alternatives.

   
   

   Overall, I continue to be very impressed with the mayor’s budget proposal and his enthusiastic inclusion of inputs from the City Council. I believe we can continue to tighten the budget process next year and I am encouraged that the mayor and most members of the City Council agree with this sentiment.

   
   

   Finally, an Op-Ed by Mayor Jared Littmann in the Annapolis Capital provides useful information on the budget – I commend it to you.  

2. Diesel Electric Ferry: Many residents are asking me about the status of the diesel-electric ferry. Here is what we know: The original grant was for electric ferries, but the federal government amended the grant to be diesel-electric ferries. The mayor has directed the development of a business plan and a “request for information” to determine the viability of companies operating the ferry. At the budget meeting, Alderman Savidge withdrew his budget amendment to provide the required $525,000 city-funded match for the grant and a $50,000 study for the use of the ferry and stated that he would re-submit a proposal midyear. Mayor Littmann provided an update on the diesel-electric ferry to clarify his leadership actions and current situation of the program. Here is a transcript of the mayor’s update which can be watched here at 1:31:30:

   
   

   Mayor Littmann: So, this was a close to $3 million grant that the city had applied for prior to my time. When it came to me in early months, it was ‘the grants been approved, and it needs your signature to accept it.’ I still had a number of questions about it, such as, what's the business case for? Where are the various locations of the ferry going to be? What's the cost of putting them there? Who's going to operate it? Who's going to charge it? Who's responsible for maintenance? So, these can be free or not? In those questions have not all been answered yet, but in order to not lose the federal grant, I needed to, I was on the deadline to sign it. So I signed it but with clear instructions to the city manager's team not to spend any of the money on it because we can still return it as long as we don't spend money on it. So that's the status of the federal grant – it has been formally accepted but with the very big caveat - highlighting don't spend any of the money until we get answers from the city administration that this council could have some input on, that is if there are any pieces of that that come before the council. In the just the past week or so, what's been presented is that although the initial understanding was this the local match could be in kind essentially staff time and other projects that are already undergoing that there might be a need for that local match to be cash and that's where that $525,000 comes from. There's a lot of uncertainty about that, and a lot of back and forth. We're going through MTA and FTA, and so we're looking for clarification on what that means. There's a lot of permutations. If it gets to the point where it needs a city match of cash of the $525K, I don't sense that there is support for that, but it would be put to the council to see if that's accurate or not. If it's local, in-kind is sufficient, we have projects, so we don't need the $525K, then that goes back to the original questions of who's responsible for this? Is someone willing to do this for free or for not for free? And to pursue that, the Deputy City Manager Guild was prepared to issue a request for information to see if there was a private operator willing to take two free ferries and build a case for where they should be and how to operate them. So I think that's essentially hit the highlights of where we're at on this. I think we're on the same page. I don't think there's dispute, but it's a lot of details, so I didn't want any misunderstanding,

   
   

   Ald Thorp: I think the question is going to be asked, so as of right now, the diesel electric ferry has not been approved by the city of Annapolis? By the mayor?

   
   

   Mayor Littmann: Yes, it is not approved using those funds and moving forward.

3. Last City Council Meeting – 5/26/26: The agenda can be downloaded here and the meeting can be viewed here. Highlights include:

   
   

   COUNCIL DISCUSSION – Tremendous brief and discussion on Advisory Board and Commissions Governance Modernization presented by Laura Richards, the city’s Community Engagement Strategist. The presentation is available here.

   
   

   FIRST READERS (Ordinances and Resolutions being introduced) The following legislation was officially introduced:

   • Allowing Long-Term Room Rentals in Private Homes (O-11-26) - This ordinance reinstates rooming houses in Annapolis. It allows private homeowners to rent up to four individual bedrooms in their house. The owner must live in the house, and renters must have kitchen access to make their own meals. 

   • Stadium Accessory Structures (O-13-26) - Allows semi-permanent structures that are accessory to a stadium.

   • Rooming House Fees (R-17-26)

   • Confirmation of the new HR Director, Charles A. Hall, Jr. (R-18-26)

4. Next City Council Meeting – 6/8/26: The regular meeting will begin at 6:00pm with a closed session and the agenda can be downloaded here. You can view the meeting here. Highlights include:

   
   

   CLOSED SESSION

   • To discuss: 1) the appointment of the Finance Director and 2) an update on collective bargaining negotiations.

   
   

   CEREMONIAL ITEMS

   • Citation for Officer First Class John Murphy, Annapolis Police Department Recruitment Officer

   • Proclamation for Pride Month 2026

   
   

   COMMENTS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC

   • All City Council meetings begin with an opportunity for public testimony on any topic you wish.  

   
   

   PUBLIC HEARINGS  

   • Expanding the Board of Supervisors of Elections Membership (CA-2-26) – This legislation expands the Board of Supervisors of Elections from three members to five members; states how nominees would be selected by political party nomination and self-nomination; changes when the City Council appoints members; adds steps for filling vacancies; and generally related to the nomination and appointment of members of the Board of Supervisors of Elections.

   
   

   FIRST READERS (Ordinances and Resolutions being introduced) Unless I hear otherwise, I intend to support introducing all the following legislation:

   • Art in Public Places – Amending Definitions, Duties, and Membership (O-14-26) – This legislation updates the definitions applicable to the Art in Public Places program; revising the duties and responsibilities of the Art in Public Places Commission; reducing the size of the Commission and revising the requirements for Commission membership, appointment, and terms; updating the allowable uses of the art fund and the procedures for distribution of art fund monies; establishing criteria and procedures for the selection of art in public places; updating the standards for the display and performance of works of art in publicly accessible spaces; and generally relating to the Art in Public Places Commission.

   • Finance Director – Karen Ajayi (R-19-26) – Confirming the appointment of Karen Ajayi as Finance Director.

   
   

   SECOND READERS (This leads to the final vote on the legislation)

   • Human Resources Director – Charles A Hall, Jr (R-18-26) – Confirming his appointment as HR Director. I am very impressed with the nominee and will vote to support unless I hear otherwise.

   • Budget relate Second Readers – I intend to vote to approve unless I hear otherwise:

     • FY 2027 Annual Fees Schedule (R-10-26) - This resolution sets the fee levels for the next budget year. The new budget year starts July 1.

     • FY 2027 Fines Schedule (R-11-26) - This resolution establishes the City's fines for the next budget year,

     • FY 2027 Position Classification and Pay Plan (R-12-26) - This resolution allocates the number of employees the City employs, the job titles, and the pay levels for each job.

     • Annual Budget and Appropriation and Property Tax Levy (O-8-26) - This is the City's annual Fiscal Year 2027 budget. It includes authorization for City departments and programs, allocates their spending levels, and sets property tax levels.

       
       

5. Spa Creek

   • A Clean Spa Creek: Kudos to the Spa Creek Conservancy for coordinating the swim across Spa Creek on Friday. Swimming from Truxtun Park to Amos Garrett Blvd reminded me of swimming in Spa Creek when I was a kid. It was great seeing so many people out there! Spa Creek Conservancy is doing great things.  To learn more, get involved or donate please go here. 

   • ”State of Spa Creek”: The City Council's Environment Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday, June 11, at 3pm in City Hall has an agenda item, “State of Spa Creek.” The meeting can also be watched on the city’s YouTube channel during the meeting.

     
     

6. 6th Street Water Access Park: In response to community requests for improved water access in Eastport, installation of a fixed pier with a floating dock at the end of Sixth Street on the Back Creek side will begin Monday, June 8. Construction activities will take place between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm and are expected to take approximately one month to complete.

   
   

7. Hurricane Season is upon us: The city’s Office of Emergency Management has released useful information about hurricane preparedness. Read all about in this Eye On Annapolis article.

   
   

8. Upcoming Events:

   • State of Spa Creek: The City Council's Environment Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday, June 11, at 3pm in City Hall has an agenda item, “State of Spa Creek.” The meeting can also be watched on the city’s YouTube channel during the meeting.

   • Juneteenth Parade and Festival: Please join your friends and neighbors as we celebrate Juneteenth and participate in the sixth annual Annapolis Juneteenth parade on Saturday June 20. We will walk/ride alongside the Mayor and City of Annapolis staff. The parade steps off at 12 noon at the corner of Calvert Street at Bladen Street. The Calvert St garage (19 St. John’s St) has free parking on weekends and is closest to the parade start. The City will have two electric vehicles available in the parade to assist participants with mobility needs. Please register using the Mayor’s Walk Form. For more info, visit  www.theAnnapolisJuneteenth.org. For any parade participation-related questions, please contact Friends of Frank Thorp Volunteer Coordinator Frieda K. Wildey at friedak@frank4ward8.com

   • ECA meeting: Thursday, June 18; 6:30 PM for refreshments and socializing, 7:00 PM for speaker; at Eastport Volunteer Firehall

   • Session to Modernize Permit Reviews: The City of Annapolis invites residents, local business owners, and contractors to a collaborative community work session to help shape a faster, more efficient building permit process. The interactive forum will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center. More info is available here.

   • District 6 County Council Candidate Forum: ECA is co-sponsoring the District 6 County Council Candidate Forum on Tuesday, June 16, together with the Ward One Residents’ Association and Annapolitans for a Better Community. Tuesday, June 16, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, at Maryland Hall, 801 Chase Street

   • City Council Work Session: Two items on the agenda: 5:00pm to 6:00pm is Anne Arundel County Public Schools Update, and 6:00pm to 7:00pm is City’s Climate Action Plan

   • Election Day: June 23, 2026, 7:00am to 8:00pm

   • Fourth of July: A lot of events on Fourth of July including Eastport Bike Parade at 10:30am, Annapolis Downtown Parade at 6:30pm and Annapolis Fireworks at 9:15pm

All the best,

May 24

Hello Eastport!

1. Memorial Day Parade: I hope you are having a memorable Memorial Day Weekend. Having spent 28 years in the Navy, I – like many of you - served with or know veterans who died in service to our country. Please join us for the Annapolis Memorial Day Parade or take a moment in your own way to show appreciation for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in support of our way of life. The city is keeping an eye on the weather forecast and if the parade goes as planned, it will kick off at 10:00am on Monday from the intersection of Amos Garrett Blvd and West Street, head down West Street to Calvert Street and conclude at Calvert and St. Johns Streets.  At 11:30am on Monday, the Fleet Reserve Club in Annapolis will host a Memorial Day ceremony. For more information, see the City’s press release.

   
   

2. 2027 Budget: The City Council’s work on the budget continues. This Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting is your last chance to testify on the budget before City Council members review and vote on the amendments at our meeting on June 1 at 10:00am.

   
   

   I strongly encourage you to testify on Tuesday evening if you:

   • Support more funding for sidewalks, roads, parking/traffic improvements and water access parks (I do!);

   • If you support limiting spending and not spending every dime of available revenue (I do);

   • If you support the Mayor’s budget and the way he has organized the city government – which I do.

   • If you have a position on spending city money on the Hybrid Ferry (I do not think we are ready to spend one penny of taxpayer money, including on a study which I expect will be proposed, until the city staff outlines the draft business case for the ferry, a business case the mayor has tasked to be completed.

   
   

   As we dig deeper into the budget, I continue to be impressed by the efficiency, effectiveness and responsibility demonstrated in the mayor’s budget proposal. As a package, the budget supports Mayor Littmann’s vision “Annapolis Works.” While there are numerous ways to organize the city, I fully support the organization proposed and funded in the budget.

   
   

   You may have read in the press that the budget no longer contains “one-time-use” money that in past years the Council was able to allocate. The problem with that previous practice, in my opinion, was that determining the use of these funds was not competed with “not spending the money at all.” By the Mayor fully accounting for all revenue in his proposed budget, the Council is now in the position of competing any spending proposals with items already in the budget. I see this as “good government!”

   
   

   I have worked with the Mayor and senior staff and identified several additional expenses that align both with Ward 8 priorities and the Mayor’s priorities. These amendments include:

   • Traffic Safety - FY27 proposed budget removes $175,000 from this budget. This amendment puts $150,000 back into traffic safety to fund upcoming traffic and parking improvements.

   • General Waterways - All 16 Water Access Points in Eastport need significant work. This amendment adds $100,000 to improve water access points in Eastport. We need ten times this amount to catch up, but this amount is affordable and executable and would put Eastport on the path to having safer and appropriate water access.

   • General Sidewalks - The gaps and needed repairs in sidewalks in Eastport is a major impediment to the walkability of Annapolis. This amendment adds $150,000 to fund our work with the Department of Public Works to fix the gaps in our sidewalks.

   • Hawkins Cove – While the final determination on Hawkins Cove improvements has not been decided, options will require an additional $80,000 to complete project. This project has been years in the preparation and should be fully funded so that work can begin as soon as permits are in hand.

   • General Roadways - Annapolis roadways are in unsatisfactory condition, especially for a tourist city and state capital.  An affordable addition of $200,000 would move closer to keeping pace with roadway maintenance but not get us up to needed funding.

   • Turner Park – The park, located at the corner of 3rd St and Chester, is in disrepair and needs to be renovated. There are several possible sources to fund future construction, but we must first obtain a design for a new park that will enhance family life in maritime Eastport. Design work is estimated at $50,000.

   
   

   We have identified savings to fund the above projects by extending the $2M in the budget for design of Annapolis’ three fire stations over several years. While we will still be able to obtain cost savings by contracting all three designs, good government means designing the first fire station in FY27, learning from this design, and then designing the second and third fire stations in the outyears. This will cause no delay in replacing the fire stations and will pay for the above additions

   
   

   Additionally, I will be introducing ten amendments, each to move $100,000 to the contingency fund. This will serve to compete every amendment with saving the money and not spending it all. At this point in the budget, we would move this money to contingency use. I believe this is another example of good government.

   
   

   I have also introduced amendments to the fees and fines that will:

   • Increase fee for short term rentals to cover the city’s entire cost of the program – the staff is working that number

   • Make the fine for parking in areas with “No Parking” signs the same as red curbs. This will enable us to rely on newly painted red curbs and remove signs that impede strollers and wheelchairs in our sidewalks.

   • Increase the fine for a tour bus parking in the city of Annapolis while waiting for passengers from $100 to $300 is designed to motivate them to leave Eastport and park in designated areas in and just outside of the city.

   • Reduce the fines for parking on a red curb from $300 to $200, still a significant fine and enough of a pain point to prevent it, but not as overly burdensome. Parking on a red curb in front of a fire hydrant or bus stop would remain $300.

   • Increase fine for an unlicensed short-term-rental from $200 to $500 per day-rented and add new fines for advertising unlicensed STRs of $500 per platform.

   
   

   All of the above information is designed to reflect what I have heard are most residents’ positions on these expenses, fees and fines. Please let me know any thoughts you may have on the above information.

   
   

3. Next City Council Meeting – 5/26/26: The regular meeting will begin at 7:00pm and the agenda can be downloaded here. You can view the meeting here. As Mayor Littmann is travelling, I will be the acting mayor for the meeting. Highlights include:

   
   
   
   

   CEREMONIAL ITEMS

   • Proclamation for National Gun Violence Awareness Day

   • Proclamation for Pride Month 2026

   
   
   
   

   COMMENTS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC

   • All City Council meetings begin with an opportunity for public testimony on any topic you wish.

     
     
     
     

   COUNCIL DISCUSSION

   • Advisory Board and Commissions Governance Modernization presented by Laura Richards, the city’s Community Engagement Strategist. The presentation is available here.

   
   
   
   

   PUBLIC HEARINGS

   • Continued testimony on the budget – this is your opportunity to testify on what you think is important in the budget

     • Annual Budget and Appropriation and Property Tax Levy (O-8-26) - This is the City's annual Fiscal Year 2027 budget. It includes authorization for City departments and programs, allocates their spending levels, and sets property tax levels.

     • FY 2027 Annual Fees Schedule (R-10-26) - This resolution sets the fee levels for the next budget year. The new budget year starts July 1.

     • FY 2027 Fines Schedule (R-11-26) - This resolution establishes the City's fines for the next budget year,

     • FY 2027 Position Classification and Pay Plan (R-12-26) - This resolution allocates the number of employees the City employs, the job titles, and the pay levels for each job.

   • Updating the Standing Committees Section of the City Code (O-9-26) - This expands the Environmental Matters Committee's oversight to include environmental issues handled by the Planning and Zoning Department; updates the Economic Matters Committee's duties to include the internet, video streaming, and similar issues; and adds an overview of the Rules and City Government Committee's functions. It was the only committee without such a paragraph.

   • Reducing the Human Relations Commission Membership (O-10-26) - Human Relations Commission membership would decrease from 15 members to nine members.

   
   
   
   

   FIRST READERS (Ordinances and Resolutions being introduced) Unless I hear otherwise, I intend to support introducing all the following legislation:

   • Allowing Long-Term Room Rentals in Private Homes (O-11-26) - This ordinance reinstates Rooming Houses in Annapolis. It allows private homeowners to rent up to four individual bedrooms in their house. The owner must live in the house, and renters must have kitchen access to make their own meals. 

   • Stadium Accessory Structures (O-13-26) - Allows semi-permanent structures that are accessory to a stadium.

   • Rooming House Fees (R-17-26)

   • Confirmation of the new HR Director, Charles A. Hall, Jr. (R-18-26)

     
     

4. Traffic During Blue Angels: A huge thank you to the Annapolis Police Department for planning and executing a plan that cleared the traffic so quickly from Eastport. I’m passing this on from APD Captain Guy Thacker: “I really want to thank the community members.  Especially the residents along Chesapeake and Severn who cooperated and moved their vehicles!  This was extra helpful for the public safety response.  I will thank them at a future meeting, but if you could please let them know that the APD appreciates the teamwork!  We will utilize this plan again for the 4th of July.”

   
   

5. Town Hall Meeting – Parking Enforcement in Eastport: As Eastport residents have requested, parking enforcement is being enhanced in Eastport as well as other areas of Annapolis. Earlier this week, we received an update on parking enforcement from City officials at the Ward 8 Town Hall. Here are highlights of the brief and at the bottom of this email are the major enforcement criteria for parking in Annapolis.  

   • To request 2 hours of free parking at the downtown Mills Hillman garages:

     • Go to AnnapolisParking.com

     • Select Parking Locations

     • Click Mills Hillman Garage

     • Scroll to the bottom of the page

     • Select Residents’ Hillman Validation to apply

   • If you need assistance with downtown parking, contact Premium Parking Customer Service at 410-216-5620 or their customer service rep Meghan at 667-408-0898 or jmuarray@premiumparking.com

   • If you have questions or concerns about parking in Eastport contact annapolisparking@spplus.com or 443-648-3087.

   • If you are interested in obtaining free two-hour parking in, or have any questions about, the other three parking garages, Gott’s Court, Knighton or Park Place Garages, also contact annapolisparking@spplus.com or 443-648-3087.

   • If you have requests for curb painting or signage installation or removal, please go to Submit a Problem Portal

   
   

6. Reference Guide and Where to Report Stuff: A big topic at the Town Hall was where residents can report issues and request city services. Mayor Littmann has been working hard to streamline this process and is making progress with more to come.

   • The City has published a Resource Guide that is available here. At the bottom of this email is also a list of ways to report a problem to ensure your request is handled efficiently by the correct department.

   • A page with significant resources to request assistance from the city, including the Anna311 portal, is the “Report an Issue” page.

   • The City’s Ombudsman who works in the Mayor’s office and is responsible for constituent services, Tiyana Parker, can be reached at ombudsman@annapolis.gov. Please contact this office if you need help navigating a city service or have questions/concerns about a service.

   
   

7. Three big openings coming up in Eastport!!!!

   • MRE Mercantile Men's Clothiers is opening its doors on Saturday, May 30th at the crack of noon! MRE Mercantile offers a personalized shopping experience with carefully curated noteworthy brands. It's designed to be the “go-to destination where guys shop, style & socialize."

   • La Sierra Food Truck is in the parking lot of the Shell gas station. You can order Mexican food on site or place your order at 443-597-1227.

   • Harbour House Pool - I am pleased and proud to report that the City will be funding the Harbour House pool to be open seven-days-a-week this summer! The pool will be open to all residents of Annapolis, and there will be no charge to swim there. I hope to see you there!

   
   
   
   

8. Refuse/Recyclable/Yard Waste Collection: As Memorial Day falls on a Monday , collection scheduled for Monday morning will be Tuesday, Tuesday morning will be Wednesday. For more info, go here.

   
   

All the best,