What did Baltimore do with savings from reduced services?

The recent letter to the editor from Jay Louis, “Mayor Scott wrong to reject property tax reduction plan” (June 24), scores on most points but mentions, “If the administration’s fears are that reducing the property tax rate might lead to reduced city services in the short term …” This gave me a serious pause.

Since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge reduction of city services — a reduction of half of the trash pickups for a year, a cessation (now somewhat reopened) of bulk trash pickup, no more street sweeping (although a promise in place), and so many more ad nauseam, and the COVID excuses going on long after most have returned to normal. Consequently, our city is suffering from the prolonged lack of these city services with trash everywhere, clogging waterways and people taking to dumping large unwanted items anywhere they can get away with it.

Departments and buildings providing in-person services were closed to the public for periods during the pandemic, including City Hall, the Abel Wolman Municipal building, the Baltimore City Health Department, Parks and Recreations, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Planning, Department of Public Works, the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success, and only some have reopened.

While I certainly would have preferred them available, at least we must have saved some money on utilities of the buildings? One needs to ask: Where did the money go? And we should, indeed, be entitled to a tax reduction as we already have a reduction of city services.

— Georgia Corso, Baltimore