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Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Mr. President, Madam Comptroller, senators, delegates, members of the City Council, clergy,
colleagues in public service, committed people of Baltimore, thank you for the opportunity
to report on the progress of our city and to renew our commitment to the great cause
of growing Baltimore.
Mr. President, I thank you for the invitation to speak before the council, and for your
candor, your conscience, and commitment to Baltimore’s future.
We share an understanding that the privilege to lead comes from the people,
and that our success is measured in our service towards them and in the achievement of tangible
goals for the greater good.
To every member of this City Council:
Nothing works without your hard work, your dedication, and your collaboration.
As I look back on what we have accomplished— with your wisdom, ingenuity, and support—
I applaud your courage to stand strong as a body for the sake of progress.
And your personal independence makes Baltimore stronger.
Lt. Governor Brown, thank you and the O’Malley-Brown administration for your support of our efforts
to make Baltimore a better, safer, stronger— and growing city.
Attorney General Gansler, State’s Attorney Bernstein, Clerk of the Court Conaway, Sheriff
Anderson, Judge Baylor-Thompson, and Judge Holland, thank you all for joining us today
to renew your commitment to supporting our vision of Baltimore becoming the safest
big city in America.
Today, we affirm that we have the power to create the future that we want
for Baltimore’s families.
We have the power to overcome the difficulties of economic and budget pressures.
If we have the courage to use that power, our city’s lingering narrative of post-industrial
decline will not be the story of our future.
Our charge is to grow Baltimore, to rebuild a thriving city where more families
choose to live—
a place where children find educational opportunity, where neighbors live in safety without abandoned
blight, and where businesses make new investments, creating jobs for our people.
Together, we believe a new urban story of growth can emerge from our collective choices.
The new ideas and solutions that I will propose today—so we may pursue them in partnership—
will be realistic and based in fact.
The simple arithmetic of declining revenues and increasing expenses—and our own
denial of it—has been the enemy of progress.
Because the old ways of doing city business must end, our future will rely on our ability
to evolve. As a community, we must reject the status quo and embrace a call
for bold action.
Baltimore’s citizens demand—and deserve— major change.
Our work to get Baltimore growing again must be grounded first in stable city finances.
It’s the only sustainable path forward. It is a defining fight of our generation of
leadership, and we—our local government, our businesses, our communities—are empowered
to make it happen.
We must change to grow.
Over the past three years, we have achieved more results towards meeting the fundamental
challenges that caused Baltimore’s decline and impeded our ability to cement a turnaround.
By reducing crime—the single most devastating driver of family flight—Baltimore has ended
the spiral of endless desperation and moved forward with a new, hopeful belief in the
promise of safer neighborhoods.
And instead of tolerating a perverse acceptance of senseless *** as a foregone conclusion,
out of our control, we now share a demand for a better government response and a stronger
community commitment to the protection of all our citizen’s lives.
Since 2009, the number of murders and shootings in our city has been driven down to
historic lows.
Scores of families have been spared the tragedy of the loss of a loved one to gun violence.
In 2012, over 300 fewer victims suffered the brutality of violent crime, compared to
just the year before.
And five fewer youth, with their futures before them, have had their—excuse me—
Five fewer youth, with their futures before them, had their lives cut down or cut short.
It is not a straight-line trend of progress. We’ve suffered painful setbacks:
Precious lives were lost that cannot be brought back.
Our work to reduce violence would not be possible without the proud men and women of the Baltimore
Police Department, who put their lives in danger. They have worked harder than ever
before, and we must give them the resources and tools they need to strengthen their efforts:
A fully-staffed police department, even when faced with budget cuts. Smarter deployments,
with more foot patrols in our neighborhoods. The most effective technology, including a
state-of-the-art crime lab and an expanding crime camera network—already our network
has grown by 100 new cameras since 2010.
And we must continue to work hand-in-hand with state and federal criminal justice partners
to increase resources, case quality, and criminal prosecutions; and to divert nonviolent offenders
into treatment—especially our young people.
Under Commissioner Batts, we continue to focus on getting illegal guns off the streets and
targeting violent offenders and gangs—yes, that small portion of our population that
is responsible for the overwhelming majority of violence and terror.
Under his leadership, we are establishing a renewed partnership between police and neighborhoods
that is built upon the idea of simple trust—by demanding professional courtesy and respect
for all Baltimore City residents from every officer, and by making clear that the badge
is a symbol of honor that must be worn only by those of sterling character.
While we have demonstrated that we have the local power to reduce crime and violence,
the importation of deadly guns into America’s cities and the ability of criminals and the
disturbed to get their hands on them is rooted in a larger problem.
How can we live in a country where gun violence is allowed to rage in our most dynamic urban
centers and shatter the sense of security in suburban schools and communities?
I will continue to work with state and federal elected leaders to answer this question and
develop policies to reduce gun violence.
[applause] Thank you.
We need to muster the political courage to take bold action. The problem and the causes
of gun violence can no longer be ignored or obfuscated by the gun lobby. We must stand
for the safety of our citizens and for our children.
[applause]
Working closely with County Executive Rushern Baker, Baltimore and Prince George’s County
are standing together, fighting for the same causes. From National Harbor to the Inner
Harbor, we’ve stood together on jobs, on equality, and education. And today, we stand
together to reduce gun violence. Please join me in welcoming a special leader in this movement
to make Maryland safer, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker.
[applause]
Together, our jurisdictions represent nearly a million and a half Marylanders, and our
voices will be heard. I am confident Maryland’s citizens will join together to support sweeping
reforms in state and federal gun laws. Governor O’Malley and President Obama have both proposed
bold legislation worthy of our full support.
If we stand with one voice, we can ban assault weapons and high capacity guns, increase criminal
penalties for straw purchases, strengthen record-keeping by gun dealers, and tighten
license requirements for gun purchases.
Stronger gun laws will make a difference. Our representative governments can make us
safer. And we must act now to help save lives.
[applause]
In 2012, Baltimore experienced the lowest number of fire deaths on record. The number
of tragedies has declined each year since 2009.
The reduction comes as the men and women of the Fire Department have increased efforts
to distribute free smoke alarms to city residents.
Please join me in thanking our firefighters.
[applause]
Since 2010, Fire Chief Jim Clack, this administration, and the City Council have worked together
to prevent firefighter layoffs—and we have reduced the nightly closures of fire companies
while improving response times. Today, when it comes to fire safety, Baltimore is undeniably
safer than just three years ago.
Chief Clack, thank you for your leadership.
[applause]
Together, we will not be satisfied until we achieve our goal of zero fire deaths.
Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods, and they are the foundation for our future prosperity.
The biggest challenge confronting our neighborhoods is the scourge of 50 years of disinvestment
and thousands of vacant homes that have been left behind. They are a cancer to our communities,
and Vacants to Value is showing real progress towards addressing them.
Since launching the initiative, 250 vacants have been torn down, nearly a thousand more
are being rehabbed, and sales of vacant city-owned properties have increased five-fold.
More than 30 acres of vacant land have been—vacant city lots have been turned over to create
community green spaces.
We are getting tough on speculators and irresponsible, absentee owners and have issued nearly
a thousand citations.
This streamlined code enforcement effort forces them to fix-up their properties or sell them
to someone who will. And it has spurred $47 million in private investment in our neighborhoods.
[applause]
We are also supporting a pipeline of new homebuyers by providing incentives to help with down
payments and with closing costs. More than 140 new homeowners have received $10,000 homeownership
grants through Vacants to Value. And I want put a human face on this progress and make
it part of our annual tradition of the State of the City.
Ms. Destiny Junior is a strong young woman with a bright future. She works full-time
to serve the elderly at an adult day care center. Destiny moved here, thank you very
much, from Baltimore County to McElderry Park—
[applause]
with the help of Vacants to Value incentives—qualifying for $15,000 in closing costs assistance. Please
join me in thanking our housing commissioner, Paul Graziano, and welcoming a proud new Baltimore
homeowner to our community!
[applause]
It’s always a plus when it’s a Baltimore County resident.
[laughter]
Thank you, Destiny.
A growing city must have a thriving economy. City government has an important role in promoting
economic development, job creation, and job readiness. Rather than pitting neighborhoods
against each other, we believe in One City,
because new downtown investment and new neighborhood investment are not mutually exclusive.
Over the past three years, we have shifted the strategy to do more to support the city’s
major economic sectors—including our port, health care, education and research institutions,
and our tourism sector. For example, at this time last year, the future of the Port of
Baltimore—an economic engine that supports more than 40,000 jobs in the region—faced
unnecessary uncertainty.
The state began upgrading the port for the giant container ships that will come with
the expansion of the Panama Canal, with deeper dredging and larger cranes. At the city level,
we started rebuilding Broening Highway to support additional freight traffic.
But a related regional project that would allow double-stacked trains to bypass the
Howard Street Tunnel, the CSX Intermodal Facility, was in serious jeopardy. The suburban jurisdictions
selected for study balked, stalling construction of this vital transportation link.
The Washington Post even warned on its front page that, without the facility, Baltimore
“could suffer a devastating blow to one of the its few vibrant engines that keep its
economy afloat.” I wasn’t about to let that happen. So I told CSX: Bring the $90
million project here to Baltimore City, the birthplace of American railroads—and they
agreed.
[applause]
Last month, Governor O’Malley prioritized $30 million to support construction, which
is scheduled to finish in May 2015—in time for the opening of the Panama Canal expansion.
All of these actions will help bring jobs while securing the economic future of the
Port for generations.
We are spearheading a new “anchor institution” initiative by partnering closely with Baltimore’s
campuses of higher education and medicine to reinvest in surrounding neighborhoods.
The future of the city and the future these proud institutions are inextricably linked.
Joining together, from the Westside to Midtown, Homewood to Hillen, we are breaking down old
barriers between great halls of ivy and the greater community. For new PhDs, residency
interns, and student researchers, it’s an opportunity to thrive in a creative urban
setting—and no doubt, more young minds will choose to build a life in Baltimore.
This administration will continue to strengthen small businesses, job training, and job opportunities
for city residents. This past year alone:
We created the city’s first micro-loan program to provide financing to small businesses,
including retail, service providers, and contractors.
We created the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Minority and Women-Owned Businesses to
develop bold new strategies to help strengthen Minority Businesses.
We created Accelerate Baltimore to support start-ups that are developing pioneering technology.
We executed a local job agreement with Caesars Entertainment to give city residents priority
for the newly-created—newly-approved casino.
—that’s one clap, up somewhere— [laughter, applause]
I thought that must have been Glen up there. [laughs]
So we opened four new community job hubs to help city residents obtain skills for the
21st century jobs, to find gainful employment.
We appointed Brenda McKenzie to lead BDC into the future, with a renewed focus on neighborhood
businesses and job creation.
And finally, 2012 was also a great year for supporting our tourism and hospitality economy.
The City was host to several fantastic civic events drawing hundreds of thousands of people
and millions in economic impact—
Sailabration, the Grand Prix, Artscape, the African American Festival.
We enjoyed post-season games of Orioles magic, and our Ravens won the Super Bowl!
[applause, cheers]
That’s a big one.
These events showcased our city on the national stage and filled neighborhoods with pride
and celebration.
So today, I ask you to support our once-in-a-generation effort to rewrite and reform the City’s
outdated zoning code.
The current code and process create a maze of inflexible rules and unpredictable outcomes
that can stifle investment.
This needs to change.
We have the opportunity with TransForm Baltimore to make the process more transparent and predictable—promoting
growth while preserving our neighborhoods’ character.
Changing the code will enable us to create Transit-Oriented Developments, including those
along the proposed Red Line. And it will make it easier to adapt old warehouses into artist
studios, turn vacant lots into urban farms, and promote bioscience manufacturing.
I understand that the details of this change can be challenging, but we should stay focused
on the ultimate goal of approving a modern zoning code for Baltimore’s future.
Because we must change to grow.
Public education is the cornerstone of a growing city. Families have a fundamental right to
access a good education in quality school buildings. And providing more opportunities
for families to send their children to good public schools will help Baltimore grow again.
We also know that public education helps break down economic and racial barriers and the
ugly cycle of poverty.
And the poverty of a government, on its own, is no excuse for failing schools, mismanagement,
or bloated bureaucracy.
It was these principles that my father fought for in the 1990’s. With new state resources
came new accountability to improve our student outcomes. The landmark 1997 city-state partnership
has made a difference in student achievement.
[applause]
Under the leadership of Dr. Andres Alonso, student test scores have improved dramatically.
North Avenue has shrunk and it’s better managed. School enrollment has increased steadily
year after year, and the number of dropouts has been cut in half.
[applause]
Dozens of new charter and transformational schools have come online, and public school
choice is available for most middle and high school students. Thank you Dr. Alonso for
your unwavering commitment to Baltimore’s young people.
[applause]
The fight for better schools is far from over. While teachers and students are making progress,
our buildings and classrooms are inadequate and ill-equipped for the 21st century. In
too many cases, conditions are downright deplorable and simply unjust.
The state’s school system as a whole has achieved a half-decade of national praise
and recognition—but you’d be hard pressed to say that Maryland’s system of public
education is equitable among the state’s local jurisdictions. There must be a stronger
statewide recognition of the enormous capital needs of our local school districts with the
oldest buildings.
Our state constitution is clear.
The General Assembly shall “establish throughout the state a thorough and efficient system
of free public schools; and shall provide for their maintenance.”
The framers of our state constitution did not intend for a child’s zip code or the
wealth of a local tax base to be the determining factors of whether or not they attend a school
in good repair—but that’s the system we inherited.
Baltimore City is the one of the poorest jurisdictions in the state and has the highest tax effort.
A staggering 84% of our students come from low-income families, and we have the oldest,
most dilapidated school buildings.
We understand that Baltimore must do more locally, and our strategy is not simply to
beg the state for a blank check with no strings attached. My father, Delegate Pete Rawlings,
taught me that approach is just as wrong. We have a responsibility to take our own local
action and put forward viable solutions.
In 2012, with the support of education advocates—and against the demands of powerful special interests—this
City Council approved an historic increase in new funding for school renovation. Make
no mistake—it is largest local source of school renovation funding ever approved in
Baltimore’s modern history. No one—
[applause]
No one can point a finger in this chamber and say that Baltimore didn’t put more skin
in the game. At the same time, our school system partners have put forward a tough,
220-page, comprehensive plan to right-size and to modernize school buildings.
Here’s a summary of our local action:
This administration and the City Council have made tough choices, increasing taxes to provide
dedicated funding for school renovation.
The local school board has also made tough choices, approving a plan to relocate or close
29 schools and programs.
At the same time, the local school system itself has improved student outcomes, reduced
bureaucracy, and put forward a thoughtful plan to finance a major school reform effort.
Now it’s time for the General Assembly join us with a renewed, landmark city-state partnership—
with resources, flexibility, and shared accountability to rebuild our schools.
Conditions have reached a crisis point, and a big solution is required. 85,000 of Maryland’s
children are depending on it.
I am open to any compromise or any alternative that does not comprise a child’s right to
attend a quality school in good repair—
but keeping the status quo will only serve to fail our students—and that is unacceptable.
We must find a new way to meet our shared objective of improving public school buildings
for every child, no matter where they live in Maryland.
[applause]
At the same time we seek a renewed partnership with state government, Baltimore must implement
major fiscal reforms. For over 50 years, Baltimore’s story has been dominated by a narrative of
post-industrial decline.
From 1950 to 2000, the city lost a third of its population. Jobs disappeared, crime rates
rose, schools deteriorated, and many neighborhoods destabilized.
City government itself was left with a legacy of high taxes, growing liabilities, and crumbling
infrastructure.
But over the last several years, a new urban story is beginning to emerge.
Population loss is slowing to a near halt, and many neighborhoods are experiencing a
new growth. Baltimore is safer, public education is improving with growing enrollment, more
vacants are being rehabbed, and our businesses and institutions have made new investment.
Since 2010, this administration and the City Council have worked together to close $300
million in budget deficits.
[applause]
We averted an immediate pension crisis, eliminated duplicative programs, and began to cut the
property tax burden—all while keeping our core services funded, including public safety
and public education.
As a result of these tough actions, Baltimore held its own and maintained its bond rating
during the worst recession since the great depression, and the quality-of-life for city
residents generally improved. Today, we’ve outlined the progress made over the past three
years—but much more work remains to get Baltimore growing again.
The question, for this generation of city leadership is this:
Will Baltimore cement a true turnaround toward a future of growth? Or will we allow our hard-fought
victories to become just a momentary pause—a footnote in the continuing story of decline?
[applause]
More than a year ago, I said we needed a comprehensive approach to deal with the City’s structural
problems and I called for the creation of the City’s first Ten-Year Financial Plan.
Many cities only engage in long-term financial planning as a reaction to receivership, state
takeovers, or bond rating downgrades.
In Baltimore it is a proactive effort so that we never reach that point—and so we can
choose our destiny, rather than have it forced upon us.
With such a plan in place, Baltimore can end the cycle of deficits that have eroded services
and constantly put the City on the defense, instead of investing in renewal. The effort
has revealed, for the first time, the true scope of our fiscal challenges.
Since taking office, I’ve pledged to talk straight and to never sugarcoat our problems.
Truth is the first step to any real solution. With that, let me be candid about what we
confront.
First, our city faces serious structural deficits between slow-growing revenues and faster-growing
expenses. Without corrective action, this cumulative shortfall totals nearly $750 million
over nine years.
To put that number into perspective, it’s more than what we spend on Police, Fire, Health,
and Recreation and Parks annually.
The deficit is largely driven by growing healthcare and pension costs. Even with the reforms we’ve
made, these combined costs are projected to grow by another 40%. And there is a major
imbalance in how we compensate our employees.
The costs of outdated benefits have crippled our ability to pay our workers what they truly
deserve in their paychecks.
Second, our city faces a $1 billion infrastructure deficit over the next decade. Roads, bridges,
City buildings—including rec centers, and police and fire stations—need significant
investment just to meet reasonable standards.
Third, our city has unfunded retiree liabilities of more than $3 billion, and we must make
meaningful actions now in order to afford future benefits.
At the same time, our property tax rate is impeding the city’s ability to compete for
growth. We all know Baltimore cannot simply hike property tax rates to improve our financial
situation. To do so would almost certainly guarantee further population and job losses.
Every elected official, community, institution, and business with a stake in Baltimore’s
future should share a deep concern for these facts. It is reality. To put our head in the
sand and ignore the problem would be an unforgivable disservice to the people we represent and
the city we all love.
We cannot build a foundation of a growing city on the mud of a fiscal swamp. The status
quo is unsustainable, and the price of inaction is clear.
We must change to grow.
Since last year’s elections, and after a year of careful study with national experts,
we are prepared to propose a bold set of major reforms—to eliminate the structural deficit
and protect basic services from devastating cuts, to make modern investments in civic
infrastructure while reducing neighborhood blight, to reduce—to further cut the property
tax burden on homeowners.
Each of these things will help to retain and attract residents and jobs.
The Ten-Year Financial Plan requires tough trade-offs and major changes in past practices,
but it also makes investments that reward the future.
Let me outline some of the proposals we should pursue together:
First, we must rebalance the way we compensate our hard-working employees by reforming outdated,
unsustainable benefits, and instead, invest in better wages up-front.
Baltimore’s pension system for civilian workers is the only large system in Maryland
that doesn’t require an employee contribution. That must change.
At the same time, we can use the savings to increase salaries. We will bring the elected
official retirement plan in line with the civilian retirement plan.
We must shift to a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new civilian hires. The private sector
has adjusted to this model. It’s time for Baltimore to change.
We’ve implemented pension reforms for the current public safety personnel, and for the
overwhelming majority of reforms, they’ve been upheld in federal court. At my direction,
the Law Department will propose curative legislation to address the single provision that was not
upheld, while we seek appeal.
For new public safety hires, we should create a hybrid retirement plan that keeps our benefits
competitive but reduces risk and allows us to improve salaries up-front.
We need to expand wellness programs, including incentives for fitness and smoking cessation,
to promote a healthier workforce and reduce our costs. And we need an eligibility audit
right away to ensure that all healthcare coverage is legitimate.
We must make increased payments to pay down future benefit liabilities. Generations of
employees will count on these benefits when they retire.
We can’t let them down.
Second, we must make our government smaller and more efficient. We need to invest in technology
and automation, streamline workflow, and break down the silos of bureaucracy to improve productivity
and save our taxpayers dollars. We must modernize our vehicle fleet to reduce maintenance costs
while improving the equipment used to deliver city services.
Baltimore’s firefighters—they’re the best in America, but the current 42-hour shift
schedule is outdated and inefficient.
Among the 25 largest U.S. cities, including Baltimore, 19 fire departments have work schedules
exceeding ours, with a median work week of 52 hours.
We must work with our fire unions to negotiate a new schedule—with significantly higher
pay—to reduce inefficiencies and prevent the constant threat of firehouse closures.
Altogether, over the next ten years, we can reduce the size of our workforce by at least
10%—through a combination of attrition and eliminating vacant positions. We can achieve
this all without major layoffs and without reducing the quality of City services.
Third, we must invest in infrastructure by increasing pay-as-you-go funding in our budgets
and increasing our borrowing capacity, while protecting our bond rating.
Fourth, we must create a new solid waste enterprise for trash, recycling, and sanitation by collecting
a user fee, as is done in other Maryland counties. We can use all the savings—
[applause]
We can use all the savings to cut property taxes, dollar-for-dollar.
We will also move forward with a state-mandated storm water charge to rebuild crumbling storm
drains and fund greening projects in order to improve the water quality of our city streams
and our harbor.
And finally, I will not allow the structural deficit to be balanced solely on the backs
of Baltimore city residents and employees—not on my watch.
Tourists, commuters, tax-exempt entities, and private developers will be part of the
long-term solution.
We can better align and target economic development tax incentives to maximize their impact and
ensure positive return on city subsidies.
Nonresident commuters who use our transportation network and city parking garages will continue
to pay to support services such as our Charm City Circulator.
The voluntary PILOT agreement with some tax-exempt entities expires in 2016, and we’ll need
to renew a discussion with the broader nonprofit community—which accounts for more than $4
billion in tax-exempt property.
If we implement all these changes, we can reward Baltimore’s future.
We will correct Baltimore’s structural deficit and protect police, fire, sanitation, and
recreation from future cuts and service erosion.
We can sustain our commitment to school renovations over the long term.
We can prevent furloughs and pay freezes, raise employees’ take-home pay, and provide
affordable, competitive benefits—helping us attract and retain the best workforce.
We can advance a major “demolition surge” of vacant homes—tearing down more than 4,000
vacant structures.
This plan quadruples local dollars for Vacants to Value demolitions to more than $100 million
over the next ten years. And, the investment will be front-loaded with $10 million in city
funds combined with another $9 million from Maryland General Attorney’s mortgage settlement.
Thank you very much.
We can significantly increase capital funding to rebuild ten new recreation centers as a
part of our new network of larger, high-quality community centers.
[applause]
We can expand local funding for transportation, including repairing roads and bridges, while
seeking a renewed state partnership and commitment for highway revenue, which has declined dramatically
in recent years.
Each of these new infrastructure investments total more than $370 million over the next
ten years, they’ll not only reward the future but also provide local stimulus to support
job creation.
[applause]
We can create new incentives to convert vacant office buildings and construct new apartments
downtown and in key neighborhood corridors. This will bring new life and vibrancy to our
city, attracting families and improving our tax base over the long run.
And finally, we can use much of the savings from the new solid waste and storm water enterprise
and other initiatives to cut property taxes for homeowners by nearly 50 cents—a reduction
of more than 22% over the life of the plan.
[applause]
At a critical time when families are making the choice to live in Baltimore or to stay
in Baltimore, our property taxes will be more competitive, and more families will choose
to stay.
This plan doesn’t solve all of our problems, no realistic plan ever does.
But it will show with greater confidence that Baltimore, more than any other city in America,
is taking responsibility and getting its own house in order. It will send a message to
residents that Baltimore will be a better place to live.
It will show markets and businesses that Baltimore will be better place to invest. And tells
state and federal governments that we’re serious and deserving of increased support.
In the coming weeks and months, I will present many of the specific details of this financial
plan.
Believe me, I do this with complete sincerity and humility. I only want to change Baltimore
for the better. If anything, the Financial Plan will serve future mayors and City Councils
before it serves our own politics.
It is born from a belief that if a public servant seeks to govern for the greater good—even
difficult reforms will be accepted as the right choices for the future.
The state of the city is in our hands. We have the power to make change.
This local government—this generation of leaders—has demonstrated the courage to
make tough choices and the wisdom to make investments that reward the future.
Our people hope and hunger for change and reform.
We’ve come too far and made too much progress to turn back to the old ways of doing business.
Baltimore is on the cusp of a proud renewal. Now is the time. We must change to grow.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless Baltimore.
[applause]