This encampment is next to our rent paying tenant who has a 4 year old grandchild. She cannot come out to play in the backyard because these for squatters engage in behavior that is not fit for a toddler to witness. We have been asking for help since late May. @MayorBMScott

Councilman Schleifer VOTES NO on the Homestead Property Tax Cap Increase: Today, the Budget Committee and full City Council advanced Bill 26-0151, which increases Baltimore City’s Homestead Property Tax Cap from 4% to 5%. For years, the Homestead Tax Credit protected homeowners by limiting how much their taxable assessment could increase each year. Raising the cap to 5% means thousands of homeowners could face larger property tax increases year after year. Meanwhile, Baltimore County continues to maintain a 4% cap. The Finance Department argues that future property tax reductions included in the City’s 10-Year Financial Plan will offset many of these increases, but why should taxpayers trust promises of future tax relief when the administration has already abandoned the very first tax cut promised in that plan? This year’s scheduled 2 cent property tax reduction was removed from the budget despite hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue and spending. The city could have easily found the $4 million needed to provide that tax relief. Taxpayers should not be asked to pay more in perpetuity based on promises that may never be delivered tomorrow. I successfully fought to reduce the original proposal from 6% to 5%, but I also introduced an amendment to protect homeowners from another broken promise. My amendment would have automatically ended the higher cap after four years unless a future City Council voted to continue it. That would have forced future administrations to justify the increase and demonstrate progress on the promised property tax reductions. Baltimore residents deserve real tax relief, not a system where some homeowners receive a small tax break, while longtime residents, especially seniors who have lived in their homes for decades, risk being hit with significant tax increases. We should be lowering property taxes, not increasing homeowners’ exposure to higher tax bills.

Frustrated neighbors in Southwest Baltimore are calling on city officials to take action against a long-vacant property they say has become a magnet for crime, trash, and safety hazards. cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/r…

Streeter: Every Baltimore garden is a small act of defiance buff.ly/VuBdPp9 by columnist @LeslieStreeter

For my 804 comrades-