On the City Council, Bill has been a voice for fairness. He’s called for more equitable capital investment to ensure every neighborhood in Baltimore is cared for. He’s advocated for the expansion of rec center hours and highlighted the growing gap between City spending on policing and City spending on education and recreation. As Comptroller, he’ll fundamentally change how we view our economy and propose solutions that will yield better outcomes for everyone.

A Comprehensive Strategy for the Department of Real Estate. Baltimore City lacks a comprehensive approach to the basic set of real estate problems we face as a post-industrial City — problems like hypervacancy, dilapidation, and lead paint. Programs like Vacants-to-Value and Project CORE have had limited success. As Comptroller, Bill will reorient the Department of Real Estate to work more collaboratively with all stakeholders to establish a comprehensive real estate strategy that promotes fair development, ends blight, and grows the tax base.

Supporting a Baltimore City Land Bank. For a city like Baltimore, where there is hypervacancy and a need to grow the tax base but without gentrification, a municipal land bank is a clear solution that is long overdue. The Comptroller’s Office has been a barrier to the creation of a land bank in the past, but Bill will support and help to implement this idea.

Creating Neighborhood Customer Service Centers. Bringing City Hall to the neighborhoods improves our democracy. As Comptroller, Bill will champion implementation of neighborhood customer service centers on neighborhood corridors where residents can make payments, access forms, get help with water bills, and other items that may otherwise require a trip downtown.

Annual review of TIFs, PILOTs, and other tax breaks. While various city agencies provide review of development or tax deals at the time they are proposed, there have never been regular reviews of development mechanisms or programs, including TIF financing and Vacants to Value. Bill will ensure that this is done, moving forward.

Study of Racial and Gender Equity in Payroll and Employment. Bill will launch a study of City payroll and employment records to find racial and gender disparities in pay, hiring, or promotion. He’ll also ask Baltimore’s private sector businesses to do the same as a key internal control for any organization to adopt, and a major part of building a more fair economy in Baltimore.

Auditing City Contracting and Procurement for Economic Inclusion. Each year, while Baltimore has a strong MBE/WBE program, we still fail to meet our targets. Bill will begin annually auditing City Contracting and other spending for economic inclusion to identify where we are falling short, and he’ll recommend strategies each year to improve our procurement policy.