BALTIMORE, Md. — One hospital-based group and another that is religious-based will now run SAFE Streets 10 sites throughout the city, instead of seven community-based organizations, and the city council Rules and Legislative Oversight committee called a hearing to find out why.
“This is for the purpose of inviting the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement to brief the council on the recent announced changed to the program,” announced Committee Chair Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer.
After a lengthy slide show and explanation for the change, including testimony from LifeBridge Health and Catholic Charities, the real crux of the hearing became clear.
“We’re going for a comprehensive… we’re going for an inclusive model here, and I think that’s been your goal all along the way, and I agree with that 1,000 percent,” said Councilman Mark Conway, “I don’t think that can happen without the engagement of the council.”
Questioned over why the city council had to learn about the changes after the fact and the news media, Neighborhood Safety & Engagement Director Shantay Jackson offered up this:
“There’s no formalized process between the administration and the council for when the council gets briefed.”
Political infighting over the changes and the SAFE Streets program also turned personal with no mediators in sight.
Jackson pointed to a phone call that never happened between Conway and herself three days prior to the news conference.
“Unfortunately, you were unable to make that meeting, and my office didn’t know that so we left the call,” said Jackson.
“There were definitely opportunities to email, text, you’ve got my phone number,” responded Conway, “We don’t need to pretend that we missed the opportunity here.”
Neighborhood Safety & Engagement has pledged to come up with new protocol for keeping council members in the loop, but questions remain.
“At what point does the council get briefed on future changes like this?” asked Schleifer, “Before the media gets it or after the media gets it?”
