Mayor Brandon Scott unveiled his proposed 2025 budget on Monday, calling for a 44% increase in funding for substance abuse and mental health services.
The $4.06 billion budget, proposed amid a wave of overdose deaths, would balance a projected $62 million shortfall and allocate $2.3 million for addiction and mental health services in the health department’s operating budget, an increase of $702,738.
The increase would come despite the city’s financial issues, which are likely to be compounded by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last week.
“Today we are putting forth a budget that completely covers the gap without furloughing any employees, without closing any fire stations or rec centers and without cutting city services or turning our back on the priorities of Baltimore moving forward,” Scott said during a Monday press conference.
The budget includes $500,000 for the health department to combat overdose deaths by expanding mobile buprenorphine treatment and clinical services for residents utilizing the city’s Healthcare on the SPOT program.
The department would also receive $1 million for its mobile clinic serving patients with opioid use disorder, among other initiatives.
The funding would allow such programs to continue their services while the department looks to fill gaps left by lapsed grant funding, according to budget documents.
In addition to the increases in funding for some services, the budget would maintain the current levels of funding for the fire department’s emergency medical services and clinical services offered by the health department.
The push to maintain or increase services comes against a grim backdrop, with overdose death rates in Baltimore continuing to rise.
Baltimore had 179.8 deaths per 100,000 people — 1,053 in total — in the 12-month period ending November 2023, according to the most recent data from Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response.
With the highest overdose death in the nation, the deaths marked a 5.2% increase over the year prior.
Although the 2025 budget includes some increases for services to combat the overdose crisis, agencies were asked to cut spending in their budget submissions in anticipation of a deficit, which led to $20 million in savings.
Those cuts were reflected in the pillars of Scott’s proposed budget. Funding for “clean and healthy communities,” for example, would see a 3.9% decrease in overall funding, coming in at $296.6 million.
In total, Scott’s $4.06 billion budget includes $3.4 billion to cover the city’s operating costs and dedicates $654 million to capital improvements.
The city’s charter requires that the budget be passed by June 26, with the new fiscal year beginning on July 1.
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