Baltimore voters will find a ballot question this November that could start reshaping how City Hall handles money, contracts and power. Question F asks whether to change language in the Baltimore City Charter that has governed the Board of Estimates for more than a century, and both the mayor and the City Council president say it is only the opening move in a much longer fight.
According to WBAL-TV, the seven-paragraph ballot question would give approvals of property tax rates, revenue estimates and employee salaries to the mayor or departments under his control if it passes, with those changes taking effect in 2028. That would move a chunk of fiduciary authority long held by the five-member Board of Estimates into the executive branch, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections, which details the specific charter modifications enacted under Question F. Mayor Brandon Scott currently controls three votes on the board through his own vote and the votes of his appointees, the city solicitor and the public works director, outnumbering City Council President Zeke Cohen and Comptroller Bill Henry, per WBAL-TV's reporting.
A Board Built in 1898
The Board of Estimates was established under Baltimore's 1898 municipal charter and held its first meeting in March 1900, according to the Baltimore City Archives. WBAL-TV describes its voting structure as including Mayor Brandon Scott's three votes and votes held by City Council President Zeke Cohen and Comptroller Bill Henry.
Cohen has called Baltimore's current system antiquated, per WBAL-TV's reporting, and says he supports a modern, efficient and balanced government. But he draws a sharp line on where power should ultimately land. “Giving approvals to the mayor or departments under his control is not the plan,” Cohen said, according to the station's report. He argues that the local legislative branch, not the executive, should decide where the city's fiduciary financial functions go, and he supports pursuing bigger changes to the Board of Estimates beyond what Question F proposes.
Cleanup Now, Bigger Fight Later
Comptroller Bill Henry has described Question F itself as more of a budget cleanup than a power grab, per the same account. Cohen said the council should determine where fiduciary powers eventually go, and that bypassing the Board of Estimates would speed up budget-related processes and give the City Council more time to negotiate. Henry expects the council to take up further Board of Estimates changes over the next year. Henry also said the council's Taxpayer's Night would give residents a chance to weigh in on budget changes.
Henry told WBAL-TV he has heard discussions about changing the mayor's control of the Board of Estimates for 30 years, and cautioned that eliminating the board entirely would require complicated administrative changes and require the city to determine where the approval process would move next. A separate 2024 charter amendment that aimed to strip mayoral control over the Board of Estimates died in the Baltimore City Council that year, according to the station's reporting.
The Mayor's Case for Modernizing
Scott supports Question F and has suggested the Board of Estimates' charter responsibilities should instead be governed by city code rather than the charter itself, per WBAL-TV. He has framed the measure as part of a broader effort to modernize Baltimore's procurement practices. Cohen, for his part, argues that bypassing the Board of Estimates on the annual budget would actually give the City Council more time to negotiate budget details, rather than less oversight.
Question F's fiscal reallocations would move authority to calculate annual property tax rates, estimate city revenue and surpluses, and adjust municipal officer salaries away from the board and into the mayor's office and Finance Department, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. The broader budget history also includes a reference to a 2020 fiscal reform.
Companion Measure and Recent Friction
Question F is not the only procurement-related item on the November ballot. Question E proposes removing the charter requirement that city contracts go to the lowest responsive bidder, an effort described by Ballotpedia as part of a broader push to overhaul municipal contracting rules currently bound by lowest-bidder requirements unless a bidder is deemed non-responsible.
Tensions over the board's structure boiled over in May, when the board approved a 10-year, $153 million no-bid contract for police Tasers and other equipment in a 3-1 vote, over Cohen's objections and an abstention from Henry, as Hoodline reported. Separately, in May 2022, the Comptroller's Office launched a searchable public database of Board of Estimates transactions dating back to January 2021, an effort city officials describe as improving oversight and public tracking of city spending.
According to a June 18, 2025 Baltimore City audit document, the review included assessing the effectiveness of controls over the contracting process for professional services.
The stakes of who controls that process are enormous. In August, economic development proposals representing nearly $1.6 billion in planned investment, including tax incentive agreements tied to Harborplace and the Crown Cork & Seal campus, were submitted for Board of Estimates review, according to the Baltimore Development Corporation, relying on tax increment financing and PILOT agreements.
What Comes Next
Even if voters approve Question F, City Council leadership indicated in April that comprehensive legislative action to permanently reform or replace the Board of Estimates is unlikely to take full effect until at least 2028, according to WBFF FOX 45. Cohen said voters can expect more ballot questions about the board's power in the future, and said he opposes further centralizing power in Baltimore city government as that process unfolds. Whether voters will distinguish Question F's administrative shifts from companion measures like Question E remains an open question heading into November.
