The mayor and his touring workers

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and 16 members of his workers are out and about this month – Scott to coastal Georgia and others fanning out to Texas, the West Coast and over to Europe to attend conferences and take part in industry-sponsored occasions.

The value: $52,341, of which $39,941 shall be borne by metropolis taxpayers. And buried inside these totals: $412-a-day room prices, $2,200 particular person registration charges and two deputy mayors ensconced for every week in Europe.

Those deputy mayors, Letitia Dzirasa and Khalil Zaied, are presently in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the Planetary Health 2025 Meeting. They left on Sunday and can return to Baltimore over the weekend.

“Participants can look forward to cutting-edge scientific presentations, integration of arts, extensive networking opportunities and engaging social events,” says the conference’s website.

“That’s the health of our water system, transportation fleet, buildings, etc.,” Dzirasa and Zaied defined within the journey request varieties they submitted to the Board of Estimates. “This serves as an opportunity for knowledge,” they additional famous.

The value for airfare, lodge, meals and incidentals is $7,300. The Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health will choose up the tab as a third-party sponsor. The institute was established final 12 months with cash from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which graduated Scott in its management class of 2022.

Scott himself is the recipient of one other sponsored journey. Next week he heads to Savannah, Ga., the visitor of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, whose Chesapeake Connect program encourages local electeds “to explore and learn from a region outside of our own.”

He gained’t be alone. Three aides, led by Chief of Staff Calvin A. Young III, will accompany Scott.

The Metropolitan Council will chip in $5,100, together with the entire mayor’s journey prices, whereas taxpayers will foot the $5,700 invoice for his aides.

• Agency funds freeze doesn’t apply to cross-country journeys by Mayor Scott’s prime aides (4/10/25)

While the mayor is down South, 5 members of his Performance and Innovation “I-Team” will forsake live-streaming and as an alternative fly out to Las Vegas and Dallas to attend industry-sponsored conferences.

At Resorts World in Vegas, the way forward for AI would be the focus of 5 days (October 12-16) of breakouts, workshops and roundtables for Jason Howard and Alejandro Sosa. Meanwhile, colleagues Sandhini Ghodeshwar, Joale Jupiter and Zain Islam-Hashmi shall be stationed for 4 nights on the Service Design Global Conference exterior of Dallas.

Costing $11,709, the 2 conferences will assist the I-team “transform internal systems and culture” in Baltimore authorities, the Board of Estimates was advised.

How? By offering “a unique space that aligns directly with the work we do to improve resident experiences and improve city services,” says the I-team.

(FYI: The BOE accepted these and the opposite journey requests with no peep of debate or remark.)

Headquarters for the AI confab in Las Vegas and BELOW a number of the audio system on the October 27-30 Adobe MAX Creativity Conference in Los Angeles. (getdbt.com, adobe.com)

Arts and Entertainment

The Urban Transformation Summit is an elite, invitation-only affair hosted by the World Economic Forum.

This 12 months City Administrator Faith Leach will take part within the October 21-23 Summit in San Francisco about “how vibrant 24-hour economies can drive inclusive growth, attract investment, improve livability and strengthen cultural vibrancy.”

No doubt she’s going to discuss her boss’ new-found ambition to make Baltimore an arts and leisure hub, spearheaded by his newly created Mayor’s Office for Arts, Culture and Entertainment. Going out to San Francisco will price $1,409, in line with BOE data.

With room charges topping $375 and $410 an evening and six-figure registration charges, the week-long keep by 4 Scott aides will price taxpayers $18,118.

The metropolis’s Administrative Manual (AM-240-3) states that “approval of more than one person from an agency per event will normally not be granted” by the Board of Estimates.

But final week the BOE accepted journey for 4 members of the mayor’s arts and leisure workplace to attend the Adobe MAX Creativity Conference in Los Angeles. With room charges topping $375 and $412 an evening and six-figure registration charges, the week-long keep will price taxpayers $18,118.

The justification for 4 attendees?

In the phrases of Ashton Phinney, a former Recreation and Parks group aide now on the humanities and leisure payroll, “The conference will provide an opportunity to enhance my creative practices, acquire advanced design skills and apply innovative strategies that will strengthen the City of Baltimore.”

Alissa Ferguson will concurrently head to Houston to attend the AfroTech Conference.

Hired in July as the humanities workplace’s strategic operations coordinator, she stated her mission is to “gain direct exposure to program models, technological integration and operational strategies that can be adapted to Baltimore City festivals and events.”

Because the lodge price and associated charges/taxes are $339 above the per diem authorities price, the BOE final week accepted $1,016 extra for her out-of-town lodging.

Mayor Scott was a distinguished speaker on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation assembly in Washington, D.C., in late September. Senior advisor Marvin James charged town $1,806 in lodge and meals prices. (Instagram)