Annapolis Mayor Jared Littmann said Monday night that he would not increase the property tax rate in his first city budget.

Littmann, who took office in December, delivered the news during a relatively brief City Council meeting that included his first State of the City address and his first budget proposal.

Here are some key takeaways from the address and the proposed municipal budget — and how some council members reacted.

How much is the budget? And what happens next?

The budget proposed by Littmann for fiscal year 2027, starting July 1, includes a $204 million operating budget and a $29.1 million capital improvement budget, covering 117 infrastructure projects.

The total, about $233 million, is about $4 million more than the fiscal year 2026 budget proposed by Gavin Buckley last year.

Now that Littmann has proposed the budget, the city’s finance committee, chaired by Alderman Harry Huntley, will review it and make recommendations during public meetings over the next several weeks.

The Planning Commission can review and make recommendations regarding the capital budget, and the Financial Advisory Commission can review and make recommendations on both the operating and capital budgets.

Those recommendations get sent to the finance committee for a vote, and then a recommended budget is sent to the full City Council for review. A final budget must be adopted by June 30.

Huntley said the budget proposal seemed “reasonable” and reflected Littmann’s priorities.

Alderwoman Karma O’Neill, a member of the finance committee, said she had not yet had much time to review it but saw “no red flags.”

Alderman Frank Thorp, the third member of the finance committee, could not be reached for comment.

The finance committee has three budget meetings scheduled for next week.

No new taxes, but ...

The mayor was clearly proud of delivering a balanced budget without raising the property tax rate on Annapolitans. City code requires a balanced budget, which sometimes means raising the tax rate to bring in revenue.

Though the tax rate remains the same, Littmann’s proposal includes increases on a handful of city fees. The annual fee for trash collection at dwelling units is increasing by 7.5%, or about $32, for example. Water and sewer rates are increasing marginally, but those fees are used specifically for water and sewer, not to fill the city’s coffers.

Making city government work

Littmann ran for mayor on the idea of making city services effective, and he highlighted some success stories during his remarks.

Littmann said he spent weeks meeting with city staff to learn about their jobs. He pointed to the city’s response to the winter storm earlier this year that froze people in place for days.

The city’s emergency operations call center fielded more than 700 calls during the storm, he said, and one example stood out: an older resident who couldn’t make a medical appointment on time because her driveway was blocked.

“City staff didn’t just log the issue. They cleared the driveway. They got that resident to the appointment,” Littmann said. “That’s what good customer service looks like.”

Separately Monday, the council unanimously confirmed Littmann’s nominees for city manager and city attorney.

Public safety

Littmann highlighted a few key items in his budget proposal, including money for six new hires in the fire department, $2 million to plan upgrades at fire stations, and additional speed and red light cameras around the city to calm traffic.

In total, Littmann’s proposed budget would increase the police department’s spending from a projected $26 million in fiscal year 2026 to $30.3 million, and the fire department’s from $24.5 million to $28.4 million.

O’Neill and Huntley said they’d look carefully at staffing requests in the budget proposal, especially in the fire department.

Since the fire department was meeting its benchmarks, the two aldermen said it may be difficult to allocate money for more staff.

New government center?

Toward the end of his remarks, Littmann warned of an issue looming before city government: An “expensive” lease at 145 Gorman St., which houses several city offices, is nearing an end.

Littmann also flagged that the city has a “portfolio” of older buildings that are expensive to maintain. But, he said, the city owns undeveloped land on Spa Road — so he wants the council to consider consolidating city operations into a new government center there.

“It isn’t in this year’s budget, but by next year, we need to reach a consensus vision, with public input, on how to move forward,” he said.

Huntley said he hadn’t yet given a lot of thought to the idea.

“The city owns lots of land, and there is a lot of land we could be using better,” he said. “And a government center could be one use for that.”