In July 2025, The Baltimore Sun reported that Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, Mayor Brandon Scott, and a gaggle of staffers and councilmembers spent nearly $66,000 of taxpayer money to attend the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) summer conference in Ocean City. Let me repeat that: sixty-six thousand dollars. For a weekend at the beach. Not on a public works project. Not for food assistance. Not even for a school supply drive. No, this was for “networking,” “policy discussions,” and – let’s be honest – crab cakes and cocktails in the surf and sand.
To put it bluntly, this was a political class vacation funded by the very people they claim to serve – the overtaxed and underserved residents of Baltimore.
As a proud fiscal conservative, I’m beyond disgusted. As someone whose family paid their own way for our Fourth of July weekend in the Hamptons – which cost, I assure you, a fraction of that – I’m floored that local officials think this is an acceptable use of public money. Here’s a radical idea: if you want a summer getaway, pay for it yourself.
Let’s get into the details.
What Could $66,000 Buy in Baltimore?
In a city with persistent poverty, rising crime, and broken infrastructure, $66,000 might not solve all problems – but it sure could help a lot of people.
- After-School Programs: For $66K, you could fund two full-time after-school mentors for at-risk youth for an entire year, including supplies, activities, and meals.
- Crime Cameras: You could install roughly 13 new high-definition security cameras in crime-prone neighborhoods. Given that Baltimore saw over 300 homicides again last year, this would be a better deterrent than beachside seminars.
- Library Improvements: With $66K, you could outfit 5–6 city libraries with updated computers and Wi-Fi routers, helping thousands of residents close the digital divide.
- Street Repair Crews: According to public works estimates, you could patch 1,000 potholes. That may sound mundane, but anyone who’s driven through West Baltimore knows potholes aren’t just an inconvenience – they’re a form of slow torture.
But instead, Cohen, Scott, and company spent it on hotel rooms, conference badges, meals, and who knows what else down in Ocean City.
I don’t know about you, but my dad (a corporate attorney) and mom (a marketing executive) didn’t need to tap into other people’s tax money to take our family to the Hamptons for the week of Independence Day. We had a nice rental in Hampton, oceanfront, peaceful. We grilled, we swam, we saw fireworks in Montauk. We paid for every bit of it ourselves.
What a concept – personal responsibility.
“MACo” Should Stand for “Maybe Avoid Conference Overindulgence”
Sure, MACo is supposed to be a place for county and city leaders to come together and share ideas. But let’s be real: it’s also a social junket. Attendees dine on public dollars at seafood buffets and drink on rooftop decks, while their constituents back home deal with leaking school ceilings and open-air drug markets.
The hypocrisy is stunning. The same city officials who lecture us on “equity,” “justice,” and “shared sacrifice” just bilked taxpayers to sip cocktails on the Boardwalk. All under the guise of “public service.”
And let’s not forget that Baltimore isn’t a county – it’s an independent city. It doesn’t need to attend a “county” association event in full force. One or two reps? Fine. But sending a whole entourage? That’s not governance. That’s government bloat.
Baltimore’s Leadership: Preaching One Thing, Practicing Another
Zeke Cohen often tweets about lifting up “working families” and standing with “underserved communities.” Yet here he is, living it up in a beach town while many of those same families are still waiting for reliable trash pickup and struggling to get safe public transit to work.
Mayor Brandon Scott has spoken about “reimagining public safety.” Apparently, part of that reimagination involves reclassifying beach weekends as necessary expenditures.
This kind of hypocrisy doesn’t just look bad – it erodes public trust. It feeds the narrative that Democrats in cities like Baltimore are out of touch, more interested in performative politics than performance-based results.
Fiscal Stewardship Isn’t Optional — It’s the Job
Baltimore is not a rich city. It’s a city where nearly 20% of residents live in poverty, where schools often rank near the bottom of national assessments, and where public trust in government is razor-thin.
In that context, spending $66,000 on what amounts to a taxpayer-funded retreat is immoral.
Fiscal conservatism isn’t about saying “no” to everything. It’s about spending wisely. Prioritizing essentials over luxuries. Knowing the difference between an investment in public good and a giveaway to political insiders.
This conference trip? It was the latter.
A Better Way Forward
Here’s what a responsible city government would have done:
- Sent two representatives max, who could then report back to the full council.
- Required itemized expense reports for all travel.
- Set a hard cap on travel budgets based on real city needs.
- Published a public summary of learnings from the conference, if any exist beyond where to get the best Boardwalk fries.
And most importantly? They would have asked themselves one key question: “Would I pay for this with my own money?”
Because that’s what good stewards of public funds do.
Baltimore Residents Deserve Accountability
I may not live in Baltimore, but I’m a Marylander – and what happens in Baltimore affects the entire state. The city’s budget woes, crime rates, and educational failures ripple outward.
As a Georgetown student studying public policy – and someone whose family understands the value of a dollar – I see this for what it is: a classic case of bad priorities enabled by weak accountability.
Baltimore’s leaders owe their citizens an explanation – and a refund.
Until then, maybe they should take a page out of my parents’ book: save up, spend your own money, and be grateful you even have the privilege of affording a weekend away.
That’s how responsible families operate.
Maybe it’s time city governments learned to do the same.
Endnotes
- Baltimore Sun Reporting on MACo Expenses – See Baltimore Sun, “City Leaders Spend $66K Attending Ocean City Conference,” July 2025. The article outlines the total taxpayer cost for Council President Zeke Cohen, Mayor Brandon Scott, and others to attend the MACo summer conference.
- Baltimore Poverty Statistics – U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts for Baltimore city, Maryland. As of 2023 estimates, approximately 21.2% of Baltimore residents live below the poverty line.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/baltimorecitymaryland - YouthWorks Program Costs – According to Baltimore City’s YouthWorks 2024 budget summary, the cost per participant for the summer jobs program is approximately $3,000 including wages, training, and supervision.
https://youthworks.oedworks.com - Cost to Patch Potholes – Baltimore City Department of Transportation reports that standard pothole repair costs average around $50–$60 per pothole using hot asphalt mix with city crews.
https://transportation.baltimorecity.gov - Vacant Lot Cleanup Estimates – Per the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development, clearing and fencing vacant lots costs around $500 each for basic mowing, trash removal, and safety fencing.
https://dhcd.baltimorecity.gov - LED Streetlight Retrofit Costs – Baltimore’s Energy Office estimates the cost of converting traditional streetlights to energy-efficient LED fixtures to be roughly $350–$400 per light, including labor and materials.
https://energy.baltimorecity.gov - School-Based Mental Health Services – Based on Maryland Department of Education budget reports, the cost for part-time school-based mental health professionals averages $30,000–$40,000 annually depending on the provider and service scope.
https://marylandpublicschools.org - City Budget Cuts and Service Closures – See Baltimore Brew and Maryland Matters reporting from 2023–2024 documenting the closure of multiple rec centers, library branches, and reductions in public services due to budget shortfalls.
https://baltimorebrew.com
https://www.marylandmatters.org - Remote Conference Participation – In post-pandemic government guidelines and MACo event options, remote attendance and livestream access are routinely offered for public officials and staff who choose not to attend in person.
https://www.mdcounties.org - Baltimore Crime and Education Rankings – FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and Maryland State Report Card show that Baltimore consistently ranks among the highest in violent crime rates and lowest in public school performance.
https://ucr.fbi.gov
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov
Aaron Ackerman is a contributor to Direct Line News, he can be contacted at Aaron.Ackerman@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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