The Baltimore City Council heard from dozens of supporters of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund Thursday, most of whom lobbied against legislation that would place additional restrictions on the fund.

The outpouring came as the council weighed a proposal from Councilman Mark Parker that would tighten regulations around the fund’s budget, board and oversight.

Established via a 2016 charter amendment proposed by the council, the fund is backed largely with Baltimore tax dollars and operates as a quasi-governmental organization.

That public backing has attracted scrutiny and accusations that the fund lacks transparency in its spending. Parker’s legislation would require more detailed disclosures of the group’s budget, increase the size of the group’s board and restrict spending on programs beyond direct grants.

Parker, who has already drafted substantial amendments to the bill, opened the discussion Thursday, the council’s first on the legislation, by saying the youth fund does “vital work.” However, Parker said he and others on the council have found gaps in the regulations that govern the fund.

Parker maintained that those gaps are not failures of BCYF leadership, but should be addressed to secure the long-term health of the fund.

“Updates to the law are needed to support the vital and important work of the organization,” he argued.

Members of the council did not discuss the legislation Thursday at length, but instead heard from representatives of the fund, members of its board and some of its grantees, who packed the chamber and an overflow room, many wearing red in support.

Most in attendance said they opposed the legislation, arguing it was going to make it more difficult for organizations to get grants, and even that it represented an attack on the integrity of BCYF.

Alysia Lee, president of the group, recognized there may be good intentions behind the legislation, but said she remained concern about its impact. The bill as written fixes “perceived problems” but fails to understand BCYF systems, she said.

Lee argued the legislation would hamstring grantmaking, which must constantly evolve, she said, to meet the needs of the community.

“Putting these practices into statute really undermines our ability to be responsive, equitable and, of course, innovative,” she said.

Legislation organizing the fund, which passed in 2020, required it to adopt a financial plan each year. Parker’s bill mandates the pieces that should go into that plan, including a budget, details about the group’s multiyear fund balance and audit results.

As proposed, Parker’s bill would also have required grantees of BCYF to file monthly fiscal reports. An amendment to the bill would back that off to a quarterly requirement.

Dayanah Franklin, a student teacher who works with grant recipient B-360, said BCYF’s reporting requirements are already “tedious and time-consuming,” taking away from time she spends with city youth.

“With the right support we can spend less time on paperwork and more time actually creating a real impact on Baltimore City youth,” she said.

Also proposed by the council are tighter regulations on how the fund is allowed to spend its money. Baltimore paid $14 million into the fund for the current fiscal year, about two-thirds of the group’s $22 million budget. Baltimore’s charter requires the city to dedicate 3 cents for every $100 in assessed property value to the fund.

City ordinance allows 80% of the fund’s budget to be spent on grantmaking, BCYF officials said. Of that money, 75% goes to direct grants, while 25% is used for capacity building and technical assistance, according to fund officials.

Parker’s legislation as proposed would cap technical assistance funding at 15%. An amendment would increase that cap to 20%.

Technical assistance funding is at the heart of some concerns about BCYF cited by the council and in media reports. The fund uses the money to host workshops and events to help local nonprofits that work with youths to build their capacity. It also uses the money for travel, which has included pricey trips to New Orleans and Alabama.

Marcus Pollock, a member of BCYF’s board of directors, shared how transformative and eye-opening attending national conferences can be. Growing up in Sandtown, Pollock said he felt inferior and without options. It was at a conference where he developed long-lasting relationships and found commonalities with people from all over the country.

“Why do we question the propriety of folks in this room doing the same thing?” Pollock asked of the youth fund trips. “There are some people who feel that we are just not good enough.”

Other attendees murmured in agreement.

Comptroller Bill Henry, who was a member of the City Council when the youth fund was created, accepted responsibility for some of the language left out of the legislation. Its intention was to be used to bolster Black-led organizations left behind by traditional philanthropy, he said, although that was never put into writing.

Henry said the council “ignored the optics” of the fund, which have driven some media to more closely scrutinize BCYF’s spending in a way that doesn’t happen to mainstream philanthropies.

“There were going to be people who felt empowered to pay closer attention to the details of how the money was spent because it was originally tax dollars,” he said.

Henry also testified that he would need to hire a new team of auditors at a cost of $320,000 to complete the audit of BCYF mandated by Parker’s legislation every three years.

While almost no one who testified was critical of BCYF, some said they supported the council’s effort to make the group’s finances more open.

Crisaly De Los Santos, Baltimore and Central Maryland director for CASA, said her organization is a grateful recipient of BCYF money. But the fund can do more, she said, to open its books.

“I think this legislation takes a step forward into that direction to make sure there is transparency,” she said.

The council’s Education, Youth and Older Adults Committee, which held the hearing Thursday, did not vote on the bill. Amendments will be discussed at an upcoming hearing, Chairman John Bullock said.

Several city agencies who testified Thursday said they supported the bill with the addition of proposed amendments from Parker. Baltimore finance officials, echoing concerns raised previously by Mayor Brandon Scott, opposed the plan because it would limit the city’s ability to receive money from the fund.

Banner reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall contributed to this report.