The Annapolis City Council introduced a resolution that would postpone the coming ban of gas-powered leaf blowers.
The resolution, sponsored by Alderman Rob Savidge on Monday, a Democrat representing Ward 7, comes nearly nine months after Annapolis City Council passed legislation banning gas-powered leaf blowers, which Savidge also co-sponsored. It would postpone the enforcement of the legislation set to take effect Jan. 1.
If passed, the ban would still happen, but the city would not issue any violations or fines for five months, Savidge said Tuesday. The postponement would allow more time for the city to develop a voucher program that will provide discounts on electric machines.
“What we are trying to do with this is buy staff time to put together the voucher program,” Savidge said Monday.
The resolution comes a month after city resident Kirby McAdoo posted a petition to change.org asking for the legislation to be repealed; however, in an interview in October, she said she wants the council to delay its enforcement so the city can assist businesses and residents during the transition.
The proposed resolution postpones the city’s enforcement of the ban until June 1, 2025, to allow city staff to create a voucher program that would provide a discount on electric leaf blowers. How much the discount will be remains unclear. The vouchers will be available to lawn businesses and residents, said Jacquline Guild, Deputy City Manager for Resilience and Sustainability. Guild estimates that 90% of the funds will be used to “reimburse businesses accepting vouchers” and that 10% of funds will be used to run the program.
Guild said Monday that staff looked at running the program directly through the city; however, it adds a “certain amount of staff time and burden on staff” in creating and facilitating the program across several departments.
“The current plan is to have this voucher program administered by a third party to decrease the administrative burden on City staff,” she said in an email Tuesday. “City staff are already stretched thin with many responsibilities and the envisioned voucher program would involve significant staff time from the City Manager’s Office, the Office of Law, the Department of Finance, and the new Department of Central Services.”
She told the council Monday its something that “the Resilience Authority [of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County] could take on and run with a third party contractor.”
She added that the city has put in a request to transfer $105,000 of its one-time use reserve funds that would to allow the Resilience Authority to administer the first year of the voucher program.
The Annapolis City Council is expected to vote on the resolution at their next — and final meeting of the year — Dec. 9.
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