Board approves walk-on contract for July 4 fireworks and drone show amid compliance-review questions
June 24, 2026 | Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Maryland
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The Baltimore Board of Estimates on June 24 approved a walk-on contract request from the Mayor’s Office to support the city’s Fourth of July fireworks and drone show.
Lindsay Jackson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment, said the administration started the procurement roughly two months earlier but that negotiations with Image Engineering (Advanced Entertainment Technologies, Inc., doing business as Image Engineering) and the city’s Risk Management office delayed submission to the Board of Estimates. "We started this process about 2 months ago," Jackson said, and asked the board to approve the walk-on SB2610439 for a project-fund submission to the Baltimore Civic Fund.
Board members pressed Jackson on why draft contracts had not been circulated earlier to reviewing agencies (budget, law, risk management and the compliance unit). Jackson said she had been in contact with most reviewing agencies but had waited to put the item into BOE submission until a signed contract was available. The clerk advised that providing drafts to reviewers is helpful when an item is time-sensitive.
The board moved and seconded approval; the motion carried on a voice vote. Comptroller Bill Henry said he would abstain on the contract, stressing that his abstention was rooted in process concerns rather than opposition to the event: "It would be inappropriate for us to approve a precedent of approving items as a board that are not actually reviewed by the compliance unit," he said.
The transcript records approval of the walk-on item but does not specify contract dollar amounts, payment terms, or a delivery schedule. The clerk and presenters said all reviewing agencies had been involved in the later stages of negotiation, and Jackson acknowledged she would share the feedback about circulating drafts earlier in future practice.
The Board of Estimates adjourned after the approval; the next regular meeting is July 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
Lindsay Jackson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment, said the administration started the procurement roughly two months earlier but that negotiations with Image Engineering (Advanced Entertainment Technologies, Inc., doing business as Image Engineering) and the city’s Risk Management office delayed submission to the Board of Estimates. "We started this process about 2 months ago," Jackson said, and asked the board to approve the walk-on SB2610439 for a project-fund submission to the Baltimore Civic Fund.
Board members pressed Jackson on why draft contracts had not been circulated earlier to reviewing agencies (budget, law, risk management and the compliance unit). Jackson said she had been in contact with most reviewing agencies but had waited to put the item into BOE submission until a signed contract was available. The clerk advised that providing drafts to reviewers is helpful when an item is time-sensitive.
The board moved and seconded approval; the motion carried on a voice vote. Comptroller Bill Henry said he would abstain on the contract, stressing that his abstention was rooted in process concerns rather than opposition to the event: "It would be inappropriate for us to approve a precedent of approving items as a board that are not actually reviewed by the compliance unit," he said.
The transcript records approval of the walk-on item but does not specify contract dollar amounts, payment terms, or a delivery schedule. The clerk and presenters said all reviewing agencies had been involved in the later stages of negotiation, and Jackson acknowledged she would share the feedback about circulating drafts earlier in future practice.
The Board of Estimates adjourned after the approval; the next regular meeting is July 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
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