Baltimore to terminate contractual relationship with Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore is ending its relationship with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), which has organized many city events throughout the years.

The Baltimore Mayor's Office sent a letter to BOPA leadership to officially inform them of the City's intent to exercise the 90-day termination clause in the City's contract with the arts organization.

"The action comes after numerous meetings and discussions with BOPA leadership and the latest Board vote which sought to establish an ad-hoc transition team," the Baltimore Mayor's Office said in a statement.

The Mayor's Office says a transition committee will be charged with helping to transition core services from BOPA to the city and beginning the effort to reimagine the role of BOPA, its core mission, and the arts and culture ecosystem in Baltimore.

BOPA will complete the two remaining events outlined in the current contract and then after "successful completion," it will receive full payment for services rendered," according to the Mayor's Office.

"Ending the city's contractual relationship with BOPA is not a decision taken lightly," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said. "We are taking this step after deep and careful consideration following several years of turmoil within the organization. Ending this contract will be an intricate process that will require cooperation between both BOPA leadership and staff and the City, which will be done through the transition team established at today's board meeting." 

New CEO

Rachel D. Graham was named the new CEO of BOPA earlier this year with a cloud of financial troubles hovering over the organization.

"I would like to thank the interim board and the leadership of BOPA for their commitment to Baltimore's arts community and for partnering to ensure a successful transition of key services," Scott said. "I encourage the Board, organization leadership, and the transition committee to use this moment to refocus on BOPA's core mission and use this opportunity to envision a future that centers and supports Baltimore's artists and creatives."

Financial troubles

Last month, BOPA asked the city to help them get back on track, while the mayor called for an independent forensic audit of BOPA's finances.

Graham and BOPA's financial team hired Marcum LLP, an outside accounting services firm, to help reconcile accounts and bring them up to date. The nonprofit will operate at a deficit for the rest of the year that could go up to $650,000.

Marcum LLP discovered that BOPA's financial problems began years ago. 

"Dating back currently as far as 2019, the organization has run at a deficit," Graham said. "In FY2019, the deficit was just under $1.1 million. FY20 the deficit was $53,756. There was a positive cash position in 2021, but we didn't do any programming in 2021."

Marcum representatives and BOPA leaders said they've spent months going through accounts and documents figuring out when and where the agency fell short. 

"We learned that there had been no reconciliation of our accounts since June of 2023 and our team had been operating essentially without a data-informed budget nor were they a part of the budget development process through most of FY2024," Graham said.