Baltimore City residents get to vote on a charter amendment in November to reduce the size of the Baltimore City Council from 14 to eight members. As a local historian, I ask the question: Does this make sense? What’s the history of the Baltimore City Council size in relation to the city population?

I researched Baltimore City Council membership from the Maryland State Archives and obtained U.S. Census Bureau data for Baltimore’s population to get an understanding of how many council members have represented Baltimore as the city’s population has changed over the past 100 years.

Prior to 1923, the Baltimore City Council had an entirely different structure. If you have visited City Hall, you may have noticed a conference room on the fourth floor that’s the exact dimensions of City Council chambers. This is because the City Council originally had two chambers (similar to state government).

In 1920 there were 28 members in the First Branch of the City Council and 10 in the Second Branch. This arrangement was considered unwieldy and inefficient with 19,311 residents per council member.

After a charter amendment passed in 1922, the council was reduced to one chamber with a total of 18 council members — three council members for each of six districts — with approximately 45,000 residents per council member. This ratio remained fairly constant for most of the 20th century, growing as high as 50,320 residents per council member in 1970 and as low as 40,890 residents per council member in 1990.

As the city population grew, an extra council member was added in 1947 and again in 1951. As population size decreased, the extra two council members were eliminated in 1967, bringing the council size back to 18 members.

The city population has continued to decrease into the 21st century. There were 36,175 residents per council member in 2000. This prompted a major change in 2002. The City Council was reduced to 14 single-member districts, right-sizing the council to 44,354 residents per council member in 2010.

The city population is now estimated at 559,266 and the resident-per-council-member ratio has dropped below 40,000 — an indication that it may be time to right-size the City Council once again. However, the proposal on the ballot would reduce the City Council by more than 40%. If approved, each council member would represent nearly 70,000 residents — a figure completely out of whack from what city residents and elected officials are used to.

What would make sense is to reduce the City Council by two members. A 12-member City Council would return the city-population-to-council-member ratio to a reasonable 46,000, in line with Baltimore’s history over the past 100 years. A 12-member City Council is exactly what a city-sponsored Charter Review Commission proposed in June.

It also doesn’t make sense to change the size of the City Council at this time. It would require redistricting in 2028 when census data will be eight years old. It would make more sense to reduce the size of the City Council to 12 members in time for the 2032 election when redistricting would be required anyway.

The charter amendment to reduce the City Council to eight members is Question H on the November ballot, and it’s easy for me to remember how to vote. For me, the H stands for Hell No!

Fred Shoken (fred.shoken@gmail.com) is a local historian specializing in the history of Baltimore City. The ballot measure to reduce the size of the City Council is funded by The Baltimore Sun’s principal owner David Smith.