The dispute stems from a complaint filed in September by two local news organizations with the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board. The complaint challenged the secrecy surrounding BDC board meetings on August 25 and August 28, when the board signed off on tax breaks through the newly created Downtown RISE district.

The BDC has acknowledged one violation: it failed to provide advance notice that the August 25 meeting would be continued on August 28, the session at which the tax breaks were approved. But Rolley, in an October 26 response to the Compliance Board, rejected the remaining allegations.

The news organizations argue the Open Meetings Act required the BDC to publicly announce what it intended to discuss in closed session. They also contend that even with proper notice, it would have been improper to discuss the deals behind closed doors, particularly during what they described as an unscheduled, unadvertised and secretive meeting on August 28.

The tax breaks approved that day include a 25-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement that could save Bramble's Harborplace project $366 million, an $80 million tax abatement for a student dormitory backed by the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the creation of a Tax Increment Financing district to support developer Bill Struever's redevelopment of the former Crown Cork & Seal factory near Greektown.

In his response, Rolley cited the reasons BDC Board Chair and Deputy Mayor Calvin A. Young III gave for going into closed session at both meetings. Young referenced the agency's economic analysis of the projects, including an assessment of the financial necessity for the tax breaks, and said a candid discussion would have been difficult in public. Young also said public discussion could harm the agency's negotiating position and its proposal process.

The complaint noted that the BDC was found in violation of the Open Meetings Act in 2016 for holding a closed-door meeting to approve public financing for another high-profile project. In that case, the Compliance Board ruled the quasi-public agency improperly excluded the public and reporters while discussing and approving a $660 million TIF request from Kevin Plank for Port Covington, now known as Baltimore Peninsula.

Rolley argued the earlier ruling is irrelevant because it involved an entirely different set of facts. He said there is no general prohibition against going into closed session to discuss such tax arrangements.

The Compliance Board has not yet ruled on the complaint and recently requested additional information. Rachel Simmonsen, assistant attorney general and board counsel, asked Rolley last week for copies of the sealed, closed-session minutes from the August 25 and August 28 meetings.

Rolley said in an email to Simmonsen on Tuesday that the draft minutes have been prepared but not yet approved because the board lacked a quorum at its October 29 meeting. He said he expects the board to approve or correct the minutes at its December 15 meeting and will forward them immediately afterward.

The case highlights ongoing concerns about transparency at the BDC, a quasi-public agency that oversees major economic development deals in Baltimore. The tax breaks at issue could shape the city's downtown redevelopment for decades, with the Harborplace project alone representing one of the largest public subsidies in recent memory.