Voters will decide in November if Baltimore can sell its underground conduit. A former mayor says a new contract puts the system at risk of sale.

A November ballot measure will ask voters if Baltimore should ban privatization of its conduit system, a 700-mile underground network home to wires for phone, electric and internet services. About a month out from the election, Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration is pursuing a $50,000 contract with an advisory firm that current and former City Hall officials say puts the conduit system at risk of a sale. The contract with FMI Capital Investors, a consultant firm that advises on conduit and telecom evaluations, specifies the firm would be paid “an upfront flat fee and a contingent one-time transaction fee equal to a portion of any profit from a future deal, should it be able to identify a profit-making venture that the City accepts.”