By: Andy Marso

“Great morning, everyone,” Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young said in calling to order today’s giddy, post-election Board of Estimates meeting.

There was plenty of back-slapping between Young and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, whose victories were nearly as dominant as the Ravens’ beatdown of the Steelers two days ago. The normally staid mayor also wryly congratulated comptroller Joan M. Pratt on her “hard-fought” re-election (Pratt ran unopposed).

But once the good vibes died down and the council bit into the meat of the meeting, Young disagreed with the rest of his colleagues on a $30,000 police misconduct settlement , casting the lone “no” vote as the settlement slid through on the consent agenda.

Though it was a relatively small settlement, Young spokesman Lester Davis said the council president wants to send a message that the city is spending too much on police misconduct claims as a whole. He said Young thinks the police department should provide better training to prevent the legitimate claims and the city should be more willing to go to court and fully challenge less solid claims.

“He’s been pretty consistent in terms of wanting to get his message across,” Davis said. “For him, it’s just a belief that the city can not afford to continue to pay out this money.”

According to the city’s Law Department, the city spent $7.25 million settling police misconduct claims between mid-2007 and mid-2010.