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The Opportunity DC Newsletter: DC’s budget season blooms

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Updated: Jun 13, 2024

Plus: A flurry of new legislation and DC government plans



In this Edition:

  • The benefits of reimagining Downtown DC

  • Public safety package signed into law

  • Restaurant industry legislation passes

  • Budget season set to start

  • News you can choose - key stories worth reading

  • Source material

Golden Opportunity: Reimagining Downtown Will Benefit All of DC

Whether you travel south, north, west, or east to get there, there’s no question that downtown is central to DC’s prosperity. The tax revenue generated downtown – from stores and restaurants, hotels and tourism, office buildings, corporations, and residents – gets spread throughout the District of Columbia to fund essential government services such as schools, roadwork, and public safety. All of us who live and work in the District of Columbia have a stake in downtown’s vitality.


Last month, downtown business leaders and Mayor Bowser’s administration released two complementary plans to revitalize downtown’s economy and public spaces post-pandemic. The Federal City Council, an Opportunity DC partner, worked with the Mayor’s economic development deputy and the DowntownDC and Golden Triangle Business Improvement Districts to develop the five-year Downtown Action Plan, which calls for investments, policies, and actions to reimagine the area for businesses, residents, and visitors. The Downtown DC Public Realm Plan by the District’s Office of Planning recommends physical improvements to support a healthy economic ecosystem.


Opportunity Seized: Council Passes Public Safety Package

The DC Council’s unanimous passage of the public safety package known as Secure DC begins a much-needed course correction to stem business closures and Washingtonians’ exits due to last year’s crime spike. Shepherded by Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Secure DC contains more than 100 public safety interventions focused on increasing accountability for crime, preventing and ending cycles of violence, and enhancing government coordination and oversight. 

THANK YOU, Opportunity DC supporters, for demanding action and using your political voices in support of this important legislation. Now the responsibility lies with the DC Council to fund Secure DC and public safety agencies in this year’s budget. And it is up to local and federal law enforcement agencies and judicial systems to implement Secure DC faithfully, fairly, efficiently, and in close coordination.


Opportunity to Engage: DC Budget Season

Like the cherry blossoms, peak season for DC budgeting is a moving target. Mayor Bowser’s proposed budget for 2024-25 was supposed to drop on March 20th; however, a disagreement between her office and the independent Office of the Chief Financial Officer has delayed the release. The delay may affect the calendar of Council committee hearings to mark up their portions of the budget before the full Council votes on a final spending plan. From all indications, this will be a budget season of difficult decisions, with cuts to spending more likely than increases. Revenue is down – see above regarding downtown’s impact on DC’s coffers – and tax increases are under discussion.


Opportunity DC will highlight opportunities for you to engage throughout the budgeting process. Up first: What are your priorities for the upcoming budget? Take 1 minute to vote on which policy areas matter most to you. Opportunity DC will share the results of this survey with Councilmembers as we advocate for a sensible FY25 budget.   




Missed Opportunity: Restaurant Revitalization Legislation

First, the good news: Our friends who represent DC’s restaurants are generally pleased with the Council’s passage of the Restaurant Revitalization and Dram Shop Clarification Act. Among other benefits, it will save bars, restaurants, and event stages millions of dollars per year in insurance premiums by bringing liability insurance requirements in line with similar metro areas and the surrounding region. For patrons, the legislation caps service fees at 20 percent and requires disclosure of what portion goes to workers. However, the Council missed an opportunity to speed up the timeline for implementing Initiative 82, which passed last year and raises the minimum wage for tipped workers. A faster phase-in would give bars and restaurants more certainty and put more money in the pockets of workers, sooner.


News You Can Choose



For ideas to bring new vitality to downtown, look to Cleveland, Ohio, which focused its attention on revitalizing a small, defined area to have a wider impact throughout its commercial core. Back in December, the Washington Post examined Cleveland’s transformation strategy through an interactive feature with lessons for DC.


Especially in lean budget years, DC must make investments supported by strong evidence. In the District’s public schools, new research reported by The 74 found that a high-impact tutoring program in place since 2021 is having a positive effect on learning loss and, interestingly, student attendance. Seeing a tutor regularly for reading or math encouraged students to come to school more. In a city where four in 10 students were chronically absent last year, we think effective strategies for boosting attendance merit continued investment.


Speaking of education, the DC Policy Center released its annual report on the state of DC schools, covering 2022-23 – the year schools “returned to normal” after pandemic closures.


Source Material

As you complete your 2023 tax returns, consider how much you and other DC taxpayers have contributed to the federal government – and how little Congress seems to care. While DC doesn’t get to elect senators, and our elected delegate cannot vote on the House floor, our local elected officials keep a running tally of the District’s tax contribution, the Federal Tax Counter, atop the DC Council’s website. At last check: more than $1.2 billion this past year.

 

Stay tuned for updates on the FY25 budget, the upcoming primary elections, and more!

 

Sincerely,

The Opportunity DC Team

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Opportunity DC prioritizes transparency and compliance with local and federal tax laws. Therefore, we make our 990 tax filings readily available for anyone to see. You can review our 990s for the following tax years here: 2020, 2021, 2022.

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