top of page

The Opportunity DC Newsletter: It’s Time to Make Some Tough Budget Choices

Writer's picture: Opportunity DCOpportunity DC


In this edition:

  • Evaluating the Mayor's proposed FY25 budget

  • Upcoming budget hearings and votes

  • Monumental Sports stays in DC

  • Opportunity DC testifies at the DC Council

  • Ward 7 Council candidate event

  • News you can choose - key stories worth reading

  • Source material - DC's unique budget process


Opportunity Costs: Tighter DC Budget Necessitates Smart Choices

Since our last newsletter, Mayor Bowser has proposed a budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Viewed one way – $21 billion in operating funds, or nearly $31,000 per DC resident – it is exceptionally generous. Viewed program by program, however, it’s more frugal. The Mayor has proposed half a billion dollars in cuts in the upcoming year and has foreshadowed similarly leaner spending over the next five years, due largely to the long economic tail of the COVID-19 pandemic and expiration of temporary federal funding.

From Opportunity DC’s perspective as a coalition interested and invested in the economic health of the District of Columbia, here is what we like about Mayor Bowser’s budget proposal:

  • It’s balanced. While we live at the epicenter of a government that can print its own money, DC needs to operate within its means.

  • It pulls back on some spending. Just like a household managing through an income dip, the Mayor’s budget looks for budget lines to trim.

  • The Downtown Action Plan, Metro, public safety, and increasing school spending per student are priorities. Revitalizing DC’s central business district post-pandemic will ripple positively throughout the District. The Mayor’s budget funds a variety of strategies including office-to-housing conversion and grantmaking to businesses in high-growth sectors. A healthy regional public transit system is also essential to economic mobility citywide. And funding important provisions of the Secure DC legislation that became law in March will help address crime that has put DC’s safety and vitality at risk. The budget increases per-pupil K-12 education funding but reduces overall school spending with the expiration of one-time federal funding.

Still, a significant structural problem remains. Between 2019 and 2024, DC’s total spending grew 36% while revenue grew by only 17%. Whether you’re a household, business, or a city, that’s unsustainable. Opportunity DC would like FY2025 to be the year when our elected leaders lay the foundation for a resilient budget and a strong economy for years to come. 

  • Unleash the power of DC’s innovators and entrepreneurs by removing tax and regulatory burdens that limit production and drive up costs of housing, goods, and services.

  • Create an official body to recommend actions that will align recurring spending and revenue by FY2029.

  • Stop guessing at ROI. Program evaluation to determine impact has not been a priority for the District. With tighter budgets forecast, shouldn’t we spend some money to determine whether all the taxpayer money our local government is spending is making a positive difference?


Opportunity for Impact

Budgets reflect a community’s priorities, so let DC lawmakers know what your priorities are. Upcoming Council hearings and meetings provide opportunities for public engagement. 

Wednesday, May 29: Council’s first vote on the budget

Wednesday, June 12: Council’s second and final vote on the budget


Monumental Opportunity Seized!

If the competition between Alexandria, Virginia, and DC had been a sporting event, it would have been a buzzer-beater. And we won! Washington’s beloved Wizards, Capitals, and parent company Monumental Sports & Entertainment aren’t going anywhere. The District has committed to financing renovations of Capital One Arena, which will continue to be a major anchor for downtown and a contributor to the whole city’s economy.

This positive outcome shows what an attractive business location DC can be when our elected leaders are intentional, strategic, and collaborative. We appreciate all the Mayor and Council have done to promote the merits of an arena in our nation’s capital and invest further in the venue we love. We also appreciate that Monumental is doubling down on its bet on DC and the company’s loyal fan base here.


Opportunity DC at the Council

Last Friday, Opportunity DC’s Executive Director, Malcom Fox, testified before the Council to support full funding for the BEST Act. If implemented, this legislation would streamline the process for obtaining a basic business license, narrow the number of license categories from over one hundred to eleven, and reduce the associated license fees needed to start a business. You can watch the full testimony here.


News You Can Choose

  • You would be hard-pressed to find an outside expert on DC’s budget who is savvier than Yesim Sayin. As executive director of the D.C. Policy Center, she applies her experience working in DC’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer and her PhD in economics to a clear-eyed analysis of DC’s economic outlook and the FY25 budget. Check out Yesim’s take on Mayor Bowser’s proposal and her recommendations, with Daniel Burge, for a more resilient fiscal future.

  • Housing, and specifically more affordable housing, is a cornerstone of a vibrant and equitable economy here in DC, but the District benefits when there’s sufficient housing in surrounding areas as well. Unfortunately, the region as a whole is behind on its housing targets, the Washington Post recently reported. Silver lining: DC itself is one of the few DMV jurisdictions on track to meet 2030 targets – 67,000 new units, in our case.


Source Material

Functioning as both a state and a locality – and one overseen by Congress – the District of Columbia is a unicorn budget-wise. The Urban Institute produced a helpful brief explaining the constraints on DC’s budget and how spending has historically been allocated.

 

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for additional updates on the FY25 budget, the upcoming primary elections, and more!

 

Sincerely,

The Opportunity DC Team

3 views0 comments

Comments


Light green logo of Opportunity DC

Paid for by Opportunity DC
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.

bottom of page