This blog has been updated to correct that revenues collected from parking tax and not parking tickets could help replenish the Housing Production Trust Fund at the end of the fiscal year
Last week, District Dime readers, was a busy week for the Council as DC’s budget process marches forward. The DC Council approved a supplemental budget for the current fiscal year — FY 2013 –and each Council committee held mark-up hearings to make changes to the proposed fiscal year 2014 budgets for several agencies. The marked-up budgets now move forward to the full Council for consideration.
Here is a run-down of some of the major changes that happened during the committee mark-ups, as well as summary of the changes made in the supplemental budget:
Committee on Health: Funding for the Department of Health (DOH) increased by $600,000, including $500,000 to increase efforts to manage and prevent chronic illness. The remaining $100,000 will support efforts to increase farmers’ markets in areas of the city deemed to be food deserts. In addition, the Committee also included language to monitor the recertification process for Alliance patients. DCFPI and others have raised concerns about the process and adequate staffing.
Committee on Workforce & Community Affairs: The Committee received transfers from several other committees that will help support increases in various programs, including $800,000 for the Office on Aging to support additional staff, social workers and grant funds; nearly $670,000 for the Washington Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Service; and $300,000 to the Department of Employment Services to revise an instructional programs that works to provide long-term support to people in apprenticeship programs.
Committee on Education: The Committee identified funds to stabilize DC Public Schools (DCPS) that face more than a 5 percent decrease in their individual budget from FY 13 to FY 14; to restore full-time librarians for DCPS schools that faced a cut due to being re-defined as a “small” school. ;to support the Public Charter School Board to create a liaison focused on education planning and coordination for charter schools; and to re-establish the Office of Ombudsman for Public Education within the State Board of Education.
Committee on Economic Development: The most notable change the Committee made was to re-establish the Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF), which supports various affordable housing, job training, small businesses and economic development initiatives within targeted neighborhoods. The Committee re-established the fund with $10 million’including $5 million from the Committee on Transportation and $5 million that will come from shifting $5 million of Housing Production Trust fund dollars that have been allocated to the Lead Safe Program.
The Committee also included new reporting requirements for the New Communities Program that will help the public track the progress of the program, and it removed language from the Budget Support Act that would have changed how Local Rent Supplement vouchers are awarded. The Committee also included language that will require LRSP vouchers to be reissued when families leave the program as well as a recommendation that half of the funds spent on the single-family rehab program be made available for seniors.
Committee on Human Services: The Committee identified more than $4 million to fund time-limit exemptions for families who are experiencing domestic violence, who have a child under 12 months, or who are headed by someone who is elderly. The Committee also received transfers from the Committee on Transportation and the Environment to add $500,000 to the Interim Disability Assistance Program; and $486,000 each to the Permanent Supportive Housing program to help fund housing assistance for elderly chronically homeless residents and for assistance for LGBTQ homeless youth.
The Committee removed proposed changes to the Homeless Services Reform Act and suggested that they instead go through the normal legislative process to allow time for sufficient public input. Separate legislation has already been introduced and a hearing set for June 3rd.
Fiscal Year 2013 Supplemental
Last week, the DC Council voted on a supplemental budget for FY 2013. District Dime readers may recall that back in February, DC’s Chief Financial Officer announced a $190 million boost in revenue for FY 2013. Mayor Gray submitted his proposal for how to spend those dollars along with the FY 2014 budget. The proposal passed largely as proposed, with a few amendments by the DC Council. The funds will largely be used for:
- Pay raises for DC government employees: $24 million
- Increase for the Housing Production Trust Fund: $63-$67 million
- Repeal out-of-state bonds and various tax abatements: $4.4 million
The remaining balance, $96 million, was carried forward into fiscal year 2014 to help fund a number of increases to programs and services that year.
The most notable of the changes the Council made to the Mayor’s proposal was to use $4 million from the Housing Production Trust Fund to fund an expansion of summer school in fiscal year 2013. The funds from the HPTF are expected to be paid by the end of the fiscal year from additional revenues collected from parking tax and meters, although there is no guarantee this will happen.
Check back at the end of the week when DCFPI’s budget toolkit will be updated to reflect mark-up changes.
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