There’s still one more big vote on DC budget, next Tuesday, June 14th, and the DC Council needs to hear from you to hold firm on their commitments to restore funding to critical programs that help move our city forward!
So you might be thinking: But didn’t the Council already vote on this last month?
Yes, but there’s one more necessary vote before the budget gets sent to the Mayor and Congress. A quick explanation: On May 25th, the DC Council considered two pieces of legislation related to the Fiscal Year 2012 budget: One bill outlined the allocation of dollars to specific agencies, known as the Budget Request Act (BRA), and one bill detailed the new laws needed to implement the budget, known as the Budget Support Act (BSA). The BRA requires only one vote, so we’re done with that, but the BSA requires two.
So can anything change between May 25 and next Tuesday? Yes!
That’s why the Council needs to hear from you. Our legislators made some key decisions in the first vote on the BSA that they should hold firm on. Among other things, the BSA spelled out how multi-state corporations should report the profits they earn in the District; eliminated a tax break on municipal bonds outside DC; and detailed how to restore money to critical programs if the District sees a boost in revenue when the Chief Financial Officer announces his forecast later this month. Financial observers say that DC’s cash receipts indicate the city may collect more tax dollars than previously expected.
After setting aside $22 million of potential future revenue increases to move personnel expenses from the capital budget to the operating budget and another portion for DC’s savings account, the Council voted to use remaining increases in future revenue in the following order:
“¢ $10.8 million to hire more police officers
“¢ $1.6 million for the Housing First program
“¢ $12 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund (partially restoring an $18 million cut)
“¢ $5 million for the Department of Mental Health
“¢ $3 million for Interim Disability Assistance
“¢ $6 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund (to fully restore funding)
“¢ $900,000 for children’s mental health services
“¢ $2.5 million for homeless services
“¢ $300,000 to keep MLK Library open on Sundays
“¢ $1.8 million for the Commercial Revitalization program in the Department of Small and Local Business Development
“¢ $3 million to reduce parking meter rates from $2 an hour to $1
“¢$1.4 million for DC Public Library book acquisitions$2 million for early childhood educations
“¢$508,000 for DC Emancipation Day and $500,000 for Lincoln Theater
Tell the Council you support this plan. Some DC Councilmembers have said they want to use the additional dollars to keep the tax exemption on interest earned on bonds outside of DC. Yet that could mean that critical programs and services that help keep our city moving forward don’t get the funds they need while just 6 percent of DC taxpayers get to keep a tax exemption that no other state offers. That’s why on May 25th, a majority of members decided to prioritize the use of future revenue for programs and services instead of rolling back a tax exemption. We think the Council made the right decision and they should affirm that decision next Tuesday.
