Tomorrow, Mayor Gray will present his fiscal year 2015 budget and an amended fiscal year 2014 budget to the DC Council and to DC residents. What we choose to spend money on is a statement of our priorities as a city, making the budget one of the most critical pieces of legislation passed each year. Yet it is also can be very confusing because of its sheer volume and abundance of numbers and legalese. That’s why DCFPI and the District’s Dime are here for you!
After the mayor submits the budget, the DC Council then has eight weeks to conduct oversight and make changes. It is a great opportunity for the public to get involved. DC residents can testify at any of the budget oversight hearings and let the Council know what changes they think need to be made.
The District’s Dime and DCFPI will provide numerous resources to help you make sense of the budget and inform you of key ways to advocate for your budget priorities. Here’s a quick overview of what’s ahead:
The Mayor’s Budget release
- Mayor Gray will brief the DC Council on his budget tomorrow at 9:30am at the Wilson Building
- Mayor Gray then will hold a press conference for press and the public at 11am, also at the Wilson Building
- Budget documents, and any supporting materials, will be posted to the Mayor’s budget website and the Chief Financial Officers website later on Thursday
DCFPI’s Budget Toolkit & Agency Budget Briefings
We will produce a budget toolkit to help you understand what is in the budget and how the budget process works. The materials on our FY 2015 budget toolkit website include:
- DCFPI’s Citizen Guides to the DC Budget and Budget Process.
- DCFPI’s online toolkit. Going live on April 17, DCFPI’s online toolkit will offer an overview of the FY 2015 budget and in-depth analyses of areas like education, health care, affordable housing, homeless services, and more!
- Agency Budget Briefings. These give you a chance to hear directly from DC agency heads about how they plan to deploy funds in the upcoming budget. It’s a great time to learn more and ask questions in advance of an agency’s oversight hearing.
Some of the major steps in the DC Council’s budget process include:
- The DC Council holds a hearing on the overall budget April 7th
- Agency budget oversight hearings run from April 9th-May 9th
- The Council takes its main vote on the budget and first vote on the budget support act (BSA), the legislation needed to implement the budget, on May 28th follow by a second and final vote on the BSA June 11th.
How can you stay up to date on what is happening this budget season? Sign up for budget updates from DCFPI! We will send weekly e-mails through budget season including:
- Updates on budget happenings
- An overview of budget related blogs
- Opportunities to get involved in budget advocacy
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