CONTACT
Nikki Metzgar, 202-886-5206, nmetzgar@dcfpi.org
WASHINGTON — Today, DC’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) released revised estimates of the District’s local revenue for the fiscal years (FY) 2022-2026. Local revenue in FY 2023 is now estimated at $9.45 billion, or 1.7 percent more than predicted in December. The revised estimate for FY 2022 revenue is $506 million, or 6 percent, more than anticipated when the Council passed the FY 2022 budget in August. This is in addition to the more than $570 million revenue surplus for FY 2021.
While it is worth celebrating the District’s resilience and growing revenue, many DC residents continue to struggle. Growing salaries, investment income, and business profits are fueling revenues for the city in an unequal recovery. DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) urges Mayor Bowser to keep the promises that District leaders made last year to residents struggling the most and leverage DC’s growing revenue to build on our progress toward a just recovery in her upcoming FY 2022 supplemental budget and FY 2023 budget proposals.
“Too many DC residents, particularly Black and brown residents, women, and immigrants are being pushed to the brink in the pandemic,” said DCFPI Executive Director, Erica Williams. “The CFO’s new estimate shows us that DC can do much more to help residents who are struggling the most.”
Policymakers can act now to meet the needs of DC residents most impacted by the pandemic. These needs are urgent and the District can’t pull back support now. In order for the FY 2022 supplemental budget and FY 2023 budget to promote an equitable recovery for all DC residents, it is important that DC leaders prioritize:
- Leveraging surplus dollars for emergency rental assistance;
- Expanding relief payments for workers excluded from federal unemployment benefits;
- Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to include immigrants without a social security number;
- Ensuring the pay increase for early childhood educators is delivered equitably and doesn’t jeopardize their access to health care;
- And funding housing vouchers and services that end homelessness.
“Last year, District leaders made a down payment on a just recovery by making budget investments that advanced racial and economic justice,” said Williams, “but an equitable recovery will take ongoing, intentional choices to address the underlying precarity that left too many residents at the mercy of this pandemic-induced recession.
“We urge DC leaders to use this budget session to help undo long-standing racial inequities and promote a recovery in which every resident can share in the city’s growing prosperity.”
The Mayor is expected to present her budget for FY 2023 and supplemental budget for FY 2022 on March 16. The CFO’s Revenue Estimation is published at: https://cfo.dc.gov/node/305482
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DCFPI is a nonprofit organization that promotes budget choices to address DC’s racial and economic inequities through independent research and policy recommendations.