Budget Engagement

McDUFFIE’S BUDGET PRIORITIES LETTER TO THE MAYOR

WARD 5 BUDGET ENGAGEMENT FORUM

ADVOCATE FOR YOUR PRIORITIES

KEY DATES

McDUFFIE’S BUDGET PRIORITIES LETTER TO THE MAYOR

Download Councilmember McDuffie’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Priorities Letter to the Mayor here

WARD 5 BUDGET ENGAGEMENT FORUM

View the presentations from the Ward 5 Budget Engagement Forum held on February 13:

Budget Engagement Forum Audience Engagement Questions and Responses
Presentation by Council Budget Office

ADVOCATE FOR YOUR PRIORITIES

The groundwork for the District of Columbia Government budget is being laid long before the Mayor releases a detailed proposed budget on March 20, 2019. At the Council, the public engagement begins in earnest with an agency-by-agency analysis of the previous year’s performance and budget in Performance Oversight Hearings. These hearings, where the public is invited to testify, begin on February 6 and conclude on March 1. If you intend to make the case for a budget increase, it is helpful to lay the groundwork by testifying at the agency’s Performance Oversight Hearing. In addition to formal council hearings, Councilmember McDuffie will hold a Ward 5 Budget Engagement Forum on Wednesday, February 13.

Mayor Bowser will release a detailed, comprehensive budget for the entire District of Columbia government on March 20. This budget includes operating and capital budgets for the upcoming fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2020, which runs October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020) as well as projected capital budgets for the next five years. Capital budget items include large building projects in libraries, recreation centers, schools, and parks.

The Council will then review the budget in a series of Budget Oversight Hearings where the public is, again, invited to testify. These run from March 25 through April 25 and conclude with each Council Committee submitting a budget for the agencies under their oversight.

The committee budgets are then combined into a single budget to be passed by the entire council and sent to the mayor for her approval or veto. The two votes on the budget are scheduled for May 14 and May 28.

Councilmember McDuffie will be fighting for many of the items that the community suggests and priorities through the form below and the Ward 5 Budget Engagement Forum on February 13. However, the Council is made up of 13 individuals and advocacy for your budget priority is helpful. How to engage the Council in the budget process:

  • In-person testimony at the Performance Oversight Hearing and Budget Oversight Hearing is the most powerful way to convey your message.
  • If you are not able to testify in person, you can submit written testimony to be considered.
  • Bring your friends and neighbors. The more people that testify, the more amplified your message will be.
  • Councilmembers are able and do move budget dollars around but because the mayor’s budget proposal is the baseline, any increase of budget dollars in one category must be offset by a decrease in another.
  • View specific Agency Performance Oversight Hearings on the calendar on the Council website.

KEY DATES

  • February 6 to March 1 — Agency Performance Oversight Hearings where the public is invited to testify on an agency-by-agency basis
  • February 13 — Councilmember McDuffie’s Ward 5 Budget Engagement Forum
  • March 20 — Mayor Bowser transmits Fiscal Year 2020 proposed budget to the Council
  • March 22 — The Mayor (or top official) briefs the Council in testimony before the Council’s Committee of the Whole
  • March 25 to April 25 — Budget Oversight Hearings on the proposed budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020
  • April 30 – May 2 — Council Committees produce tentative budgets for all agencies under their oversight
  • May 14 — First Council vote on budget
  • May 28 — Second and final Council vote on budget
  • View specific Agency Performance Oversight Hearings and Budget Oversight Hearings on the calendar on the Council website