Each fiscal year, the mayor and DC Council decide how to raise and allocate the District’s resources through the budget, with input from residents about what is important to them. This year, they are at an important crossroads. Federal threats to longstanding programs that help people meet their basic needs and the District’s economy leave DC leaders with a choice between passivity or proactively shoring up and expanding programs that will help residents weather the storm.
Mayor Bowser proposed a fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget and financial plan that abandons residents with the fewest resources to fend for themselves. Her budget takes cash assistance, health care coverage, paid leave benefits, and wages from the District’s workers and most vulnerable residents, while sinking scarce public dollars into spending that an abundance of research has shown won’t grow anything but the profits of corporations and billionaire sports team owners. Read DCFPI’s First Look at the Mayor’s Budget.
Priorities for the Revised FY 2025 Budget and FY 2026 Budget
The mayor and DC Council must be bold and visionary in ensuring that the 700,000 residents that call the District home are safe and economically secure. DCFPI urges consideration and prioritization of these funding recommendations for the revised fiscal year (FY) 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Budget Oversight Testimony
After the mayor’s budget is released, each Council committee holds budget oversight hearings on the portion of the budget the committee oversees where agency officials and the public are invited to testify. Below is testimony from DCFPI staff at these hearings.
DC Can Raise Critically Needed Revenue By Taxing Wealth
DC is expected to lose $1 billion in revenue over the next three years, largely due to federal layoffs steep enough to throw DC into a mild recession, according to the Chief Financial Officer’s February revenue forecast. Raising revenue through targeted tax increases on high-wealth households and closing loopholes in DC’s business taxes would allow DC to stave off cuts and help District residents weather the storm.
Performance Oversight Testimony
DC Council holds oversight hearings on the performance of each agency to review the agency’s operations and effectiveness in implementing its budget over the last year. Below is testimony from DCFPI staff at these hearings.
- DC Council Needs to Address Displacement and Support Tenants
- Department of Corrections Must Improve Nutrition for Incarcerated Residents
- Baby Bonds and DC’s Racial Wealth Gap
- DC Can Do More to Ensure Tax System is Fair
- Insufficient Funding Jeopardizes Health Care Access for Early Educators
- Funding Early Childhood Education is Vital to DC’s Future
Budget Timeline
DC’s fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30. In the spring, the mayor presents a budget to DC Council, which then reviews, changes, and approves it before it is sent back to the mayor to sign into law and submitted to the US Congress, which can choose to modify or reject it.
Resident’s Guide to the Budget
This guide breaks down the process of how DC creates its budget, including how to read budget documents and where in the process residents can influence the decisions of elected officials. Read it here.
Further Resources
Four Ways Residents Can Influence the DC Budget
How to Testify Effectively before the DC Council
DC’s Tools to Create and Preserve Affordable Housing
How DC Funds Its Public Schools
The fight for racially-just budget, tax, and policy decisions can’t happen without you. Sign up to DCFPI’s email list or follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram so we can send you regular updates on our efforts and ways you can get involved.