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.
Two months after unveiling a plan for DC’s economic comeback, Mayor Bowser released a fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal that cuts vital lifelines for DC residents struggling to make ends meet and backtracks on existing commitments aimed at advancing racial justice.
Read more about what’s in the proposal in DCFPI’s “First Look at the Mayor’s FY 2024 Budget.”
With Rising Costs and Continued Hardship, DC Budget Must Sustain Focus on Racial Justice
As DC residents face the rising costs of basic needs like food and housing, DC policymakers should use the fiscal year (FY) 2023 supplemental and 2024 budgets to build on efforts for a racially just future. Read DCFPI’s priority investments and policies as DC Council builds on the Mayor’s proposal.
Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Timeline
DC’s fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30. In the spring, the Mayor presents a budget to the 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 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so we can send you regular updates on our efforts and ways you can get involved.