Where does DC budget come from?
Most of its funding comes from the federal government.
Once agreement is reached between the Mayor and the Council, the budget is adopted and transmitted to the President of the United States for submission to Congress for approval. Congress must approve the District’s budget as part of one of the 12 annual federal appropriations bills.
Here are excerpts from an article on DC’s 2022 budget.
The $17.5 billion budget crafted by Mayor Muriel Bowser and tweaked by lawmakers over the last two months dramatically expands spending on housing and homeless services, directs payments and aid to low-income residents, funnels more funding to violence interruption programs while trimming police spending.
Below are some of the notable things included in the 2022 budget, which takes effect Oct. 1.
Payments to residents
Spurred by the pandemic’s uneven impact on D.C. residents and last summer’s racial justice protests, the budget includes significant direct payments to low-income residents — including a novel program that advocates say could help put a dent in the wealth gap between white and Black residents. That’s the baby bonds program, which will invest up to $600 a year into trust funds for residents under the age of 18 — money they will then be able to use to pay for college, start a business, or buy a house. (You may remember New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker touting a similar plan when he briefly ran for president.
Lawmakers also directed some of the revenue from the tax increase on wealthy residents to expand a local tax credit for low-income residents and families — and pay out the refund in monthly installments of up to $500, akin to a basic minimum income. Up to 10,000 residents who waited for more than two months to get their first unemployment benefits will get a one-time $500 payment, while undocumented residents and workers who did not receive any federal assistance will be eligible for payments from a new $41 million fund. (The one-time payment is expected to be around $3,000; advocates had been hoping for a much bigger fund of $200 million.) The council also moved to exempt unemployment benefits from taxes, sparing tens of thousands of residents a nasty surprise next April.
Housing and homelessness
Affordable housing (or the lack of it) is an ever-pressing issue in D.C. — and city officials responded accordingly. Bowser dramatically increased funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund (the city’s main tool for building and preserving affordable housing) to $400 million over the next two years, which is expected to produce some 2,800 units of housing. (There’s also $17.7 million for a separate fund to preserve affordable housing.) The council also increased funding for repairing public housing to $50 million and incorporated a proposal from Councilmember Robert White (D-At Large) that will allow the city to convert rental units into permanently affordable housing.
To address the ongoing challenge of chronic homelessness, a portion of the revenue from the tax increase on wealthy residents will go towards providing permanent housing for more than 3,000 people experiencing homelessness — an investment that homeless advocates call a “game-changer for ending homelessness in the District.” The council did reject a last-minute provision from Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) to give tax breaks to developers who convert downtown office buildings to housing; some lawmakers said the idea needed a full airing before being voted on.
Policing and public safety
As much as Bowser has recently pushed to increase police hiring, it was actually her initial budget proposal that trimmed the Metropolitan Police Department’s budget — and significantly expanded funding for violence interruption efforts and Building Blocks D.C., her new gun violence prevention initiative. She also unveiled a pilot program to divert more non-emergency 911 calls to mental health professionals. Lawmakers built upon that by expanding funding for a restorative justice program in the attorney general’s office, creating a new position of Deputy D.C. Auditor for Public Safety, and expanding staffing for the D.C. Office of Police Complaints. And in a notable police-reform measure that went largely unnoticed, the council approved a phased removal of police officers from public schools.
Most of its funding comes from the federal government.
I just looked at the DC 2022 budget (the Executive Summary is 331 page pdf) and 50% of it comes from local taxes. .