D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has delayed presenting her proposed budget for fiscal 2025 to the D.C. Council as the nation’s capital faces an unprecedented funding crisis.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, announced Ms. Bowser would miss the March 20 deadline to unveil her proposal in an email sent to lawmakers and staff shortly before noon Monday.
He also confirmed the cancellation of a Friday committee hearing to discuss the budget and a Wednesday breakfast the council had expected to hold with the Democratic mayor.
Mr. Mendelson noted the budget had not yet been given to Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee, “despite the CFO having stated months ago” that his office needed 10 days to review it before submission to the council.
“Therefore the budget will not be submitted to the Council by this Wednesday, March 20th, the required date,” the chairman wrote in the email, which a council member’s office shared with The Washington Times.
Mr. Mendelson said he would announce the new date for the budget proposal after the CFO receives the budget.
Reached Monday afternoon for comment, some sources close to the council said they did not expect to see a proposal from Ms. Bowser before late next week or early the following week.
They chalked up the delay to a dispute between the mayor’s office and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who has a mandate under federal law to oversee the District’s financial stability.
“I’m hearing that part of the Mayor’s #DCbudget release delay is due to a disagreement b/t the OCFO & lawmakers on how quickly the law requires DC to replenish its reserves,” Tazra Mitchell of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, an antiracist advocacy group, posted on X.
The Times has reached out for comment to the office of Ms. Bowser, a third-term Democrat reelected in 2022.
Mr. Mendelson told reporters last week that he estimated a $600 million to $800 million deficit in the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
He said council members would consider program cuts as well as possible increases to local sales, property and income taxes to cope.
City officials have chalked up the funding crisis to fewer people shopping, dining or working downtown on weekdays since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Other problems include pandemic relief funding drying up this year, crime-plagued retailers pulling out of depopulated streets, mass transit ridership declining and struggling restaurants closing.
The District used $4.7 billion in federal pandemic relief to gradually expand its budget from $15.1 billion in fiscal 2020 to $19.8 billion in fiscal 2024. That money runs out on Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2024.
In a recent interview with The Times, Mr. Lee said occupancy in downtown offices has flatlined at 50% of pre-pandemic levels for the past 18 months as many employees continue to work remotely from Maryland and Virginia for part of the week.
The CFO said the resulting drop in commercial real estate values will create a projected loss of $260 million to $300 million in annual tax revenue through 2028, with the problem worsening after that as more employers reduce their commercial footprints or let leases expire.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.