DC mayor's 2025 budget includes sales tax increase and funding for Metro, public safety, downtown

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser presented her budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 to the D.C. Council Wednesday afternoon. It includes a sales tax increase; millions for new public safety officers; a large cash infusion for Metro and cuts to several District programs.

An executive summary of the plan titled “Fair Shot: Strategic Investments and Shared Sacrifice” was posted late Tuesday.

More than 400 government positions could be cut, the budget summary said. The budget includes about $800 million in program cuts.

Programs on the chopping block include:

• An early childhood development fund
• The Career Connections job training program
• The Show Up, Stand Out truancy program
• The DC Circulator bus

Bowser’s budget would make deep cuts to other programs.

• $94 million cut from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education
• The ERAP rental assistance budget
• The HPAP home buyer assistance budget
• A $10 million cut to a child care subsidy program

Councilmember Christina Henderson became emotional in opposition to eliminating a program that helps with pay equity for child care workers and another program that’s getting deep cuts that helps with subsidies for day care for low-income families.

“It feels as though we are proposing to balance this budget on the backs of Black and brown women and the child care sector with the elimination of the early childhood pay equity fund,” she said.

“There is no other group of women who we are saying, we told them, there’s a career path for you in early childhood, go get your associates degree, go get your bachelors degree, but now we are telling you you have to go back to making minimum wage,” she said tearfully.

According to an administration official who briefed News4 on the budget, the administration is in talks with WMATA about purchasing the Circulator fleet from the District and hiring drivers who would be laid off if the Circulator is eliminated in the final budget approved by the D.C. Council.

“We weren’t able to save the Circulator, but we were able to save Metro,” Bowser told D.C. councilmembers on Wednesday.

An early look at Bowser's proposal shows efforts to bring more money into the District.

• A sales tax increase; the “general rate” would go to 6.5% in fiscal year 2026 and 7% in fiscal year 2027. The current rate is 6%.
• Adding 1-3% tax on electric vehicles based on the size of the vehicle
• Increasing the amount employers contribute to the paid family leave program
• An 80-cent-per-night hotel room fee that will go toward funding training for 911 call center workers

“The budget increases sales tax across the board for everyone but then cuts the earned income tax credit for working families, meaning this budget is proposing to raise taxes on those low-income households twice,” Councilmember Charles Allen said.

“Shared sacrifices cannot disproportionately be shouldered by lower income residents and smaller businesses,” Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said.

Bowser wrote that, despite challenges bringing in money, "we were able to balance this budget without increasing commercial or residential property taxes or income taxes."

Bowser said the 400-page budget laying out her vision for fiscal year 2025 is the hardest one she's had to work on.

Bowser wrote that it reflects her three pillars of long-term growth, public safety, education and revitalizing downtown D.C., while addressing challenges including slower revenue growth, the end of federal stimulus funding and significantly higher operating costs. It is balanced, as required by law.

“I don’t take revenue increases lightly. If we make the right investments and put the right interventions in place today, I am hopeful we can reverse these policies in the out years. I am optimistic about our future, and I hope you are too. Our Comeback Plan is working, we have big opportunities ahead of us, and there is no city in the world like Washington, DC,” Bowser wrote in the letter.

The entire budget has $21 billion in operating funds and $11.8 billion in capital improvement funds, Bowser said in an included letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

The Council will hold hearings, review agencies and make changes to the budget. Once the Council passes its version of the budget, the mayor can sign or veto it before the measure undergoes a 30-day federal review.

Here’s a closer look at Bowser’s budget proposal.

New spending highlights

Metro spending boost

The budget includes $217 million in additional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to support Metrorail and Metrobus service levels.

The infusion of cash comes after WMATA warned it could slash service in light of a major budget shortfall. In February, Bowser, Mendelson and Council transportation committee chairperson Charles Allen signed a letter telling Metro they were prepared to give the agency up to $200 million.

Public safety

In 2023, D.C. experienced the most violent year in more than two decades. A spike in homicides and carjackings led to congressional hearings and resulted in newly approved crime legislation from Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council. They authorized police tactics including designating drug-free zones in high-crime areas.

This year, homicides and carjackings are down. And Bowser’s budget appears to confront an officer shortage that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith warned about.

The public safety budget includes:

• $8.7 million to create 40 new community safety officers and fund new civilian positions in the Metropolitan Police Department to free up 46 sworn officers for more critical crime-fighting tasks.
• $4.6 million to fund immediate provisions of Secure DC:
  • $2.3 million to expand Safe Commercial Corridors and Private Security Camera Incentives
  • $1.8 million to support the implementation of Secure DC changes to pretrial detention, a long-discussed issue in the District
  • $322,000 to increase private security camera incentives for businesses
  • $160,000 to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to stand up a new diversion task force
• $3.1 million to hire additional staff at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, which appears to be stretched thin.
• $1 million to hire additional 911 call takers and dispatchers at the Office of Unified Communications. D.C.’s 911 call center has been at the center of many complaints and concerns. It’s been short-staffed and faced outrage after errors were made in the dispatch of first responders to the dog daycare where dogs drowned in flash flooding last August.

“I am very pleased to see that Mayor Bowser funded many important provisions in Secure DC, including funding for safe commercial corridors, pretrial detention and the private security camera rebate program,” Councilmember Brooke Pinto said.

Education

While Bowser’s budget increases money for schools and funding for each pupil, D.C. Public Schools officials have warned that they’re facing a crunch as pandemic-era federal funding runs out.

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee has estimated as many as 450 positions could be eliminated. DCPS officials have since revised that to as low as 200 staff members who could lose their jobs.

Bowser's budget also cuts the budget of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education by more than $90 million.

Here’s what’s in the latest Bowser budget:

• $349 million to support a 12.4% increase to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF)
• $255 million to support small capital improvements to DC Public Schools including HVAC replacement, roof repairs, field replacements, and other important upgrades
• $550,000 to continue investments in expanding the teacher pipeline in the District by establishing a teacher apprenticeship program and enrolling 50-100 residents in the first year

Revitalizing downtown DC

The pandemic has left many offices and retail spaces empty, and crime has people reluctant to come into the city.

And while the Washington Capitals and Wizards are set to stay in the city, a plan to move the teams to Virginia set off alarm bells about the future of downtown D.C.

Bowser’s budget reflects the city’s efforts to convert empty office space to housing and boost the area around Capital One Arena:

• $13 million to support a new program that will freeze in place property taxes for conversions of office buildings into new uses downtown
• $300,000 for ongoing operation of the new Chinatown Safe Commercial Corridor Hub providing added public safety and human services agency presence
• $5.25 million to support DC’s hosting of World Pride in 2025

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