What’s in the Budget and Time to VOTE!

Dear Ward 5 neighbors, 

The Council took its first vote on the FY27 budget this past Tuesday. We made significant progress considering where we started when we first received the Mayor’s proposal in April. Complete cuts to essential lifelines like Family Success Centers, the Credible Messengers Program, Access to Justice, Alliance, and housing vouchers would have meant displacement, deepening poverty, and unnecessary hardship for thousands of District families. 

In addition to restoring funding for those critical citywide programs, I am also proud of the targeted investments we secured for Ward 5. While I am sharing an overview of our budget wins below, you can also check out this video for a more fun review of all the Council’s efforts at Tuesday’s vote.

• Highlights of wins from the Committee on Youth Affairs:
  • Restored funding for 5 of the 9 Family Success Centers (Bellevue, Carver-Langston, Brightwood, Congress Heights, Deanwood)
  • Restored $1.35 million for Safe Shores, DC’s only children’s advocacy center and a legally required participant in the Multidisciplinary Team on Child Abuse Investigations
  • Restored $2 million for the Credible Messengers program, a proven model of mentorship and reentry support for youth involved in our juvenile justice system
  • $385K to fully fund the SOUL Act, creating new permanency pathways for older foster youth
    
    

• Highlights of Ward 5 Wins:
  
  • Recreation and Schools
    • $15 million added to the Langdon Park Recreation Center modernization to ensure it can meet the needs and expectations of the community
    • Legislative language to bring DPR back to the table for both the Langdon and Harry Thomas Recreation Center projects to ensure design concepts match community feedback
    • $1 million for the New York Ave Recreation Center to put it on the map for modernization in future years
    • $7 million for a new HVAC system at Wheatley Education Campus
  • Traffic Safety and Transit
    • $6 million for WMATA to make Metrobus improvements across the District, especially in Ward 5 to bring the C63 back to Bladensburg Rd for seniors in Fort Lincoln, the D36 back to Edgewood St for seniors in Edgewood, and 24/7 bus access on the D32 along Rhode Island Ave NE
    • $150K to improve traffic safety on no-truck routes by installing new truck enforcement cameras
  • Business and Development
    • $350K in new small business grants along retail corridors on Rhode Island Ave NE and 12th St NE to stimulate economic development and bring amenities closer to where neighbors live
    • Legislative language compelling the Office of Planning to bring reforms that will address the concentration of industrial land-use in Wards 5, 7, and 8
      
      

• Highlights of Citywide Wins:
  • Restored $39 million to the Childcare Subsidy, bringing total for FY27 to $153.2 million 
  • Restored $60 million to the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, bringing the total for FY27 to $72 million
  • Restored $37.4 million to the Alliance program to remove the age moratorium and keep neighbors on their health insurance
  • Restored 569 housing vouchers
  • Restored $31.8 million for Access to Justice, which helps provide free legal aid to residents in need
  • Restored $14.5 million for TANF recipients
  • Restored the workforce investment fund and paid family leave
  • Narrowed the charter school funding gap by 70%
  • Funded a youth financial literacy pilot program through an amendment I introduced on Tuesday that will study the impact of giving $50 a week to a small group of DC high school students
  • Created a dedicated LGBTQ+ Fund through an amendment I introduced on Tuesday to increase transparency in the funding of LGBTQ+ priorities and protect funding for community needs