D.C. Council approves 2024 budget, delays vote to cap rent increases

D.C. Council votes to reverse some budget cuts, delays K Street plan

Still, lawmakers on Tuesday scoured the budget in hopes of identifying additional sources of funds — including for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which the council two weeks ago had restored to $43 million after reversing a cut proposed by Bowser. Tuesday’s vote allocated an additional $33 million from the federal government this year to ERAP, which had already run out of funds.

In a statement after the council’s vote, Bowser said the budget was one that the community “can be proud of” — preserving social services while building toward future investments.

“The fiscal constraints of waning federal dollars combined with the increased costs and the prolonged impacts of telework, including reduced commercial property tax revenues, created the most challenging budget in more than a decade,” Bowser said.

Here are details on the measures lawmakers considered Tuesday.

SNAP benefits and excluded workers

The council unanimously approved a budget amendment that would put a combined $60 million toward temporarily boosting SNAP and cash assistance for excluded workers, though funding for both measures is contingent on whether the chief financial officer finds there is excess fiscal 2023 revenue in September.

The amendment aims to spend $40 million to supplement SNAP benefits with local funds by up to 10 percent of a household’s federal maximum benefit. The proposal from council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) is modeled off legislation to permanently implement the “Give SNAP a Raise” legislation, which was introduced by council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) and has not yet been funded but aims to better reflect inflation and increased food costs. Congress during the pandemic approved emergency allotments to SNAP beneficiaries, but that policy expired in February, leaving families with $100 to $200 less every month in benefits, according to Lewis George.

Lewis George’s amendment would increase SNAP benefits from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2024. Over 140,000 D.C. residents participate in SNAP, according to the advocacy group D.C. Hunger Solutions.

If there is enough remaining excess revenue after the SNAP increase, Lewis George’s amendment also would provide $20 million to some of the city’s workers who are excluded from certain benefits, including undocumented immigrants, as well as domestic and cash-economy workers. The council had voted last year to award $20 million to excluded workers, aiming to make up for their ineligibility for unemployment programs and certain pandemic aid; but D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) explained this month that the money was not spent and that Bowser had repurposed the funds.

Mendelson said he was supportive of both proposals while casting doubt that the excess revenue would be there in September: “There is generally a feeling that the chances of our revenue growing to this magnitude are slim,” he added.

An initial proposal from Lewis George had suggested funding the temporary SNAP increase by reducing the amount of money the city is required to keep in its University Paid Leave Fund from nine months of expenditures to five, which she argued is “far in excess of the level maintained by other states with paid leave programs.” But that proposal had changed by Tuesday to rely instead on excess revenue this year and include money for excluded workers.

“Families who receive food assistance and D.C.'s excluded workers deserve to be a part of D.C.'s comeback,” Lewis George said. “We can only hope this money will get to the people who need it directly, and that the mayor won’t sweep this money again.”

Improvements east of the Anacostia River

Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) had proposed several budget amendments to redirect tens of millions in capital funds for streetscape and trail-improvement projects in Ward 8 to instead pay for renovations to several schools and recreation centers east of the Anacostia River.

Mendelson, ahead of Tuesday’s vote, reallocated about $9 million toward some of White’s requests, including lighting upgrades at Johnson Middle School, upgraded athletic facilities at Eastern High School and a new playground at Marvin Gaye Recreation Center. But lawmakers pushed back on some of White’s other proposals, including a pitch to redirect $28 million from planned improvements to Wheeler Road SE and Alabama Avenue SE to fund a new recreation center near Bard High School. Some lawmakers said the move could hamper efforts to improve two corridors that council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) identified as “two of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the District.”

Allen, who chairs the council’s transportation committee, further noted that the D.C. auditor had previously identified Ward 8 as the city’s deadliest for pedestrians and cyclists, with more than 40 traffic deaths between 2017 and 2021.

“The totality of these amendments would essentially wipe out road safety projects for Alabama Avenue and Wheeler Road,” Allen said. “The section of Wheeler Road that DDOT has identified for improvement is the most dangerous section of roadway in the District of Columbia.”

White expressed frustration that streetscape improvement projects have been routinely delayed, arguing that there is a greater need to maximize resources for youths in wards 7 and 8, where he said community leaders have been clamoring for more recreational space for children.

“It’s been a challenge for all council members to find where to put money. This is an opportunity to not just talk about equity, but put our money into areas that need it the most,” White said. “In a $19.7 billion budget … there’s always a notion we don’t have money to do this, we can’t do that. Some say we can’t afford to do it. I say we can’t afford not to do it.”

Still, the council voted 9-3 in favor of White’s pitch for the recreation center at Bard High School, with Mendelson, Allen and Henderson voting no — expressing concerns about the funding source. Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) voted “present.” Another proposal from White to use $20 million in additional streetscape money to fund a sports complex at Fort Greble Recreation Center failed on a 4-to-9 vote, with Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large) voting “present.”

Rent stabilization

Among the most contentious measures of the day involved a proposal separate from the budget to limit how much District landlords can raise rents in the city’s 70,000 or so rent-stabilized units. In February, D.C.'s Rental Housing Commission approved an 8.9 percent limit for rent increases in controlled units effective May 1 — up from 6.2 percent in 2022, which lawmakers say is the largest increase in 40 years. City law caps rent hikes for stabilized units from increasing beyond the percentage of inflation, plus an additional 2 percent.

The council on Tuesday considered an emergency bill from council member Robert White that would cap the increase by 6.9 percent in each of the next two years. Affordable housing advocates, including the D.C. Tenants’ Advocacy Coalition, had sought a 5 percent cap, noting that even a 6.9 percent increase could put low-income residents at risk for displacement or homelessness.

But the council voted to table White’s proposal for one week following a debate over an 11th-hour amendment from Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) that aimed to set a two-year cumulative cap of 12 percent on rent increases in controlled units through 2025, with an 8 percent cap for seniors, disabled tenants and tenants with community-based service waivers.

That move drew frustration from Lewis George, Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) and Nadeau, who had introduced an amendment Monday night to limit rent increases even further. They argued that it was unfair that Pinto’s measure was being considered first, with Lewis George adding that it “feels as if it’s an attack on not only Black and Brown council members, but Black and Brown residents of the District of Columbia.” Mendelson argued that he had simply seen Pinto’s hand first and not broken any rules.

Citing “disorder” at the dais, Mendelson successfully moved to postpone a vote on White’s bill until a meeting scheduled for next week.