Mayor Bowser Highlights Key Investments in FY2023 Fair Shot Budget

(Washington, DC) – Today, on the eve of the new fiscal year, Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighted the investments included in her historic Fiscal Year 2023 Fair Shot budget. This approved budget includes significant investments in building a stronger, more equitable, more affordable DC.

Economic Recovery

Supporting Small and Local Business:

• $18M to add fresh food access points East of the River
• $6M to help equity impact enterprises buy commercial property and receive more flexible financing options
• $3.4M to help small and medium business growth
• $500K to increase employer spending with minority led firms

Arts and Entertainment:

• $8M to continue the Bridge Fund, enabling arts and entertainment venues to reopen and recover post-pandemic
• $1.5M to continue waiving public space fees for neighborhood festivals and community-driven special events

Increasing Job Experience and Training Wages:

• $21M to raise participant wages in training programs in all DOES programs—including MBSYEP

Reimagining Tourism:

• $2.5M in new competitive grants to create or enhance attractions for families to visit the city
• $3M for a new marketing campaign to attract leisure and business travelers
• $750K to sponsor large events and festivals
• $750K to pay DC musicians to play music at key destinations to activate and enliven public spaces
• $100K for a Cherry Blossom bus tour to promote the Cherry Blossom Festival and attract visitors in Spring 2023

Spurring Downtown Recovery:

• $2.5M to attract transformative businesses
• $233K to plan a new residential conversions incentive program

Education

• A 5.87-percent increase in the base amount of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF)
• $18M to provide stability to schools through the Pandemic Supplement fund
• Historic $43.6M investment in FY 2023 to replace aging HVACs and boilers in schools
• $15M for preventative maintenance of HVACs and boilers to ensure systems work year-round
• $3.8M to safeguard students’ mental health with additional supports through the school-based mental health program
• $35M to stand up a community-based program at Winston Education Campus with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment for hands-on learning
• $45M to equip a new high school on MacArthur Blvd with dedicated Citywide seats
• $71M to add four new PACE schools to the CIP for full modernizations— Simon, Hendley, Bunker Hill, and Langley Elementary Schools
• $462M over the next six years to construct and modernize parks, recreation facilities, and libraries, including:
  • Fully fund all remaining library modernizations
  • New funding to fully modernize the Rita Bright Rec Center, establish a premier dog park at Oxon Run, a new recreation center for the River Terrace community, a new indoor pool at the Hillcrest Recreation Center, and the brand-new indoor sports complex at RFK Stadium.

Youth Recreation Opportunities:

• $7.8M to extend out-of-school time grant opportunities and preserve continuity to youth, $3.85M of which will be dedicated to at-risk youth
• A new indoor sports complex at RFK Campus – the Mayor’s capital plan will turn the RFK Campus into the premier destination for training, learning, clubs, tournaments, and competitions. The complex will accommodate multiple new amenities to DC residents such as a gymnastics training facility, indoor track, climbing walls, and boxing.
• $13.5M to support Recreation for A.L.L.
  • 10,000 more summer camp slots & 1,000 more participants at Camp Riverview
  • 1,400 more Learn-to-Swim slots & restored Sunday pool service in select centers
  • 330+ more slots in Tiny Tots Tennis
  • 250 more residents participating in gymnastics programs
  • 1,200 opportunities for girls to enroll in new volleyball, softball, & soccer teams and leagues
  • 300 more participants in Senior Olympics
  • Water Sports Programming @ Diamond Teague Park—offering boating, kayaking, and canoeing

District Asset Preservation:

• $265M over the 6-year CIP to preserve and maintain recreation, library, and school facilities

Housing Affordability

• Historic $444M contribution to the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) and $41M for project-sponsor vouchers to make housing deeply affordable for low-income residents
• $111M to rehabilitate or replace more than 1,500 units of public housing over three years, much of it for seniors, as well as $219M to bring back public housing units at Barry Farm, Park Morton, Bruce Monroe and Northwest One
• $120M in rent and utility assistance across two years, plus $12M for a new Housing Provider fund
• $26M to help low-income, first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance

Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) Increase

• On October 1, the maximum down payment assistance that residents can receive through HPAP will increase from $80,000 to $202,000.

Health and Human Services

• $11.5M to retain direct support professionals—who care for our most vulnerable residents—by raising wages over a three-year period
• $4.5M to expand school nursing services at additional school health services programs in public schools and public charter schools
• $4.2M to extend Alliance enrollment to 12 months and end the required in-person, 6-month re-certification process for District residents
• $114.6M across two years for modernizations and renovations of permanent and temporary supportive housing and shelter services
• $2.8M to enhance programs and services at the new 801 East Men's Shelter
• $1.6M to continue operating the DC animal shelter
• $500K to expand eligibility for individuals with developmental disabilities to provide the same services as individuals with intellectual disabilities

For seniors, this budget will deliver:

• $500K for free dental services
• $2.6M for personal tablets to enable greater community connection and wellness
• Expanded city-wide mobility through a $1M increase to the Connector Card program
• $750K for increased nutrition support through grocery card distribution for eligible seniors

Ending Chronic Homelessness:

• $31M to invest in Homeward DC that will add permanent supportive housing vouchers for 500 more individuals, 260 more families, and 10 more youth as well as other critical outreach and prevention services so that the District can end chronic homelessness

Direct Support Professional wage increase:

• $11.5M to retain direct support professionals—who care for our most vulnerable residents—by raising wages over a three-year period

Legacy Initiatives

Legacy Initiatives – to help longtime District residents stay in DC:

• Heirs Property Legal Services: $1M to assist multi-generational families in maintaining their family property after the original homeowner passes on
• Black Homeownership Fund: New $10M fund to increase access to homeownership for longtime Black DC residents
• 2% Senior Property Tax Cap: Lowers the cap on annual increases in property taxes for seniors from 5% to 2%
• Single Family Residential Rehab Program: Additional $6M over two years to help low-income homeowners fix and maintain their home
• FloodSmart Homes: $2.6M to help residents in flood prone areas, especially in Wards 7 and 8, retrofit their homes to reduce risk of damage
• Home Weatherization & Lead and Mold Remediation: $10M to make energy-efficiency improvements and remediate lead and mold hazards to improve both the health and comfort of residents

Public Safety

• $24M for hiring, recruitment, and retention incentives to put the District back on the Path to 4,000 sworn officers at MPD
• $1.7M to provide 23 personnel to support high-quality care coordination, including life coaches, to provide critical violence intervention services for at-risk individuals
• $1.1M for a pilot program to provide up to five years in rental assistance and matched savings for those at risk of violence
• $6M to support violence prevention and diversion among at-risk, non-incarcerated youth, including $350K for dedicated bilingual credible messengers and $3.9M for expanded out-of-school-time programming
• $7.3M for grants for victims of sexual assault and other victim services—crisis intervention, advocacy, and trauma-informed mental health services
• $25M to replace Fire and EMS emergency response vehicles, including ambulances and ladder trucks

New treatment and rehabilitation facility:

• The FY 2023-FY 2028 capital budget includes $251M to build a new annex to the District’s Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) that will provide a new, modernized facility
• The annex will be a major step toward eventually closing the aging Central Detention Facility (CDF) and moving all inmates to the CTF
• The capital budget includes additional investments of $25M to maintain safe, secure, and humane conditions for inmates at the CDF until the new CTF annex can be completed

Transportation and Environment

Addressing high-crash corridors and intersections:

• $10M a year for “quick-build” traffic calming measures and to begin replacing temporary measures with permanent ones
• $200M over six years for longer-term streetscape projects to redesign our most dangerous roads and intersections

Safer travel pedestrians and bicyclists:

• $36M over six years to add 10 new miles of protected bike lanes per year to the District’s growing bike lane network
• $9.4M to support 100+ newly created full-time school crossing guard positions to ensure coverage of all schools in need of guards
• $6.9M to add 170 new speed cameras to enforce traffic laws critical to the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists
• $1M to quadruple DPW’s vehicle booting team to locate and immobilize vehicles with outstanding safety citations
• $334K to add dedicated data analysis and communications capacity to the DDOT Vision Zero office

Modernizing mobility:

• $57M to complete the K Street Transitway, providing protected bus and bike lanes through downtown
• $102M over six years to continue a transformative plan to make bus transit faster and more reliable
• $15M over six years to continue expanding Capital Bikeshare so that every resident has a station with a quarter-mile of their home
• $125M over six years for new or rehabilitated trails to improve connectivity to the regional trail network
• $18.5M for a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge to Kingman Island

Core Services and Customer Experience

Bolstering Core City Services:

• Expanded 911 Operations Staff: $2.4M for 28 additional 911 operations staff to improve service quality and performance
• More Firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics: $4.7M to add 50 firefighter/EMTs & firefighter/paramedics
• Leaf Season Collections: Add funding for 110 more seasonal positions to support annual leaf collection operations
• Public Benefits Caseworkers: $6.4M to add 68 FTEs to handle increased caseloads for public benefits program
• Unemployment Call Center: $780K to modernize the DOES Call Center to more quickly and efficiently assist residents struggling to find employment
• DMV Staffing: $1.4M to add 15 new positions to improve service center operations, reduce wait times for road testing appointments, streamline CDL licensing, and more
• Public Space Inspection and Plan Review: $948K to expand staff capacity 20% to reduce review and inspection times

Improving Customer Experience:

• DC.gov Redesign: $1M for the first step in a complete overhaul of the District government website to streamline resident services and make it easier to find information
• Licensing and Permitting Live Agents: $3M to add new live-agent video chat support, remote assistance, and extended hours of operations for licensing and permitting services
• Bike Lane Cleaning Team: $1.3M for a team dedicated to keeping protected bike lanes clear of debris and snow
• DMV Mobile App: $350K to make more DMV transactions available for residents to complete on their mobile devices
• Self-Service Vehicle Inspection Kiosks: $658K to add two new kiosks so residents can satisfy inspection requirements without driving to the District’s one inspection station in SW

In addition to highlighting key investments in the FY 2023 Fair Shot Budget, Mayor Bowser also noted the following legislative changes that will go into effect at the beginning of this Fiscal Year to support residents and businesses.

Paid leave expansion

Beginning October 1, 2022, DC residents will be eligible to receive expanded parental, family, and medical leave benefits (up to 12 weeks) under the District’s paid family leave program. Employers will also see beneficial changes to the program, with the employer payroll tax contribution rate decreasing from 0.62% down to 0.26%.

Alliance update

In Fiscal Year 2023, enrollees in the D.C. Healthcare Alliance program will continue to only have to certify eligibility on an annual basis. Enrollees will also have the flexibility to continue completing this annual certification in-person, over the phone, or through a web-based portal.

Flavored Tobacco Ban

Beginning October 1, 2022, under the Flavored Tobacco Product Prohibition Amendment Act of 2021, it will be unlawful to sell and distribute flavored tobacco products in the District. It will also be unlawful to sell and distribute electronic smoking devices within one quarter mile of middle and high schools.

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