April 3, 2015  |  Volume 1, Issue 11

Friends,

The budget is how we set our priorities. After my team and I held three budget engagement forums and attended dozens of community meetings, we heard your message loud and clear: DC must do all that it can to create and preserve pathways to the middle class.

On Thursday, I did just that by delivering the District’s 20th consecutive balanced budget to the Council. It is a budget you helped create and includes additional funding to improve schools, make our streets safer, and make strategic investments in programs to end homelessness.

Assembling the budget was not easy. In the next fiscal year, we face a $190 million budget gap with costs growing faster than revenue. We closed the gap and found ways to invest in other priorities.

In order to invest in programs to end homelessness, fund Metro, invest in our schools and contribute $100 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund, we had to find additional dollars.  We did that by returning the sales tax to 6%, the rate it has been at for four of the last six years, to help pay for our programs to combat homelessness. We also proposed increasing the tax on parking garages by 4% to help ensure public transit service fees are not raised and service is not cut.

If you want to read more, you can view the entire budget here. If you missed the State of the District, you can view it HERE.

If you agree that creating and preserving pathways to the middle class should be our guiding principle, then make your voice heard at the Council, in your neighborhood and on social media during the budget season. Together, we will give residents in all 8 wards a fair shot.

Sincerely,

Mayor Bowser 

P.S. Click here to see some photos from the State of the District.  Click here to see some photos from the FY16 Budget Rollout.

I participated in a live broadcast of Kojo in Your Community at the Anacostia Playhouse in Southeast.  Listen to the interview here. Click here to see some photos of the event.

Before going on Kojo’s show, I announced Courtney Snowden as my Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity, who will lead our efforts to create more opportunities for those seeking employment or wanting to start and grow a business.  Read the press release here. Click here to see some photos of the event.

I hosted an event to discuss the development process for District-owned land and provided a forum for interaction among the District’s community, business and development sectors.  Read the press release here. Click here to see some photos of the event.

On Tuesday, before the State of the District, I announced a partnership to create year-long, paid internships for 100 high-school students who participated in the District’s Boys and Men Color Initiative.  Read the press release here.  Click here to see some photos of the event.

It's spring, which means baseball season is here. I threw out the first pitch at three DC Little League Opening Day ceremonies.

I attended the 2015 DC Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Fair where I had the opportunity to observe the STEM projects of students in the city’s public, charter, private and parochial schools.

Take a short survey from DC Parks and Recreation on what programs and activities you would like to see offered at your local recreation centers and swimming pools.  You can participate in the survey by clicking here.

Stay in contact with me and my Administration online. Like us on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter @MayorBowser to follow our progress. Follow my team, @TeamMuriel, for the latest news and information from the John A. Wilson Building and District government agencies. Follow me on Instagram @Mayor_Bowser for even more updates on what's happening around town.  Lastly, find our online picture albums on Flickr.