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I'm calling to order this meeting.

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this is a meeting of the council of the district of columbia.

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it's the 32nd legislative meeting of councilmember 26.

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it's also an additional meeting, meaning that it's not our

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regular monthly meeting. That will be next tuesday, the

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30th. We are.

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I'm phil mendelson, chair of the council, and we are meeting in

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room 500, the council chambers of the johny wilson building.

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and this meeting is being broadcast on cable television,

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channel 13, as well as on the council's website, w w w.dc.gov.

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we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of

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silence. So if we could have silence in

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the chamber and on the dais and everywhere else.

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mr. Assistant secretary, would you please call the roll?

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councilman allen here. Councilmember barnes here.

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council member crawford here. Councilmember felder present.

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councilmember frumin present. Councilmember henderson here.

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council member. Lewis.

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george here. Council chairman mendelson.

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present. Councilmember nadeau here.

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councilmember parker here. Councilmember pinto.

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present. Councilmember.

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robert white. Present.

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councilmember trayon white, sr. Present.

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mr. Chairman, you have a quorum. Thank you.

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we have the consent agenda. Are there any changes to the

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consent agenda? Hearing none to vote will be on

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the consent agenda as circulated.

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all those in favor say I, I, I I I.

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are there any opposed. Are the ayes have it unanimously

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turning to the non consent agenda.

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we will begin with the fiscal year 2027 local budget act of

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2026, bill 26-659. This is a final reading and I'll

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moving these with leave for staff to make technical

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conforming and reconciling changes with the budget.

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there are a lot of lines and attributes and all kinds of

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detail, and so it needs to be understood that budget staff has

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leave for that. So moved.

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there's an amendment in nature of a substitute that I

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circulated yesterday. And so I will at this time move

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that amendment in nature of a substitute.

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in addition, I have circulated for amendments, and I'm making

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that part of my motion. The I said four but it's

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actually. Five I'm making the five

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amendments part of my motion. So let me give a little bit more

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background. The amendment in nature of a

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substitute for the local budget act, the memo that was

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circulated yesterday goes into detail about changes that that

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list of changes may not be. Entirely complete, but it is

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mostly representative of the changes.

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and I'm going to mention some, but not all of them now.

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so there's some additions to the workforce investment account.

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but we had previously had $100 million for fy 27 and this

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increases it a small amount. We restored some funding to the

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department of transportation for some vacancy savings that

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subsequently, we were told, was more than they would be able to

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handle. We have added some money to the

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department of general services to maintain janitorial services

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and some buildings, as well as for school readiness.

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and hvac maintenance. We added $2.1 million to the

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board of elections. Up for election supporting the

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elections in fy 27 increased by 2 million.

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the sustainable energy trust fund, or the sustainable energy

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utility. There's some additional money in

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the department of behavioral health for school based mental

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health. A little additional money in the

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office of the state superintendent of education to

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provide some additional money for the pay equity program.

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I think it's about 72 million, not 70 million at this point,

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but also some additional dollars for the literacy initiatives and

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for the math initiatives. There was a math task force,

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literacy task force. And this goes further with those

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recommendations, $1.4 million to the department of corrections

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for the lead up lead out program.

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funding for the resale act, which has not been adopted by

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the council but will not need to be adopted, subject to

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appropriation. The some funding for this may be

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an ac as well. Special education,

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transportation for special olympics.

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some additional dollars at dyrs. Some additional dollars.

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and the office of victim services justice grants.

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I'm not going through all of them, just trying to hit some of

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the highlights. I think I'll leave it there.

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I'll be happy to answer questions.

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the amendments that are part of my motion with the amendment,

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instead of a substitute amendment number one.

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funds an fte at the ombudsperson for children to support

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increased oversight of juvenile justice facilities that house

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youth under the care of the department of youth

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rehabilitation services. That's one fte amendment.

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number two is a small amount of money for 2fdes to restore

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funding for positions within the department of housing and

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community development. Amendment number three is.

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I will characterize it as somewhat technical to clarify

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the type of contracts for which the district is appropriating

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termination costs. Amendment number four is the

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contingency list. I'll come back to that in a

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second. An amendment number five is a

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technical adjustment within the office of planning's budget.

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resigning, reassigning recurring funding for the targeted

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homeowner grant program to the special local fund associated

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with the program. Amendment number four is the

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contingency I felt. I hope members agree that

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yesterday's discussion was very helpful and constructive.

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this amendment, the. This part of my motion is the.

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if there are excess funds identified in the revenue

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estimates, june, september, and I believe.

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december that the first $150 million increase would go to

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restore. Funding in the fiscal

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stabilization reserve, and then. Thereafter, if their recurring

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revenues that the first 9 million would fund would be

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placed in non-departmental for transfer to the housing

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authority if needed for use in the event the federal emergency

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housing voucher program expires, the next 3 million at would be

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placed in dhs for emergency rental assistance program.

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the next 2 million would be placed at the department of drs

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for the credible messenger program, bringing that up to 4

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million. I should note that the previous

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amount. 3 million for erap, brings that

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up to 10 million, and then the next 36 million on one time

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funds to the workforce investment account, so that

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there's less doubt about whether any cbas are negotiated.

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next year could be funded. And our discussion yesterday, we

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talked about the out years of the financial plan.

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that's not part of this amendment because we are

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focusing on the fy 27 budget on july 7th, when we take up the

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budget support act, that's when we will address the out years.

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we'll have a similar amendment, but it will address the out

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years with regard to the financial plan.

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so that is my motion to approve the amendment.

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nature of a substitute with the five amendment sheets that I

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just mentioned and that were circulated earlier.

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is there a discussion on the motion?

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council member parker. Thank you, mr. Chairman.

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I was just sharing. I didn't know we could move five

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amendments at once, but I didn't know what I didn't know.

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we can move five amendments at once.

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when you're in all seriousness, I think what again, you've done

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is pretty remarkable. I do want to thank you publicly

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for your work with me in funding special olympics.

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that was a gap that would just be unconscionable if we were not

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able to meet the need there, and I'm glad that we're able to do

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it. I also think where we landed

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with the contingency list feels right.

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these feels like must haves as well as necessary services and

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programs. Should the funding be available

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to fund them. I did want to offer remarks on

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your first amendment, which relates to the fte fund.

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the ombudsperson related to facilities oversight for

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doctors, and I would just share. I plan to support this amendment

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today, but I want to take a moment to acknowledge that this

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is yet again, in some ways, the us kicking the can down the

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road. And mr. Chairman, we've talked

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about this. And so this is more for the

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public record, the road act, which this body passed in late

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2024, called for independent oversight of drs, namely for

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eyes to be set on the number of facilities around the country

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where young people are placed. We never funded that part of the

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bill. My committee in this budget

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process set aside $500,000 to do what advocates are demanding,

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which is to stand up independent oversight.

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and yet here we have an amendment for a mere $150,000 on

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a one term basis, a one year basis.

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and I want to be clear, we need this oversight.

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and I challenge the suggestion that was made in the mayor's

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letter to the council a few weeks ago, that oversight is

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merely the responsibility of the council.

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yes, that is true. But when dr. S was under federal

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receivership, the jerry m consent decree mandated that

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there be independent oversight of the agency.

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following the ruling on a class action lawsuit filed on behalf

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of youth who suffered unjustly and the district secured

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juvenile detention facilities. I see the clock ticking, so I'm

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going to shorten this. But the point I want to make

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here is when we had the o, I, j, j, f o or the independent

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facilities oversight, we were able to have someone on the

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ground in the facilities every day around the clock, which is

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challenging for committee staff to do.

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on top of that, as the road act mandated, there is a need for us

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to better oversee what is happening with young people in

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different jurisdictions and states, not to mention, there is

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also a need for more robust research and investigative

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reporting on what's happening in our facilities.

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I would just acknowledge that because of the o, I, j, j f o's

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work, we were able to. Mr. Chairman, if I could have

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two extra minutes and I'm going to wrap up because of the oijj2

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extra minutes. Yes.

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let's try one minute and without objection.

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okay. Because of the oijjfos work, we

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were able to identify that the fire systems at dr s were not

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working, and they have now been fixed.

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so what? My point here is I am grateful

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that we will have this $150,000 for an fte, but it is a drop in

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the bucket. And again, it's kicking the can

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down the road. We need to commit to more robust

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oversight for all of our agencies that are caging human

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beings. That includes on the adult

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system as well. And I just do not think we are

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taken seriously. The conditions in these

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facilities. I'll conclude with this, where

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we are focused now as a committee, is on making sure

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that the agency properly and fully implements the road act,

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and I look forward to working with the ofc or the ombudsperson

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to ensure that we can hire someone to engage in the more

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robust and routine oversight that is needed, at dr s so that

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is a longer rant than I want to end on a positive note.

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and again, thank you for your work on the budget.

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thank you for funding special olympics and working with all of

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us to create a contingency list that gets us to where we need.

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thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you.

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I have to say, I'm not quite sure how I structured this.

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so I have the five amendments on the ans.

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I propose that we vote on that so that we then have one

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document before us. I know there's some additional

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amendments. So then we'll let's vote on this

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and then take the additional amendments.

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I also left out a few words in my remarks.

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so if there's no objection, let's just have a vote on what's

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before us right now. The ans and the five amendments,

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and then continue with additional amendments and some

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additional remarks from me. I don't know why I'm looking at

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that. And I could look at I do have a

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quick question. Quick question, sorry, on

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amendment one. And I believe my team reached

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out this morning. So I know this is late, but we

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an fte. And is it possible to move that

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to nps so that if they wanted to contract out for it versus hire

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someone, that that might be possible?

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I have no objection to that. And if there's no objection from

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anyone, then that will be accepted as part of this.

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thank you. So the 150 000 amendment, number

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one will be nps, not ps. So the vote will be on the ans

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and the five amendments. And then we'll continue with

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additional remarks from me and amendments.

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all those in favor of the motion say I, I are there any opposed?

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the eyes have it unanimously. I sort of left out in my

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remarks. Members know that we received a

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letter yesterday from the chief financial officer.

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I have sent a response to him, and I don't know if that's.

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copies have been distributed. They're being distributed right

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now. We.

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we believe in paper. So I'm just going to read from

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00:16:56,633 --> 00:17:01,433
part of this. The cfo, in his letter,

246
00:17:01,538 --> 00:17:06,310
suggested that it was imprudent for for us to use this budget to

247
00:17:06,310 --> 00:17:11,710
to use in this budget, $150 million in the reserves.

248
00:17:12,350 --> 00:17:17,321
it is not imprudent to leave almost 95% of the reserves

249
00:17:17,321 --> 00:17:19,990
untouched, especially when the reserves have never been higher

250
00:17:19,990 --> 00:17:25,990
and still will hold over $2 billion, which is equal to

251
00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,960
maintaining 62 days of operating expenses.

252
00:17:29,166 --> 00:17:33,966
62 days is above the government financial officers association,

253
00:17:34,538 --> 00:17:38,542
or gfoa gold standard. Moreover, our reserves are more

254
00:17:38,542 --> 00:17:43,414
than enough to satisfy wall street in its april rating

255
00:17:43,414 --> 00:17:46,616
action, moody's stated that their concern would arise if the

256
00:17:46,616 --> 00:17:49,987
district's available fund balance fell below 15% of

257
00:17:49,987 --> 00:17:53,587
revenue. Our fund balance will remain

258
00:17:53,957 --> 00:17:56,357
comfortably above that threshold.

259
00:17:58,937 --> 00:18:04,542
it's my belief that the chief financial officer is attempting

260
00:18:04,542 --> 00:18:09,942
to impose a policy view. Policy decisions are reserved

261
00:18:10,215 --> 00:18:13,518
under the home rule act to the council and the mayor.

262
00:18:13,518 --> 00:18:16,955
the creation of two local reserve funds was a policy

263
00:18:16,955 --> 00:18:20,925
decision of the council. The use of local reserve funds

264
00:18:20,925 --> 00:18:25,764
to support appropriations, which we have done several times in

265
00:18:25,764 --> 00:18:29,300
the past, is a policy decision of the council.

266
00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:33,538
the level set in the law for the two local reserve funds also has

267
00:18:33,538 --> 00:18:37,475
been a policy set by the council.

268
00:18:37,475 --> 00:18:41,312
the chief financial officer does not have the authority to now

269
00:18:41,312 --> 00:18:46,184
make a policy decision that even though we have used reserve

270
00:18:46,184 --> 00:18:49,421
funds in the past for appropriation, that at this time

271
00:18:49,421 --> 00:18:53,659
the council may not use local reserves to support

272
00:18:53,659 --> 00:18:56,461
appropriations. And again, the amount that is in

273
00:18:56,461 --> 00:19:03,610
this budget is small, less than 6% of the total reserve funds.

274
00:19:05,737 --> 00:19:10,674
the need that the cfo has conveyed is liquidity, but it's

275
00:19:10,674 --> 00:19:12,674
liquidity. In 2028.

276
00:19:12,844 --> 00:19:16,140
now, I will note we had a hearing a couple months ago with

277
00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:20,719
the chief financial officer, and I asked then for a monthly cash

278
00:19:20,719 --> 00:19:24,556
flow analysis through 2028. We still have not received it.

279
00:19:24,556 --> 00:19:28,426
when I asked him in person last week, it was clear that they

280
00:19:28,426 --> 00:19:33,431
were unable to produce a monthly cash flow analysis through 2028.

281
00:19:33,431 --> 00:19:37,969
such an analysis would actually quantify what the need is in

282
00:19:37,969 --> 00:19:42,507
terms of liquidity. In 2028, we would then know the

283
00:19:42,507 --> 00:19:45,911
effect of numerous measures that are being taken or could be

284
00:19:45,911 --> 00:19:49,714
taken to address that need. For instance, the chief

285
00:19:49,714 --> 00:19:54,953
financial officer right now is restructuring their approach to

286
00:19:54,953 --> 00:20:00,325
capital financing to reduce the impact on cash flow included

287
00:20:00,325 --> 00:20:07,650
with our budget action today and with the bsa is a provision

288
00:20:07,650 --> 00:20:12,404
spreading pension payments over the years instead of one large

289
00:20:12,404 --> 00:20:16,874
payment made in the first month of the fiscal year, the cfo has

290
00:20:16,874 --> 00:20:20,478
indicated that he's negotiating the timing of transit subsidy

291
00:20:20,478 --> 00:20:25,116
payments to armada. That will change cash flow.

292
00:20:25,116 --> 00:20:27,353
and maybe I've mentioned this publicly.

293
00:20:27,353 --> 00:20:30,422
I'll mention it now. We could change the timing of

294
00:20:30,422 --> 00:20:34,225
real property tax payments, which are made twice a year,

295
00:20:34,225 --> 00:20:37,762
right before they're made, is when we have the lowest level of

296
00:20:37,762 --> 00:20:42,330
cash in our accounts. And I want to emphasize this is

297
00:20:42,330 --> 00:20:46,370
a liquidity issue, not a balancing issue.

298
00:20:46,370 --> 00:20:50,208
without having that cash flow analysis to 2028, we are unable

299
00:20:50,208 --> 00:20:55,547
to know how much each of these measures I just itemized will

300
00:20:55,547 --> 00:21:00,347
reduce or even eliminate the liquidity problem in 2028.

301
00:21:07,959 --> 00:21:12,163
we asked the attorney general for the district two years ago

302
00:21:12,163 --> 00:21:15,266
for an opinion on this issue, because this was an issue a

303
00:21:15,266 --> 00:21:20,720
couple years ago. And ultimately, we did use money

304
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:25,210
from I think it was fiscal stabilization two years ago, the

305
00:21:25,210 --> 00:21:30,610
attorney general for the district issued an opinion that

306
00:21:30,949 --> 00:21:34,549
included that, that allowing the cfo.

307
00:21:35,955 --> 00:21:39,391
this is just one excerpt allowing the cfo to dictate the

308
00:21:39,391 --> 00:21:41,860
funding level of the local reserves.

309
00:21:41,860 --> 00:21:45,300
quote, would remove the local budget process from within the

310
00:21:45,300 --> 00:21:47,999
control of the mayor and council, and interfere with the

311
00:21:47,999 --> 00:21:51,903
locally elected officials decisions about how district

312
00:21:51,903 --> 00:21:55,503
government resources should be spent, unquote.

313
00:21:55,874 --> 00:22:00,712
so I think it would be fair for me to say that every council

314
00:22:00,712 --> 00:22:04,982
member is concerned that the district's cash flow is such

315
00:22:04,982 --> 00:22:08,486
that we don't have a point where we cannot pay our bills, not

316
00:22:08,486 --> 00:22:11,456
because of budget, but because of cash flow.

317
00:22:11,456 --> 00:22:15,126
and I think it would be fair to say that members of the council

318
00:22:15,126 --> 00:22:21,726
are more than willing to adopt measures that would smooth or

319
00:22:22,634 --> 00:22:28,600
moderate cash flow, so that it is less volatile.

320
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:34,779
and we have two years to do this until 2028, so that certainly is

321
00:22:34,779 --> 00:22:37,849
my commitment. I think it is our commitment as

322
00:22:37,849 --> 00:22:40,819
well, that liquidity is something that we absolutely

323
00:22:40,819 --> 00:22:48,293
want to ensure is not a problem, but that alleged problem in fy

324
00:22:48,293 --> 00:22:52,530
2028 should not and cannot impede our ability to take a

325
00:22:52,530 --> 00:22:58,530
small amount from the $2.2 billion in the local in the

326
00:22:58,903 --> 00:23:01,706
reserves for support of this budget.

327
00:23:01,706 --> 00:23:06,277
so that was I wanted to just add that to my remarks.

328
00:23:06,277 --> 00:23:09,247
I do at this point have an oral amendment I want to move, and

329
00:23:09,247 --> 00:23:13,447
then I'll recognize, I believe, councilmember henderson.

330
00:23:15,754 --> 00:23:20,192
we have in the budget documents that were circulated, $21

331
00:23:20,192 --> 00:23:23,192
million for park morton redevelopment.

332
00:23:25,396 --> 00:23:32,837
we placed it in the wrong line. And so I'm looking at a document

333
00:23:32,837 --> 00:23:36,674
that the budget office gave me. So this is in writing that we

334
00:23:36,674 --> 00:23:42,740
would take $21 million from eb0 .016 c park morton redevelopment

335
00:23:46,317 --> 00:23:51,717
initiative, and move that to eb0 point 509 c point.

336
00:23:52,623 --> 00:23:55,230
bruce monroe. Each year.

337
00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,398
that's 21 million in fy 27 and 21 million in fy 28.

338
00:24:00,398 --> 00:24:04,350
so those sums, there's no effect on the budget.

339
00:24:04,350 --> 00:24:06,838
this is simply moving them from one line to another line.

340
00:24:06,838 --> 00:24:11,849
I'll turn to council member nadeau to see if I got this

341
00:24:11,849 --> 00:24:13,849
right. Well done.

342
00:24:14,250 --> 00:24:18,450
it's perfect. So that's one oral amendment.

343
00:24:22,392 --> 00:24:26,530
if there's no objection, it will be accepted.

344
00:24:26,530 --> 00:24:28,665
hearing no objection that's accepted.

345
00:24:28,665 --> 00:24:34,665
the second oral amendment is to adjust slightly funding for

346
00:24:35,338 --> 00:24:38,338
johnson middle school athletic field.

347
00:24:40,643 --> 00:24:49,953
and also to move it so it would be moved from am oh point sk120c

348
00:24:49,953 --> 00:24:54,753
point athletic facilities improvement moved to am 0.20, h

349
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:00,997
three seven. C point johnson middle school

350
00:25:00,997 --> 00:25:04,597
renovation, modernization and the amount is $1,080,000.

351
00:25:05,201 --> 00:25:08,705
there's no objection that will be accepted.

352
00:25:08,705 --> 00:25:11,574
councilmember trayon white, sr. Does that sound right to you?

353
00:25:11,574 --> 00:25:13,576
yes, sir. Chairman, we thank you for

354
00:25:13,576 --> 00:25:17,470
restoring that funding. If there's no objection, it will

355
00:25:17,470 --> 00:25:20,184
be accepted. Hearing no objection, it's

356
00:25:20,184 --> 00:25:23,184
accepted. The third is garrison.

357
00:25:23,887 --> 00:25:28,425
I don't have the project in front of me, but we had in the

358
00:25:28,425 --> 00:25:33,630
budget $500,000 to improve the field at garrison elementary

359
00:25:33,630 --> 00:25:34,864
school. I have to say, we've gone back

360
00:25:34,864 --> 00:25:40,203
and forth on the amount. We had $1 million in first

361
00:25:40,203 --> 00:25:41,304
reading. Maybe.

362
00:25:41,304 --> 00:25:44,400
I was told it should only be 500 000.

363
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,609
so the documents have it at 500 000.

364
00:25:46,609 --> 00:25:49,412
this morning I was informed it should be a million.

365
00:25:49,412 --> 00:25:53,160
so my oral amendment is to increase it to a million with

366
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,187
leave for the budget staff to make the appropriate adjustments

367
00:25:57,187 --> 00:26:02,525
to debt service if necessary. From the slight plus up we did

368
00:26:02,525 --> 00:26:06,429
in workforce investment. If there's no objection,

369
00:26:06,429 --> 00:26:09,429
councilmember pinto, does that work?

370
00:26:09,899 --> 00:26:10,767
yes. That's right.

371
00:26:10,767 --> 00:26:13,170
thank you so much, mr. Chairman. And if there's no objection,

372
00:26:13,170 --> 00:26:17,707
this amendment will be accepted. Hearing no objection, it's

373
00:26:17,707 --> 00:26:19,976
accepted. Councilmember henderson, you

374
00:26:19,976 --> 00:26:23,313
have an amendment. Thank you, mr. Chairman.

375
00:26:23,313 --> 00:26:26,649
today I this kind of feels a little deja vu, but here we are.

376
00:26:26,649 --> 00:26:30,520
today I'm moving an amendment to provide funding for the

377
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,356
implementation of the open primary provisions approved by

378
00:26:33,356 --> 00:26:37,327
district voters through initiative 83 in november of

379
00:26:37,327 --> 00:26:39,727
2024, district voters overwhelmingly approved

380
00:26:40,597 --> 00:26:43,597
initiative 83, with 73% of the vote.

381
00:26:43,767 --> 00:26:46,736
since then, the council has taken important steps to

382
00:26:46,736 --> 00:26:49,339
implement the ranked choice voting portion of that, and we

383
00:26:49,339 --> 00:26:53,143
saw that system successfully utilized in last week's primary

384
00:26:53,143 --> 00:26:55,812
election. I do want to extend a

385
00:26:55,812 --> 00:26:58,615
congratulations and a thank you to the dc board of elections for

386
00:26:58,615 --> 00:27:02,852
their work on that rollout. But initiative 383 was not

387
00:27:02,852 --> 00:27:04,860
solely about ranked choice voting.

388
00:27:04,860 --> 00:27:07,220
it also included provisions to allow independent voters to

389
00:27:07,220 --> 00:27:08,758
participate in primary elections.

390
00:27:08,758 --> 00:27:12,128
today, that portion of the initiative remains unfunded and

391
00:27:12,128 --> 00:27:14,765
therefore unimplemented. The amendment before us would

392
00:27:14,765 --> 00:27:17,901
complete the work that the voters asked us to do last year.

393
00:27:17,901 --> 00:27:20,170
we did come close to funding these provisions, and my hope is

394
00:27:20,170 --> 00:27:24,841
today we can come together and continue this track record.

395
00:27:24,841 --> 00:27:27,243
approximately 85,000 district residents are registered

396
00:27:27,243 --> 00:27:30,246
independent voters. They pay taxes, volunteer in

397
00:27:30,246 --> 00:27:32,549
communities, serve on advisory, neighborhood commission, coach

398
00:27:32,549 --> 00:27:35,852
youth sports, attend civic meetings, and contribute to

399
00:27:35,852 --> 00:27:39,255
every part of public life in every corner of our city.

400
00:27:39,255 --> 00:27:43,159
we all have constituents who are federal employees and cannot

401
00:27:43,159 --> 00:27:45,262
affiliate with a particular political party.

402
00:27:45,262 --> 00:27:48,865
we have neighbors who are judges, who are members of the

403
00:27:48,865 --> 00:27:51,868
military, journalists, or simply residents who have chosen not to

404
00:27:51,868 --> 00:27:53,737
join a party. Regardless of the reason.

405
00:27:53,737 --> 00:27:56,806
they care deeply about the city and deserve a meaningful voice

406
00:27:56,806 --> 00:27:59,676
in shaping its future. And district residents agree.

407
00:27:59,676 --> 00:28:03,980
according to a recent poll, 68% of dc voters support allowing

408
00:28:03,980 --> 00:28:05,715
independent voters to participate in primary

409
00:28:05,715 --> 00:28:09,485
elections, with a majority of support in every ward in a

410
00:28:09,485 --> 00:28:12,223
jurisdiction where one party dominates most elected offices,

411
00:28:12,223 --> 00:28:16,292
the primary election is often not always, but often, the

412
00:28:16,292 --> 00:28:19,960
election that matters most. Excluding independent voters

413
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:21,965
from that process means excluding them from a stage in

414
00:28:21,965 --> 00:28:25,301
the election where many of their most consequential decisions are

415
00:28:25,301 --> 00:28:27,571
effectively made. Let's be clear about what this

416
00:28:27,571 --> 00:28:30,373
amendment does not do. It does not take away anyone's

417
00:28:30,373 --> 00:28:32,308
right to vote. It does not prevent party

418
00:28:32,308 --> 00:28:34,912
members from participating in their party's primary.

419
00:28:34,912 --> 00:28:38,381
it does not require anyone to change their political beliefs.

420
00:28:38,381 --> 00:28:41,885
it simply says that voters who choose not to affiliate with a

421
00:28:41,885 --> 00:28:44,654
political party should not be forced to do so in order to

422
00:28:44,654 --> 00:28:45,990
participate in a meaningful election.

423
00:28:45,990 --> 00:28:49,590
we should not be telling our residents that the price to the

424
00:28:49,590 --> 00:28:51,527
price of admission to our democracy in the district is

425
00:28:51,527 --> 00:28:53,927
changing their voter registration.

426
00:28:54,297 --> 00:28:55,598
independent voters are not spectators.

427
00:28:55,598 --> 00:28:58,600
we are district residents. We are constituents, and we're

428
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:00,770
governed by the same laws, and we pay the same taxes and

429
00:29:00,770 --> 00:29:03,939
deserve the opportunity to choose the leaders who represent

430
00:29:03,939 --> 00:29:06,442
us. I want to address very briefly,

431
00:29:06,442 --> 00:29:09,912
mr. Chairman, if the additional 30s this funding source for this

432
00:29:09,912 --> 00:29:12,882
amendment to avoid any concern for my colleagues, this

433
00:29:12,882 --> 00:29:17,820
amendment takes $965,250 from the workforce investment account

434
00:29:17,954 --> 00:29:22,580
and spreads it across through fiscal year 27 through fiscal

435
00:29:22,580 --> 00:29:24,580
year 29. In fy 30.

436
00:29:24,894 --> 00:29:28,970
the remaining costs are funded through available unbudgeted

437
00:29:28,970 --> 00:29:31,100
resources in the financial plan. I did work closely with the

438
00:29:31,100 --> 00:29:34,370
chairman and the budget office on these sources, and is my

439
00:29:34,370 --> 00:29:36,840
understanding that this limited use of the workforce investment

440
00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:41,100
funds will not materially impact our ability to meet anticipated

441
00:29:41,100 --> 00:29:45,210
labor obligations. Also, even with this amendment,

442
00:29:46,490 --> 00:29:49,218
there will still be approximately 105 million

443
00:29:49,218 --> 00:29:51,788
available today for the workforce investment account,

444
00:29:51,788 --> 00:29:55,457
which is 105 million more than that was available for this

445
00:29:55,457 --> 00:29:59,462
account 70 days ago. So this modest investment will

446
00:29:59,462 --> 00:30:02,665
help us fulfill the will of the district voters and expand

447
00:30:02,665 --> 00:30:06,135
participation in our democracy. I hope and urge my colleagues to

448
00:30:06,135 --> 00:30:09,135
support this amendment. Thank you.

449
00:30:09,439 --> 00:30:11,700
thank you. Councilmember is there a

450
00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:14,607
discussion on the amendment? Councilmember bonds?

451
00:30:15,611 --> 00:30:20,653
yes, thank you very much. And thanks to my colleague for

452
00:30:20,653 --> 00:30:23,890
putting this issue before us yet again.

453
00:30:23,890 --> 00:30:30,596
my question is about the cost, and I ask it because we thought

454
00:30:30,596 --> 00:30:35,996
the cost for ranked choice voting was, I think, 421,000.

455
00:30:36,102 --> 00:30:41,502
and we ended up adding 2.1 million, another 2.1 million is

456
00:30:43,309 --> 00:30:46,780
proposed today. And of course, with the.

457
00:30:46,780 --> 00:30:52,185
this does not include replacing the voting machines, which were

458
00:30:52,185 --> 00:30:56,756
antiquated, ten years old, not very efficient, as we know from

459
00:30:56,756 --> 00:31:01,600
the primary. So I just want us to look at

460
00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,496
this holistically. What is it really going to cost?

461
00:31:03,496 --> 00:31:08,868
we do not have to put all the money that it will cost in

462
00:31:08,868 --> 00:31:11,704
today's budget. The 27 but have we really looked

463
00:31:11,704 --> 00:31:14,941
at that? And I just hope, since I won't

464
00:31:14,941 --> 00:31:20,146
be here to chat with you in the future, that you're looking at

465
00:31:20,146 --> 00:31:22,682
it realistically as to what it will cost.

466
00:31:22,682 --> 00:31:25,518
thank you for that question. Councilmember bonds.

467
00:31:25,518 --> 00:31:28,421
you're correct. As you know, though, we get the

468
00:31:28,421 --> 00:31:31,758
fis from the agency that tells us what they believe is their

469
00:31:31,758 --> 00:31:35,261
best estimate at that time of how much it's going to cost.

470
00:31:35,261 --> 00:31:39,332
the good news in this is that there's some additional time.

471
00:31:39,332 --> 00:31:42,869
so any special election that would occur in 2027 would be a

472
00:31:42,869 --> 00:31:44,771
special election, and therefore everyone would have the

473
00:31:44,771 --> 00:31:47,774
opportunity to participate regardless of of political party

474
00:31:47,774 --> 00:31:50,444
anyway. The larger cost for this hits in

475
00:31:50,444 --> 00:31:55,244
fiscal year 2028, when. It would be a traditional

476
00:31:56,683 --> 00:31:59,683
election year. Thank you, councilmember.

477
00:32:02,856 --> 00:32:05,792
pinto. Oh, I don't know if

478
00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:12,392
councilmember barnes was done. I, I was hoping to get some

479
00:32:13,266 --> 00:32:18,471
sense of update of costs because the board of elections is

480
00:32:18,471 --> 00:32:22,408
indicated, I guess, even in correspondence to you, that

481
00:32:22,408 --> 00:32:27,413
their, their thoughts and their plan about implementation of

482
00:32:27,413 --> 00:32:32,213
this part of the initiative would require separate.

483
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:37,423
I guess, information that they would have to disseminate.

484
00:32:37,423 --> 00:32:41,226
and so I just want to make sure that we're talking real numbers

485
00:32:41,226 --> 00:32:43,960
for a change. Yes.

486
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:45,899
councilmember barnes, we got an updated fiscal impact statement

487
00:32:45,899 --> 00:32:47,934
from the board of elections yesterday.

488
00:32:47,934 --> 00:32:51,534
they did add 50,000 to their estimate.

489
00:32:52,505 --> 00:32:55,410
and so that is what's before us today includes that.

490
00:32:55,410 --> 00:32:57,777
all right. And also just to note, this is

491
00:32:57,777 --> 00:32:59,979
separate and apart from the funding because you mentioned

492
00:32:59,979 --> 00:33:05,510
that around my understanding for the additional well, new not

493
00:33:05,510 --> 00:33:09,956
additional machines, which we included, I believe at the first

494
00:33:09,956 --> 00:33:10,323
vote. No.

495
00:33:10,323 --> 00:33:14,127
oh, it's today, it's today. No, we did not include the

496
00:33:14,127 --> 00:33:18,640
machines in the first vote. The first vote, we included 200.

497
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:24,637
I mean, sorry, 2.1 million, which was brought to us via the

498
00:33:24,637 --> 00:33:27,774
mayor's budget. We included in today's what

499
00:33:27,774 --> 00:33:33,174
we're voting on another 2.1 million, which helps with the

500
00:33:34,213 --> 00:33:39,185
voter registration and all of that and getting us through the

501
00:33:39,185 --> 00:33:42,355
general election. So I'm just trying to make sure

502
00:33:42,355 --> 00:33:47,627
that we be realistic about it. That's that's the point of my

503
00:33:47,627 --> 00:33:50,496
question. But thank you very much.

504
00:33:50,496 --> 00:33:54,960
thank you, councilmember barnes. Councilmember pinto.

505
00:33:56,869 --> 00:34:01,474
thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you so much, councilmember

506
00:34:01,474 --> 00:34:04,474
henderson, for moving this amendment.

507
00:34:06,746 --> 00:34:10,750
you know, I think one of the most.

508
00:34:10,750 --> 00:34:15,688
beautiful things about being an american is that we believe here

509
00:34:15,688 --> 00:34:21,270
that one person gets one vote. And no matter what party you're

510
00:34:21,270 --> 00:34:24,964
in, no matter the differences, you might have agreement with

511
00:34:24,964 --> 00:34:29,764
your neighbor. That's the society that we live

512
00:34:30,803 --> 00:34:38,300
in that we get to choose our own leadership and increasing the

513
00:34:39,779 --> 00:34:43,979
enfranchisement of nearly 100,000 residents of our city

514
00:34:45,885 --> 00:34:50,890
who have traditionally been left out of the ability to

515
00:34:50,890 --> 00:34:55,940
participate in our primary process is good for democracy.

516
00:34:55,940 --> 00:34:59,833
it is good for the leaders that we're going to elect to the

517
00:34:59,833 --> 00:35:03,102
city. And I think it's a really

518
00:35:03,102 --> 00:35:05,971
important example to set nationwide.

519
00:35:05,971 --> 00:35:11,971
and as we continue to. Have partizan divides, that can

520
00:35:13,412 --> 00:35:20,120
be very extreme in this nation. I hope that our independence,

521
00:35:22,321 --> 00:35:27,121
participating in our primary process continue to to.

522
00:35:28,761 --> 00:35:30,996
or continue to are able to participate now.

523
00:35:30,996 --> 00:35:33,432
so I appreciate you moving this amendment.

524
00:35:33,432 --> 00:35:36,868
as you know, this is an amendment that I moved last year

525
00:35:36,868 --> 00:35:40,806
in the budget, and so I hope that today we will be able to

526
00:35:40,806 --> 00:35:43,276
make this difference. And I want to really

527
00:35:43,276 --> 00:35:48,676
congratulate the many organizers and leaders of I-83, and

528
00:35:49,181 --> 00:35:52,451
especially lisa rice and brian strategy, who have just been

529
00:35:52,451 --> 00:35:56,655
working on this issue for many, many years and have really

530
00:35:56,655 --> 00:36:01,293
pushed us to live up to our values in the district.

531
00:36:01,293 --> 00:36:04,563
so congratulations to you all for the incredible work that

532
00:36:04,563 --> 00:36:06,632
you've engaged in for many years.

533
00:36:06,632 --> 00:36:10,232
thank you. Thank you, councilmember pinto

534
00:36:10,436 --> 00:36:14,507
councilmember trayon white, sr., thank you, chairman, I want to

535
00:36:14,507 --> 00:36:16,907
thank you. Councilmember henderson.

536
00:36:17,377 --> 00:36:24,490
one of the things I am concerned about with this bill that would

537
00:36:24,490 --> 00:36:30,991
fund the primary portion of I 83 is the taking the two taking the

538
00:36:30,991 --> 00:36:34,461
payments from the council's workforce investment accounts.

539
00:36:34,461 --> 00:36:39,466
there has been a lot of talk about unions negotiating

540
00:36:39,466 --> 00:36:45,466
salaries, and it looks like this is going to take 900, 600,

541
00:36:46,106 --> 00:36:48,975
$965,250 from the council's workers investment fund for

542
00:36:48,975 --> 00:36:53,175
fiscal year 2027. Which provide cost of living

543
00:36:54,247 --> 00:36:58,218
increase for our employees and was negotiated in good faith by

544
00:36:58,218 --> 00:37:00,554
our unions. Then I think from what I'm

545
00:37:00,554 --> 00:37:04,824
seeing, it further commits dollars from fiscal year 2030,

546
00:37:04,824 --> 00:37:08,795
and we haven't even passed our fiscal year 2027 budget yet.

547
00:37:08,795 --> 00:37:12,299
so I'm concerned about the funding source.

548
00:37:12,299 --> 00:37:14,768
quite honestly. So I'm just going to digress

549
00:37:14,768 --> 00:37:18,405
with that. Our workers need more pay, and

550
00:37:18,405 --> 00:37:21,808
I'm not sure if this is the right funding source.

551
00:37:21,808 --> 00:37:24,208
mr. Chairman, councilmember felder.

552
00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,616
thank you, mr. Chairman. Couple questions.

553
00:37:32,853 --> 00:37:36,823
first and foremost, councilwoman henderson, I do appreciate your

554
00:37:36,823 --> 00:37:40,260
leadership and. On this matter, it seems like

555
00:37:40,260 --> 00:37:43,463
this is deja vu. We were just having this

556
00:37:43,463 --> 00:37:47,000
conversation last year around this time.

557
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,905
could my first question is, have you had an opportunity to talk

558
00:37:51,905 --> 00:37:57,305
to the party, the democratic party, specifically, how this

559
00:37:58,145 --> 00:38:02,345
may potentially water down the democratic party?

560
00:38:02,348 --> 00:38:05,485
or have there been any studies as it relates to the

561
00:38:05,485 --> 00:38:09,685
implications of open primaries? Well, councilmember felder.

562
00:38:12,693 --> 00:38:18,693
I'll choose my words here. I believe the dc democratic

563
00:38:18,766 --> 00:38:23,360
party did file a lawsuit to stop not just this, but the entire

564
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,839
initiative, which they were unsuccessful in terms of moving

565
00:38:25,839 --> 00:38:28,709
that forward in court. And so I do believe that that

566
00:38:28,709 --> 00:38:32,309
kind of exhausted that piece there.

567
00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:38,752
I'll end there. Okay.

568
00:38:38,752 --> 00:38:46,552
given that we recently had a, a a on under ranked choice voting,

569
00:38:47,427 --> 00:38:52,650
and given that open primaries was another portion of what was

570
00:38:52,650 --> 00:38:56,471
put forth last year, have you had an opportunity to talk to dc

571
00:38:56,471 --> 00:39:02,471
board of elections about how. Implementing a new law would.

572
00:39:05,712 --> 00:39:08,515
how would that. Do they have the necessary

573
00:39:08,515 --> 00:39:11,218
resources based on them? Just recently, going through

574
00:39:11,218 --> 00:39:13,754
ranked choice voting, like, is there a lessons learned?

575
00:39:13,754 --> 00:39:19,590
how will open primaries, if passed, be incorporated in the

576
00:39:19,590 --> 00:39:23,859
implementation of a new. A new voting system?

577
00:39:24,300 --> 00:39:26,133
well, so as I said to councilmember bonds, we did have

578
00:39:26,133 --> 00:39:28,635
a conversation with board of elections yesterday to get the

579
00:39:28,635 --> 00:39:30,370
updated numbers. So they did indicate that they

580
00:39:30,370 --> 00:39:33,174
would need additional resources. And that's what we provided

581
00:39:33,174 --> 00:39:37,811
here. But I will say this is that if

582
00:39:37,811 --> 00:39:41,914
we're thinking about what happens in 2027, the dc board of

583
00:39:41,914 --> 00:39:45,218
elections was going to have to send every registered voter a

584
00:39:45,218 --> 00:39:50,257
ballot for elections that will take place next year anyway.

585
00:39:50,257 --> 00:39:53,760
so really, the big change would be around 2028.

586
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:58,765
and I think this gives us leeway to both do the voter education

587
00:39:58,765 --> 00:40:01,601
that's necessary. But really the largest

588
00:40:01,601 --> 00:40:04,370
difference for the board of elections is just around now.

589
00:40:04,370 --> 00:40:08,208
you got to send every a mechanism to send everyone a

590
00:40:08,208 --> 00:40:11,479
ballot who requests to participate in the democratic

591
00:40:11,479 --> 00:40:12,479
primary. Thank you.

592
00:40:12,479 --> 00:40:17,830
I would also just like to go on the record as well, to voice my

593
00:40:17,830 --> 00:40:20,887
concerns about the funding for this, similar to last year, I

594
00:40:20,887 --> 00:40:24,557
think we took money from food access, and I know,

595
00:40:24,557 --> 00:40:28,696
councilwoman, I know there was a it was food access and another

596
00:40:28,696 --> 00:40:32,320
program that really impacts the needs specifically of ward 7 and

597
00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:34,330
eight residents. So I just want to be mindful of

598
00:40:34,330 --> 00:40:37,704
where the money is coming from to support this initiative.

599
00:40:37,704 --> 00:40:40,708
so I don't support this, and I urge my colleagues not to do the

600
00:40:40,708 --> 00:40:42,442
same. Mr. Chairman, can I ask a

601
00:40:42,442 --> 00:40:47,446
question to the budget director? Yes, madam budget director, does

602
00:40:47,446 --> 00:40:50,116
this small reduction in the workforce investment count make

603
00:40:50,116 --> 00:40:53,620
a material difference in our ability to meet our anticipated

604
00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:57,820
labor obligations? Thank you for the question.

605
00:40:59,392 --> 00:41:03,930
that's that's a judgment call, which might be a little bit

606
00:41:03,930 --> 00:41:07,901
unfair. As you stated in your remarks 70

607
00:41:07,901 --> 00:41:12,605
days ago, there was zero in this account.

608
00:41:12,605 --> 00:41:17,143
at first reading, there was 100 million in this account.

609
00:41:17,143 --> 00:41:20,743
after your amendment, there will be.

610
00:41:22,348 --> 00:41:27,148
105.5 million in this account. And, you know, budgeting,

611
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,325
workforce investment is always an educated guess because we

612
00:41:32,325 --> 00:41:38,264
don't know what the cost of each of these cbas are going to be.

613
00:41:38,264 --> 00:41:43,640
however. You know, this is more than we

614
00:41:43,203 --> 00:41:47,707
had 14 days ago. And again, more than what was

615
00:41:47,707 --> 00:41:49,707
there. 70 days ago.

616
00:41:52,145 --> 00:41:54,545
thank you, councilmember henderson.

617
00:41:54,580 --> 00:41:59,185
I'll point out that the contingency amendment that is in

618
00:41:59,185 --> 00:42:04,570
here now does have. If the revenues if the revenue

619
00:42:04,570 --> 00:42:08,695
growth is sufficient, that there would be 36 million, up to 36

620
00:42:08,695 --> 00:42:10,798
million more added to workforce investment.

621
00:42:10,798 --> 00:42:12,599
and I appreciate that addition, mr. Chairman.

622
00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:17,237
I do want to just say I spoke to several members over the

623
00:42:17,237 --> 00:42:21,173
weekend, and I said that if I had an issue with the source, I

624
00:42:21,173 --> 00:42:25,345
would ask that members would be mindful.

625
00:42:25,345 --> 00:42:28,548
I'll even say add that they would support me in objecting to

626
00:42:28,548 --> 00:42:30,417
the source. As councilmember henderson said,

627
00:42:30,417 --> 00:42:32,986
when she moved this, she had talked with me about this.

628
00:42:32,986 --> 00:42:34,687
I don't have a problem with the source.

629
00:42:34,687 --> 00:42:36,290
that doesn't mean I'll be voting for this.

630
00:42:36,290 --> 00:42:38,842
in fact, I'll speak to it in a minute, but I don't have a

631
00:42:38,842 --> 00:42:43,514
problem with the source, so that's not an issue.

632
00:42:43,514 --> 00:42:48,314
okay, next on the list is councilmember allen.

633
00:42:48,752 --> 00:42:52,723
thank you, mr. Chairman. Knowing that I only have three

634
00:42:52,723 --> 00:42:54,240
minutes, I'm not going to bury the lead.

635
00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:55,593
I'm supporting this amendment today.

636
00:42:55,593 --> 00:42:59,763
thank you, councilmember henderson, for moving it.

637
00:42:59,763 --> 00:43:04,334
you're in your opening comments. You laid out very well why this

638
00:43:04,334 --> 00:43:08,710
is the right thing to do. I'll add to it a conversation I

639
00:43:08,710 --> 00:43:12,410
had with somebody when I had some initial skepticism around

640
00:43:12,410 --> 00:43:15,412
independence, voting in primaries, and they kind of laid

641
00:43:15,412 --> 00:43:18,349
it out for me, really around how we spend our tax dollars.

642
00:43:18,349 --> 00:43:23,253
and so in some jurisdictions, a political party holds their own

643
00:43:23,253 --> 00:43:24,221
primary process. They fund it.

644
00:43:24,221 --> 00:43:26,890
that's how they select their political party nominees.

645
00:43:26,890 --> 00:43:29,259
and that moves forward. Here.

646
00:43:29,259 --> 00:43:32,730
we spend millions and millions of your public tax dollars to

647
00:43:32,730 --> 00:43:37,768
hold a primary, of which a significant number of people

648
00:43:37,768 --> 00:43:40,971
cannot participate. That was really compelling for

649
00:43:40,971 --> 00:43:44,308
me, because if we're going to use our public tax dollars for

650
00:43:44,308 --> 00:43:45,977
an election, then it stands to reason.

651
00:43:45,977 --> 00:43:48,245
you want to give everyone the opportunity to participate.

652
00:43:48,245 --> 00:43:50,248
they don't have to, but we'll give them the opportunity.

653
00:43:50,248 --> 00:43:52,982
so I wanted to add that as one more reason why I think this

654
00:43:52,982 --> 00:43:57,955
makes sense for our jurisdiction for d.c., this would take effect

655
00:43:57,955 --> 00:44:00,491
for 2028. So I think the board should get

656
00:44:00,491 --> 00:44:02,893
a lot of credit. I think they did a phenomenal

657
00:44:02,893 --> 00:44:06,230
job and they really stepped up to the plate on a pretty

658
00:44:06,230 --> 00:44:08,665
compressed timeline to implement ranked choice voting.

659
00:44:08,665 --> 00:44:11,669
and I heard a lot of positive feedback from folks around how

660
00:44:11,669 --> 00:44:12,737
that worked. And I think the board did a

661
00:44:12,737 --> 00:44:15,339
really great job in implementing that.

662
00:44:15,339 --> 00:44:18,876
they'll have two years here to be able to implement this.

663
00:44:18,876 --> 00:44:22,479
that also gives us the time to be able to use oversight to make

664
00:44:22,479 --> 00:44:25,849
sure that we are doing our job, to make sure the board is both

665
00:44:25,849 --> 00:44:28,752
supported and any other laws or changes we need to make to make

666
00:44:28,752 --> 00:44:30,487
sure it can be in effect for 2028.

667
00:44:30,487 --> 00:44:33,357
makes sense. So to that, I had two quick

668
00:44:33,357 --> 00:44:38,328
questions to miss henderson. One is for obviously, as a

669
00:44:38,328 --> 00:44:40,898
democrat who just won the democratic primary to get access

670
00:44:40,898 --> 00:44:44,367
to the ballot, I had to collect petitions and get signatures,

671
00:44:44,367 --> 00:44:47,504
and I had to toss out every registered independent that

672
00:44:47,504 --> 00:44:49,339
signed my petition I had to toss out.

673
00:44:49,339 --> 00:44:52,376
could only accept the registered democrats.

674
00:44:52,376 --> 00:44:57,313
does this move make it so that if independents can vote in the

675
00:44:57,313 --> 00:44:58,982
primary that I might be a candidate on.

676
00:44:58,982 --> 00:45:01,386
they also are able to sign the petition for the ballot access

677
00:45:01,386 --> 00:45:03,319
for that primary. Or is that an issue we need to

678
00:45:03,319 --> 00:45:07,291
work out between now and 2028? Thank you for that question,

679
00:45:07,291 --> 00:45:09,291
councilmember allan. So.

680
00:45:09,893 --> 00:45:14,932
the ballot initiative did not touch the petition process or

681
00:45:14,932 --> 00:45:16,433
change that in any particular way.

682
00:45:16,433 --> 00:45:19,670
so as it stands right now, only members of the relative party

683
00:45:19,670 --> 00:45:22,206
would be allowed to sign the petition.

684
00:45:22,206 --> 00:45:25,743
and that's something that we could discuss at a future time.

685
00:45:25,743 --> 00:45:28,120
okay. I think that's something,

686
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:30,347
obviously, we bring our oversight to this to look at

687
00:45:30,347 --> 00:45:34,184
between now and 2028. The other question I had to do

688
00:45:34,184 --> 00:45:39,956
is right now, about 60% or so of voters vote using their the

689
00:45:39,956 --> 00:45:42,392
ballot that comes in the mail, either by returning it by mail

690
00:45:42,392 --> 00:45:46,530
or using our ballot drop boxes. So dc voters really, really like

691
00:45:46,530 --> 00:45:49,733
the ballots in the mail board of elections mails a physical

692
00:45:49,733 --> 00:45:52,569
ballot to every registered voter in the district, but that ballot

693
00:45:52,569 --> 00:45:54,438
they receive is based on their party registration.

694
00:45:54,438 --> 00:45:57,907
mr. Chairman, if I just have 30s to finish this question without

695
00:45:57,907 --> 00:45:59,907
objection. Thank you.

696
00:46:00,777 --> 00:46:04,114
I, I don't believe dc law lays out yet, but again, this could

697
00:46:04,114 --> 00:46:06,616
be something we've got to address before 2028.

698
00:46:06,616 --> 00:46:12,756
if a voter is an independent, wants to participate in a

699
00:46:12,756 --> 00:46:18,156
democrat, republican green party primary, then they would be

700
00:46:18,295 --> 00:46:20,564
receiving an independent ballot in the mail.

701
00:46:20,564 --> 00:46:22,331
they need to request it in advance.

702
00:46:22,331 --> 00:46:25,202
or is this another issue we need to probably work out between now

703
00:46:25,202 --> 00:46:27,805
and 2028 about how the board needs the the guidance and

704
00:46:27,805 --> 00:46:30,730
instruction to be able to make sure people get their physical

705
00:46:30,730 --> 00:46:33,276
ballots the way they prefer. Thank you for the question,

706
00:46:33,276 --> 00:46:35,279
councilmember allen. So this is a question of

707
00:46:35,279 --> 00:46:38,879
implementation. The fee for the ballot

708
00:46:39,416 --> 00:46:41,619
initiative indicates that the board of elections would create

709
00:46:41,619 --> 00:46:45,389
some sort of portal for unaffiliated voters to be able

710
00:46:45,389 --> 00:46:49,226
to say which ballot they prefer to receive, because the way that

711
00:46:49,226 --> 00:46:53,430
this is designed, presumably they could vote in the

712
00:46:53,430 --> 00:46:58,702
republican primary if that is something that they choose.

713
00:46:58,702 --> 00:47:01,704
so the fifths also notes that the board said that they could

714
00:47:01,704 --> 00:47:03,440
absorb the cost of that particular portal.

715
00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:07,177
it might just be something that's already in their system

716
00:47:07,177 --> 00:47:09,380
where, you know, you go in and check your voter registration

717
00:47:09,380 --> 00:47:12,782
and you can declare which ballot that you will want to receive,

718
00:47:12,782 --> 00:47:14,650
but that would be a further conversation we have with the

719
00:47:14,650 --> 00:47:19,923
board of elections. And again, for all the elections

720
00:47:19,923 --> 00:47:24,861
that we know of in 2027, everyone will have the

721
00:47:24,861 --> 00:47:27,130
opportunity to vote. So this isn't something that

722
00:47:27,130 --> 00:47:30,567
needs to be cleared up, right? With the two year on ramp to

723
00:47:30,567 --> 00:47:33,300
2028, I think we can tackle the implementation issues.

724
00:47:33,300 --> 00:47:34,670
they're not a barrier. We can't figure out how to get

725
00:47:34,670 --> 00:47:36,606
over. And that's a charge to us.

726
00:47:36,606 --> 00:47:39,610
should this amendment pass today for the council to be able to

727
00:47:39,610 --> 00:47:42,145
hold the oversight and make adjustments or tweaks as

728
00:47:42,145 --> 00:47:44,800
necessary to have successful implementation?

729
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:46,516
thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chair.

730
00:47:46,516 --> 00:47:50,200
thank you, councilmember, allen councilmember crawford.

731
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,822
thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, council member

732
00:47:52,822 --> 00:47:55,625
henderson and your team for this for your work on this amendment

733
00:47:55,625 --> 00:47:58,895
and for the advocates that have continued to raise their voices

734
00:47:58,895 --> 00:48:02,733
and support, especially lisa rice and commissioner strategy

735
00:48:02,733 --> 00:48:05,768
as one of the two independent members of this council, I

736
00:48:05,768 --> 00:48:08,738
believe it is important that the roughly 80,000 independent

737
00:48:08,738 --> 00:48:12,309
voters in the district have a meaningful opportunity to

738
00:48:12,309 --> 00:48:16,460
participate in the consequential elections that shape our city's

739
00:48:16,460 --> 00:48:18,915
future. I have also heard from many

740
00:48:18,915 --> 00:48:22,853
voters who supported ranked choice voting, but opposed

741
00:48:22,853 --> 00:48:25,789
semi-open primaries and others who supported semi-open

742
00:48:25,789 --> 00:48:28,191
primaries but not ranked choice voting.

743
00:48:28,191 --> 00:48:31,762
combining multiple subjects into a single ballot measure made it

744
00:48:31,762 --> 00:48:36,332
difficult for voters to express their views on each proposal

745
00:48:36,332 --> 00:48:38,635
independently and continue to hear from constituents today who

746
00:48:38,635 --> 00:48:42,235
do not support semi-open primaries today.

747
00:48:43,707 --> 00:48:47,926
so for that reason, I would support aspects of pending

748
00:48:47,926 --> 00:48:50,462
permanent legislation that prevent multiple subjects from

749
00:48:50,462 --> 00:48:53,665
being combined into a single ballot initiative.

750
00:48:53,665 --> 00:48:56,802
as always, implementation must be done thoughtfully.

751
00:48:56,802 --> 00:48:59,506
my hope is that if this amendment passes today, this

752
00:48:59,506 --> 00:49:03,575
funding will help ensure that the board of elections has the

753
00:49:03,575 --> 00:49:06,845
resources necessary for voter education, registration updates

754
00:49:06,845 --> 00:49:11,160
and election administration so that any potential transition is

755
00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:13,185
clear, orderly, and accessible to the voters.

756
00:49:13,185 --> 00:49:17,756
I wish I had more hard data on the effects of ranked choice

757
00:49:17,756 --> 00:49:20,959
voting and where we ended up, but obviously we will not know

758
00:49:20,959 --> 00:49:24,262
the full picture of what happened until the certification

759
00:49:24,262 --> 00:49:26,732
date. So my hope is that the council,

760
00:49:26,732 --> 00:49:30,335
in the future will update the law if needed.

761
00:49:30,335 --> 00:49:35,174
if we ultimately learn that any of the initiative 83 changes to

762
00:49:35,174 --> 00:49:38,577
our elections unfairly benefits our marginalizes one group of

763
00:49:38,577 --> 00:49:41,577
people over another. Thank you.

764
00:49:44,490 --> 00:49:46,785
further on the amendment, councilmember frumin.

765
00:49:46,785 --> 00:49:49,321
thank you very much. Chairman mendelson.

766
00:49:49,321 --> 00:49:51,590
and thank you, council member henderson for coming forward

767
00:49:51,590 --> 00:49:54,460
with this. Thank you to the advocates for

768
00:49:54,460 --> 00:49:59,998
I, 83, who have pushed for this at every step along the way, I

769
00:49:59,998 --> 00:50:02,101
enthusiastically support this amendment.

770
00:50:02,101 --> 00:50:06,773
I think it's really important to note I it's 73%, but let's just

771
00:50:06,773 --> 00:50:11,543
call it three quarters of the electorate said, do this.

772
00:50:11,543 --> 00:50:18,500
and that is very important. It is also one of the lessons of

773
00:50:18,500 --> 00:50:22,721
this last election is that ranked choice voting seemed to

774
00:50:22,721 --> 00:50:27,359
have worked pretty smoothly. I mean, what we're not hearing

775
00:50:27,359 --> 00:50:31,463
is a ton of complaints. And actually, we're seeing we

776
00:50:31,463 --> 00:50:34,500
saw the mechanics of it work quite smoothly.

777
00:50:34,500 --> 00:50:39,772
so I think that should give us some confidence also in terms of

778
00:50:39,772 --> 00:50:43,609
independents voting in the primary, there's lots of

779
00:50:43,609 --> 00:50:45,144
prognostication about what impact that will have.

780
00:50:45,144 --> 00:50:46,479
will it pull the elector to the left?

781
00:50:46,479 --> 00:50:48,681
will it pull the electorate to the right?

782
00:50:48,681 --> 00:50:52,818
I think we have no idea. And I actually think that what

783
00:50:52,818 --> 00:50:56,355
we saw in this last election, not necessarily directionally,

784
00:50:56,355 --> 00:51:01,693
but in terms of magnitude, shows that we have no idea what's

785
00:51:01,693 --> 00:51:06,310
going to happen in elections. I mean, it was I don't know that

786
00:51:06,310 --> 00:51:09,768
anybody predicted what we saw, and I don't think we can predict

787
00:51:09,768 --> 00:51:13,638
what will come from this in terms of impact on the

788
00:51:13,638 --> 00:51:16,475
electorate. Could go left, could go right.

789
00:51:16,475 --> 00:51:22,981
the one thing we do know is tens of thousands of d.c. Residents

790
00:51:22,981 --> 00:51:27,453
who, for whatever reason, choose not to affiliate with a party,

791
00:51:27,453 --> 00:51:31,857
which is an increasing phenomenon not just in

792
00:51:31,857 --> 00:51:37,863
washington, d.c., but in the country, will have their voices

793
00:51:37,863 --> 00:51:43,263
meaningfully heard in our elections, which is exactly what

794
00:51:44,670 --> 00:51:48,540
three quarters of our electorate said should happen in the

795
00:51:48,540 --> 00:51:50,809
referendum. So I really hope we can push

796
00:51:50,809 --> 00:51:55,947
this over the finish line and enfranchise tens of thousands of

797
00:51:55,947 --> 00:51:58,150
d.c. Voters. Thank you for what you brought

798
00:51:58,150 --> 00:52:01,150
forward. Further on the amendment.

799
00:52:03,288 --> 00:52:06,288
councilmember robert white, thank you.

800
00:52:06,725 --> 00:52:10,696
chairman mendelson. I don't need to repeat what's

801
00:52:10,696 --> 00:52:15,167
been said, just a couple points. One, to highlight that this is

802
00:52:15,167 --> 00:52:17,336
something that was passed by voters.

803
00:52:17,336 --> 00:52:21,440
and so even if we don't like the process, we can fix the process

804
00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:24,443
going forward, but we can't go back and undo it.

805
00:52:24,443 --> 00:52:29,715
the second piece is in dc, increasingly in this federal

806
00:52:29,715 --> 00:52:34,319
administration, there are people who are removing party

807
00:52:34,319 --> 00:52:36,755
affiliation just to keep their jobs.

808
00:52:36,755 --> 00:52:40,959
and and we have to be mindful of that.

809
00:52:40,959 --> 00:52:43,394
last year when this came up, there was a last minute

810
00:52:43,394 --> 00:52:47,266
amendment to move money from somewhere that I had a concern

811
00:52:47,266 --> 00:52:49,266
about.

812
00:52:50,135 --> 00:52:52,704
I appreciate councilmember henderson working with members

813
00:52:52,704 --> 00:52:58,143
in order to identify a place in the budget that will have a

814
00:52:58,143 --> 00:53:00,746
substantial impact on funding mechanism.

815
00:53:00,746 --> 00:53:02,682
that is needed. I look forward to voting in

816
00:53:02,682 --> 00:53:06,882
favor of this. Chair mendelson: thank you,

817
00:53:06,884 --> 00:53:08,587
councilmember white. Councilmember parker.

818
00:53:08,587 --> 00:53:13,987
councilmember parker: I admit that I moved on this.

819
00:53:14,225 --> 00:53:17,162
I originally voted against us when it came up last year.

820
00:53:17,162 --> 00:53:21,733
part of the reason is I'm a very proud democrat.

821
00:53:21,733 --> 00:53:23,769
I am clear the democratic party, for all of its issues that some

822
00:53:23,769 --> 00:53:31,569
may cite, has been a party to many folks that look like me,

823
00:53:32,444 --> 00:53:34,780
and people that came before me that fought for the right to

824
00:53:34,780 --> 00:53:38,116
vote. I think of people across the

825
00:53:38,116 --> 00:53:40,318
city like councilmember bonds and others that have worked to

826
00:53:40,318 --> 00:53:46,258
strengthen our democratic party. And I saw this effort as an

827
00:53:46,258 --> 00:53:50,610
attempt intentionally or unintentionally, to weaken the

828
00:53:50,610 --> 00:53:54,733
democratic party. I also worried, even though I

829
00:53:54,733 --> 00:53:59,371
wanted independence to weigh into an election, I wonder

830
00:53:59,371 --> 00:54:03,775
whether or not semi open primaries was the right vehicle.

831
00:54:03,775 --> 00:54:07,946
were there other means that we could explore to both empower

832
00:54:07,946 --> 00:54:11,215
independence but also to respect and strengthen the democratic

833
00:54:11,215 --> 00:54:15,954
partner? I will just say, I've been most

834
00:54:15,954 --> 00:54:18,890
moved by the neighbors I have had heartfelt conversations

835
00:54:18,890 --> 00:54:24,830
with, as councilmember white alluded to, have shared, I'm an

836
00:54:24,830 --> 00:54:27,666
independent because I cannot register as a democrat or

837
00:54:27,666 --> 00:54:32,371
republican, what have you, or the independents that are just

838
00:54:32,371 --> 00:54:35,240
playing whack a mole because they switch their party just to

839
00:54:35,240 --> 00:54:38,577
vote in an election and then switch back.

840
00:54:38,577 --> 00:54:42,580
for all of those reasons, because of the conversations I

841
00:54:42,580 --> 00:54:45,184
had, I plan to support this today.

842
00:54:45,184 --> 00:54:51,123
I would just say, implementation matters, but I think this is

843
00:54:51,123 --> 00:54:56,128
also an opportunity for us as a district, a city to make perfect

844
00:54:56,128 --> 00:54:58,476
our own local democracy but we are fighting on a national level

845
00:54:58,476 --> 00:55:03,140
for statehood. I would just leave it at that.

846
00:55:03,140 --> 00:55:07,352
I want to thank councilmember henderson for advancing this and

847
00:55:07,352 --> 00:55:10,389
everybody that has made this demand.

848
00:55:10,389 --> 00:55:16,280
I know I said that was my last thing, but more than 200,000

849
00:55:16,280 --> 00:55:22,167
residents voted for this. So I think we should respect the

850
00:55:22,167 --> 00:55:23,968
rule of the voters. Thank you, mr. Chairman.

851
00:55:23,968 --> 00:55:28,740
chair mendelson: anybody else wish to speak on this?

852
00:55:28,740 --> 00:55:32,411
as I indicated earlier, I don't have a problem with the source.

853
00:55:32,411 --> 00:55:34,946
I spoke to members over the weekend and said if I had a

854
00:55:34,946 --> 00:55:37,749
problem with the source, please stand with me.

855
00:55:37,749 --> 00:55:43,989
that is not my objection here. Don't be confused about that.

856
00:55:43,989 --> 00:55:46,124
I am not going to be voting for this, I didn't go for it last

857
00:55:46,124 --> 00:55:50,129
year. The thoughts that go through my

858
00:55:50,129 --> 00:55:54,467
mind, there are a couple. When our country was founded,

859
00:55:54,467 --> 00:55:57,169
the founding fathers did not think about parties.

860
00:55:57,169 --> 00:56:01,239
I think it was the third presidential election was all

861
00:56:01,239 --> 00:56:03,943
screwed up because parties had involved, the constitution

862
00:56:03,943 --> 00:56:08,743
didn't contemplate parties. Why do I mention that?

863
00:56:11,183 --> 00:56:15,554
I want to say, is human nature, politics, there are going to be

864
00:56:15,554 --> 00:56:18,230
parties, people will gravitate to parties.

865
00:56:18,230 --> 00:56:23,290
so that is what we have. I understand there is happiness

866
00:56:23,290 --> 00:56:26,298
within the democratic party, unhappiness within the

867
00:56:26,298 --> 00:56:30,168
republican party. I think within the republican

868
00:56:30,168 --> 00:56:32,771
party. I just have a challenge in my

869
00:56:32,771 --> 00:56:37,142
mind with the idea that non-democrats would select who

870
00:56:37,142 --> 00:56:39,979
the democratic candidate is. I will acknowledge, the

871
00:56:39,979 --> 00:56:44,982
arguments made about people who choose not to be democrats, and

872
00:56:44,982 --> 00:56:47,719
therefore are disenfranchised. They are not actually

873
00:56:47,719 --> 00:56:49,754
disenfranchised but they are unable to vote in a democratic

874
00:56:49,754 --> 00:56:53,910
primary. I think parties are about

875
00:56:53,910 --> 00:56:56,910
parties. Democrats should be selecting

876
00:56:57,620 --> 00:57:00,464
who their nominee is, republicans should be selecting

877
00:57:00,464 --> 00:57:04,664
who their nominees are, not non-democrats or

878
00:57:05,669 --> 00:57:08,940
non-republicans. That is the reason behind how I

879
00:57:08,940 --> 00:57:13,440
will vote. Since nobody asked to be

880
00:57:13,440 --> 00:57:15,847
recognized, the vote will be on this amendment.

881
00:57:15,847 --> 00:57:20,185
all those in favor say aye. Are there any opposed?

882
00:57:20,185 --> 00:57:24,385
>> mr. Chairman, please record me as no.

883
00:57:24,823 --> 00:57:28,423
>> record me as voting present. >> present.

884
00:57:29,561 --> 00:57:33,161
chair mendelson: two no's, two presents.

885
00:57:36,468 --> 00:57:42,468
the ayes have it. I believe there are no other

886
00:57:43,241 --> 00:57:47,441
amendments. The vote will be on 26-658.

887
00:57:49,514 --> 00:57:51,514
no. 26-659.

888
00:57:58,556 --> 00:58:00,925
the amendment in nature was a substitute moved with swap five

889
00:58:00,925 --> 00:58:04,525
amendments. There were oral amendments that

890
00:58:04,997 --> 00:58:09,768
I move that are included here, councilmember henderson's

891
00:58:09,768 --> 00:58:12,436
amendment. I believe that is everything.

892
00:58:12,436 --> 00:58:14,305
all those in favor, final reading.

893
00:58:14,305 --> 00:58:18,505
>> mr. Chairman, can we make some remarks?

894
00:58:19,440 --> 00:58:22,446
chair mendelson: if you are asking permission, I will say

895
00:58:22,446 --> 00:58:25,446
no. If you feel motivated.

896
00:58:25,850 --> 00:58:30,650
>> it is my last one. Chair mendelson: councilmember

897
00:58:33,558 --> 00:58:36,558
nadeau. Councilmember nadeau: thank you,

898
00:58:38,563 --> 00:58:40,765
chairman. I want to thank each and every

899
00:58:40,765 --> 00:58:43,668
committee chair for their initial contributions to this

900
00:58:43,668 --> 00:58:47,705
budget as well as you, chairman mendelson, the budget office

901
00:58:47,705 --> 00:58:50,242
team for restoring a significant number of gaps that were present

902
00:58:50,242 --> 00:58:52,577
when we received this budget from the mayor.

903
00:58:52,577 --> 00:58:56,381
we all know how bad this but it was, we have talked about it.

904
00:58:56,381 --> 00:58:59,317
we made it less bad. Chairman comes you've done a

905
00:58:59,317 --> 00:59:02,954
great job filling those gaps. In my final committee budget, we

906
00:59:02,954 --> 00:59:06,324
were able to send funds to every other committee to help fill the

907
00:59:06,324 --> 00:59:09,861
gaps in the safety net created by the mayor's safety proposal

908
00:59:09,861 --> 00:59:13,365
including to support more people in temporary housing, to expand

909
00:59:13,365 --> 00:59:17,269
food access, wellness or seniors, programming for teens,

910
00:59:17,269 --> 00:59:20,972
we found ways to take small action such as licensing and

911
00:59:20,972 --> 00:59:23,875
building code changes to affect big results like building more

912
00:59:23,875 --> 00:59:27,579
housing and speeding up business and contracting issues.

913
00:59:27,579 --> 00:59:30,816
even more, the council as a whole plugged in many funding

914
00:59:30,816 --> 00:59:32,818
gaps and made numerous investments such as adding

915
00:59:32,818 --> 00:59:35,587
millions and healthy food programs, increasing the

916
00:59:35,587 --> 00:59:39,240
availability of public restrooms across the district, restoring

917
00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:43,961
cup to the office of the attorney general, lifting and

918
00:59:43,961 --> 00:59:45,764
egg moratorium for health enrollees, restoring some

919
00:59:45,764 --> 00:59:48,766
equilibrium to the childcare subsidy program, restoring the

920
00:59:48,766 --> 00:59:51,169
pay equity fund and access to justice.

921
00:59:51,169 --> 00:59:54,372
we successfully averted the merits opposed to step down in

922
00:59:54,372 --> 00:59:58,977
benefits and work to restore the pathways program.

923
00:59:58,977 --> 01:00:02,313
and much needed investments for ward 1 including a billion

924
01:00:02,313 --> 01:00:05,350
dollars in one ton pumping for a grant to enable the rosemont

925
01:00:05,350 --> 01:00:09,530
center to purchase its building, two hundred thousand dollars in

926
01:00:09,530 --> 01:00:11,857
one-time funding program to support the implantation of

927
01:00:11,857 --> 01:00:14,559
columbia heights not vision framework.

928
01:00:14,559 --> 01:00:18,163
funding to support ongoing senior programming at the senior

929
01:00:18,163 --> 01:00:21,766
center. More money to renovate the park

930
01:00:21,766 --> 01:00:25,737
view recreation center, parks in lower georgia avenue, columbia

931
01:00:25,737 --> 01:00:29,774
heights and not pleasant. The ground designed, implement

932
01:00:29,774 --> 01:00:33,878
the substance abuse disorder outreach act, and business

933
01:00:33,878 --> 01:00:37,478
grants to support pedestrian activation on 18.

934
01:00:38,949 --> 01:00:41,152
in may, we were handed a budget that was balanced on the backs

935
01:00:41,152 --> 01:00:44,356
of our most vulnerable residents, but at that has

936
01:00:44,356 --> 01:00:46,825
nothing of our most fortunate residents.

937
01:00:46,825 --> 01:00:49,561
although the council has identified one-time funding to

938
01:00:49,561 --> 01:00:52,364
address many though not all of the funding gaps, this but it

939
01:00:52,364 --> 01:00:55,367
still asks something a people who can afford more.

940
01:00:55,367 --> 01:00:57,969
I propose an amendment that would have implemented a small

941
01:00:57,969 --> 01:01:01,373
surtax on passive income capital gains and some other investment

942
01:01:01,373 --> 01:01:04,776
that require no work by the investor on the wealthiest of

943
01:01:04,776 --> 01:01:07,176
residents making $400,000 or more.

944
01:01:07,652 --> 01:01:11,190
the tax was estimated to raise close to 200 million dollars in

945
01:01:11,190 --> 01:01:14,593
the first year in over $100 million in subsequent years.

946
01:01:14,593 --> 01:01:16,862
I appreciate the chairman's commitment to continue this

947
01:01:16,862 --> 01:01:19,466
discussion of tax and revenue what the public hearing in the

948
01:01:19,466 --> 01:01:24,360
fall because the next mayor will face a significant structural

949
01:01:24,360 --> 01:01:25,400
debt with the budget we are passing now.

950
01:01:25,400 --> 01:01:27,607
I'll be introducing permanent legislation soon for a what

951
01:01:27,607 --> 01:01:31,544
proceeds tax so it can be given robust consideration.

952
01:01:31,544 --> 01:01:33,546
acknowledging that we tax the earned income on people

953
01:01:33,546 --> 01:01:35,848
significant me more than on earned income.

954
01:01:35,848 --> 01:01:38,840
I will also ask for us to consider the tax and revenue

955
01:01:38,840 --> 01:01:41,220
commission establishment act. Mr. Chairman, may I have another

956
01:01:41,220 --> 01:01:44,820
minute? A permanent bill introduced last

957
01:01:45,158 --> 01:01:47,760
year in and in the previous counsel period.

958
01:01:47,760 --> 01:01:49,763
we are still operating in a shadowy tax revision commission

959
01:01:49,763 --> 01:01:53,366
that failed to do its job and for too long this council has

960
01:01:53,366 --> 01:01:54,967
buried conversations about revenue and long-term financial

961
01:01:54,967 --> 01:01:57,967
stability. If we keep suppressing

962
01:01:58,305 --> 01:02:01,107
legislation that proposes a better tax system, future

963
01:02:01,107 --> 01:02:03,777
councils will have no choice but to try and address revenue

964
01:02:03,777 --> 01:02:06,178
shortfalls through the budget process.

965
01:02:06,178 --> 01:02:08,470
this is my last vote on a local budget act as a ward 1

966
01:02:08,470 --> 01:02:11,647
councilmember. Have now worked on 12 annual

967
01:02:12,319 --> 01:02:14,520
budgets, I can say with some experience that not only do the

968
01:02:14,520 --> 01:02:17,122
residents of the district deserve a more just tech system

969
01:02:17,122 --> 01:02:19,858
and social safety net, we all deserve a better way of doing

970
01:02:19,858 --> 01:02:24,163
business. In closing, I want to thank the

971
01:02:24,163 --> 01:02:27,466
chairman and his team and the budget office for today's

972
01:02:27,466 --> 01:02:30,737
updated budget which includes a huge win for ward 1 that I have

973
01:02:30,737 --> 01:02:36,575
not previously mentioned today. This capital plan fully funds an

974
01:02:36,575 --> 01:02:39,780
outstanding budget cap so we can finally break ground on the

975
01:02:39,780 --> 01:02:44,783
bruce monro new community site. We are more than a decade into

976
01:02:44,783 --> 01:02:48,187
this effort to deliver on promises to replace all public

977
01:02:48,187 --> 01:02:51,156
housing units at park horton, expand affordable housing

978
01:02:51,156 --> 01:02:54,427
options, and move forward in a catholic investment in lower

979
01:02:54,427 --> 01:02:59,827
georgia avenue. So I have very small gifts of

980
01:03:01,233 --> 01:03:04,300
appreciation for everybody on the dais today.

981
01:03:04,300 --> 01:03:09,975
I will pass these pencils down. >> can you tell us the value of

982
01:03:09,975 --> 01:03:10,943
those pencils for ethics reasons?

983
01:03:10,943 --> 01:03:15,143
councilmember nadeau: these pencils say bruce monro,

984
01:03:19,385 --> 01:03:21,720
make it pencil. Thank you, everybody, for your

985
01:03:21,720 --> 01:03:25,900
forthcoming boat on these. Thank you, chairman.

986
01:03:25,900 --> 01:03:29,194
chair mendelson: thank you. We don't need speeches from

987
01:03:29,194 --> 01:03:33,732
everyone. Somehow that might be out of my

988
01:03:33,732 --> 01:03:34,333
control. Councilmember felder.

989
01:03:34,333 --> 01:03:39,133
councilmember felder: thank you, mr. Chairman, good afternoon.

990
01:03:39,571 --> 01:03:42,808
first and foremost, I want to extend my sincere and heartfelt

991
01:03:42,808 --> 01:03:45,210
thanks to my council colleagues for your collaboration and

992
01:03:45,210 --> 01:03:48,210
dedication throughout this budget process.

993
01:03:48,380 --> 01:03:51,950
I also want to recognize and thank the budget team from the

994
01:03:51,950 --> 01:03:56,188
incredible staff who supports each member on this counsel.

995
01:03:56,188 --> 01:03:58,223
mr. Chairman, I also want to thank you for your partnership

996
01:03:58,223 --> 01:04:02,162
about this process. I would be remiss if I did not

997
01:04:02,162 --> 01:04:05,296
acknowledge that there were aspects of the budget at the

998
01:04:05,296 --> 01:04:09,635
first reading that I was not fully satisfied with.

999
01:04:09,635 --> 01:04:11,971
I expressed my concerns about several priorities that I

1000
01:04:11,971 --> 01:04:16,309
believed were important not only to ward 7 but to residents

1001
01:04:16,309 --> 01:04:21,109
across the city. I appreciate your willingness to

1002
01:04:21,580 --> 01:04:24,984
continue working collaboratively with me and my office on the

1003
01:04:24,984 --> 01:04:28,520
21st and 22nd reading to identify solutions and secure

1004
01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:33,659
investments that will make a meaningful difference across the

1005
01:04:33,659 --> 01:04:36,590
district. Thank you, sir.

1006
01:04:36,362 --> 01:04:38,798
this was undoubtedly one of the most challenging budget seasons

1007
01:04:38,798 --> 01:04:43,935
many of us had experienced. We entered this process facing

1008
01:04:43,935 --> 01:04:47,535
significant fiscal constraints, ongoing economic uncertainty,

1009
01:04:48,674 --> 01:04:52,100
and the reality that the district wants to continue to

1010
01:04:52,100 --> 01:04:56,148
navigate federal interference in our local affairs.

1011
01:04:56,148 --> 01:04:57,615
these challenges require difficult conversations and

1012
01:04:57,615 --> 01:05:01,353
difficult decisions. Despite those challenges, I am

1013
01:05:01,353 --> 01:05:04,757
pleased to share that between first and second reading, we

1014
01:05:04,757 --> 01:05:10,290
were able to secure funding to reopen kelly miller pool.

1015
01:05:10,290 --> 01:05:13,966
I wanted to thank councilwoman janeese lewis george for your

1016
01:05:13,966 --> 01:05:17,350
continued support and partnership on making that

1017
01:05:17,350 --> 01:05:21,573
investment have been. We were also able to secure

1018
01:05:21,573 --> 01:05:26,444
funding to support the planning and advance the goal expansion

1019
01:05:26,444 --> 01:05:30,644
from union station. Thank you, councilmember allen,

1020
01:05:31,649 --> 01:05:35,855
for your continued partnership, shared commitment to ensuring

1021
01:05:35,855 --> 01:05:37,322
the equitable transportation investments happened throughout

1022
01:05:37,322 --> 01:05:40,922
the district. Furthermore, there have been

1023
01:05:42,461 --> 01:05:45,464
many conversations over the last several months about our young

1024
01:05:45,464 --> 01:05:49,401
people, particularly regarding team takeovers and whether the

1025
01:05:49,401 --> 01:05:54,201
district is making significant investments in youth engagement

1026
01:05:55,600 --> 01:05:59,144
outside of programming administered through the d.c.

1027
01:05:59,144 --> 01:06:02,140
department of public parks and recreation centers such as

1028
01:06:02,140 --> 01:06:04,950
late-night hike. That is why I'm productively

1029
01:06:04,950 --> 01:06:08,860
pleased to fund the youth activation initiative which will

1030
01:06:08,860 --> 01:06:10,956
allow main street organizations and business improvement

1031
01:06:10,956 --> 01:06:14,961
districts across the city to access additional resources to

1032
01:06:14,961 --> 01:06:19,761
develop initiatives, innovative initiatives in a way that

1033
01:06:20,966 --> 01:06:26,372
engages our young folks. Speaking of main streets, one of

1034
01:06:26,372 --> 01:06:29,375
the items in this year's budget that I'm most proud of is

1035
01:06:29,375 --> 01:06:34,580
establishing a new main street along the benning road corridor.

1036
01:06:34,580 --> 01:06:37,750
there are several other notable investments.

1037
01:06:37,750 --> 01:06:40,750
mr. Chairman, one minute, please.

1038
01:06:41,153 --> 01:06:45,570
there are also several other notable investments included in

1039
01:06:45,570 --> 01:06:49,161
this local budget act but I will not discuss in great detail

1040
01:06:49,161 --> 01:06:54,561
today, however, I will simply note that they include

1041
01:06:54,933 --> 01:06:56,534
investments in environmental initiatives, public green

1042
01:06:56,534 --> 01:07:00,272
spaces, support for small and local businesses, additional

1043
01:07:00,272 --> 01:07:04,770
resources to combat illegal dumping, and improved

1044
01:07:04,770 --> 01:07:08,877
cleanliness across ward 7. Last but certainly not least,

1045
01:07:10,490 --> 01:07:13,649
strengthen and grow ward 7's economy.

1046
01:07:14,860 --> 01:07:17,629
the truth is, if we do not begin to make difficult decisions in

1047
01:07:17,629 --> 01:07:22,330
the near future, we may very well find ourselves in the same

1048
01:07:22,330 --> 01:07:27,433
position next year, facing many of these same challenges.

1049
01:07:28,239 --> 01:07:35,439
that is why I believe that it is so important to increase

1050
01:07:35,646 --> 01:07:38,460
conversations about fiscal accountability.

1051
01:07:39,384 --> 01:07:40,651
with that, I will wrap this up, mr. Chairman.

1052
01:07:40,651 --> 01:07:43,651
chair mendelson: thank you, councilmember.

1053
01:07:45,590 --> 01:07:49,590
councilmember trayon white. Councilmember white: thank you,

1054
01:07:49,590 --> 01:07:50,861
mr. Chairman. We can all agree that one got

1055
01:07:50,861 --> 01:07:54,565
the first budget in may, we faced some critical decisions.

1056
01:07:54,565 --> 01:07:59,570
we saw some critical safety nets that were in serious peril.

1057
01:07:59,570 --> 01:08:04,800
we saw how those who are working-class and poor in the

1058
01:08:04,800 --> 01:08:06,610
city were fighting just to stay and thrive in a fragile and

1059
01:08:06,610 --> 01:08:10,810
growing city. For ward 8 city residents, I

1060
01:08:11,682 --> 01:08:15,286
want to acknowledge today, we have see movement in our healthy

1061
01:08:15,286 --> 01:08:19,890
food object included one point $4 million in food access grants

1062
01:08:19,890 --> 01:08:24,362
along with money for programs such as programs plus, farmers

1063
01:08:24,362 --> 01:08:28,899
market, nourish d.c. We say we are what we eat, but

1064
01:08:28,899 --> 01:08:31,969
is important as a government to provide access to quality health

1065
01:08:31,969 --> 01:08:35,906
care and healthy food options and across the district.

1066
01:08:35,906 --> 01:08:41,579
we see movement in our school, behavior health that includes

1067
01:08:41,579 --> 01:08:45,683
1.6 million, fy 27, 6 .4 million to exit two financial plans to

1068
01:08:45,683 --> 01:08:49,883
support school-based behavior health programs, and 7.7 million

1069
01:08:50,455 --> 01:08:55,255
for the program overall. 29.3 million for the program

1070
01:08:55,725 --> 01:08:59,325
overall. We see our schools, 2.4 million

1071
01:09:01,320 --> 01:09:03,432
support, community schools partnership.

1072
01:09:03,968 --> 01:09:08,272
we see of adult literacy, one .4 million for our washington

1073
01:09:08,272 --> 01:09:12,276
literacy center to support adult learners to increase adult

1074
01:09:12,276 --> 01:09:15,876
transit subsidy from 70 to $100 per month.

1075
01:09:16,580 --> 01:09:19,784
we see improvement in our ward 8 business corridor where a lot of

1076
01:09:19,784 --> 01:09:21,952
our small and local businesses are struggling to stay in the

1077
01:09:21,952 --> 01:09:26,957
district. We put money to do that and stay

1078
01:09:26,957 --> 01:09:29,260
steadfast, increasing recreational opportunities and

1079
01:09:29,260 --> 01:09:32,596
opening up three more recreation centers in ward 8.

1080
01:09:32,596 --> 01:09:34,900
I've seen movement on the utility assistance protection

1081
01:09:34,900 --> 01:09:39,100
including several sweeps from utility assistance, and

1082
01:09:40,237 --> 01:09:43,106
prevention funds to ensure those resources remain available for

1083
01:09:43,106 --> 01:09:48,513
residents who need support. Thank you you, chairman, we have

1084
01:09:48,513 --> 01:09:55,113
supported funding to demo of our family success centers in ward 8

1085
01:09:55,986 --> 01:09:59,990
, congress heights, bellevue. We see movement in supporting

1086
01:09:59,990 --> 01:10:02,259
including two million-dollar support of violence interruption

1087
01:10:02,259 --> 01:10:05,259
safety work. We see movement.

1088
01:10:07,565 --> 01:10:11,369
we had a recreation center being built in ward 8.

1089
01:10:11,369 --> 01:10:15,773
the gym was taken out. We proposed that adamantly.

1090
01:10:15,773 --> 01:10:19,777
we don't see a purpose of having a record without a gym.

1091
01:10:19,777 --> 01:10:22,380
seems like you want to keep kids out.

1092
01:10:22,380 --> 01:10:25,750
thank you to my counselor colleagues or supporting that.

1093
01:10:25,750 --> 01:10:29,286
$1.5 million to support early childhood pay equity, to bring

1094
01:10:29,286 --> 01:10:33,357
the total to 60.5 million. There's a list of other things

1095
01:10:33,357 --> 01:10:37,361
that I would like to talk about as well but I think we are not

1096
01:10:37,361 --> 01:10:42,566
where we need to be, but we are far from where we started.

1097
01:10:42,566 --> 01:10:46,236
I want to thank the budget office, committee chairs,

1098
01:10:46,236 --> 01:10:50,708
council colleagues, staffers who do the hard work of lifting the

1099
01:10:50,708 --> 01:10:55,179
budget up each and every day. To everyone who advocated for

1100
01:10:55,179 --> 01:10:56,547
equity in this budget. Thank you, chairman.

1101
01:10:56,547 --> 01:10:59,547
chair mendelson: thank you, councilmember.

1102
01:11:00,452 --> 01:11:04,520
councilmember frumin. Councilmember frumin: thank you,

1103
01:11:04,522 --> 01:11:06,957
chair mendelson. In april, when we got this

1104
01:11:06,957 --> 01:11:08,792
budget, I would never have dreamed that we would get to

1105
01:11:08,792 --> 01:11:12,864
where we are. The mayor face enormous

1106
01:11:12,864 --> 01:11:15,866
challenges with hurdles out of her control.

1107
01:11:15,866 --> 01:11:18,402
she came forward with the best budget she could, but she

1108
01:11:18,402 --> 01:11:22,940
acknowledged in a moment the shortcomings of that budget.

1109
01:11:22,940 --> 01:11:27,778
in the two months that followed, we have all look for savings and

1110
01:11:27,778 --> 01:11:34,378
ways to strengthen this budget and we have achieved all lot.

1111
01:11:35,553 --> 01:11:40,124
restoring pay equity, childcare subsidy, funding new volunteers,

1112
01:11:40,124 --> 01:11:43,561
protecting tanis, protecting the workforce accounts,

1113
01:11:43,561 --> 01:11:46,230
strengthening our libraries, supported the arts,

1114
01:11:46,230 --> 01:11:51,630
strengthening the department of buildings that is so critical,

1115
01:11:52,169 --> 01:11:55,106
acting in support of our seniors, providing health care

1116
01:11:55,106 --> 01:12:01,106
insurance for folks who need it, providing for medical education,

1117
01:12:01,379 --> 01:12:06,779
funding the setf. The list goes on and on.

1118
01:12:07,752 --> 01:12:12,524
we have done a phenomenal job. You have done a phenomenal job,

1119
01:12:12,524 --> 01:12:15,524
mr. Chairman. Councilmember nadeau talked

1120
01:12:16,194 --> 01:12:19,196
about a revenue raiser which might have fit into the mix here

1121
01:12:19,196 --> 01:12:25,136
but did not in this round. Part of what you said was that

1122
01:12:25,136 --> 01:12:28,720
doing revenue raisers through the budget process is not the

1123
01:12:28,720 --> 01:12:32,710
way you do it. We need to have a hearing on

1124
01:12:32,710 --> 01:12:37,348
revenue raisers. We need to vet ideas around

1125
01:12:37,348 --> 01:12:39,283
revenue raisers. It is not that we cannot do it,

1126
01:12:39,283 --> 01:12:42,753
but we need to do it right if we are going to do it.

1127
01:12:42,753 --> 01:12:46,557
mr. Chairman, thank you to you for agreeing to have a hearing

1128
01:12:46,557 --> 01:12:49,894
on that topic so we can put ideas on the table.

1129
01:12:49,894 --> 01:12:54,432
instead, the way in which, part of the way in which we are

1130
01:12:54,432 --> 01:12:57,101
achieving what we are achieving is by drawing from cash

1131
01:12:57,101 --> 01:13:01,301
reserves. The cfo says that that is

1132
01:13:02,606 --> 01:13:05,606
imprudent. You addressed this before.

1133
01:13:05,976 --> 01:13:11,976
it is the cfo's job to tenaciously push for fiscal

1134
01:13:13,117 --> 01:13:16,153
restraint and accountability. I get it.

1135
01:13:16,153 --> 01:13:22,125
but I actually think the way in which we are doing this is

1136
01:13:22,125 --> 01:13:24,525
maximally thoughtful and prudent.

1137
01:13:25,763 --> 01:13:29,934
what has been set up is a solid budget that can be part of a

1138
01:13:29,934 --> 01:13:34,271
soft landing as we are trying to find savings in this budget

1139
01:13:34,271 --> 01:13:38,710
going forward, and we will again next year.

1140
01:13:38,710 --> 01:13:42,547
also, it sets up a hearing in the fall after we have gotten

1141
01:13:42,547 --> 01:13:45,884
the revenue estimates come after we have a sense of what the fy

1142
01:13:45,884 --> 01:13:51,284
26 close is, to make a determination or to consider

1143
01:13:51,689 --> 01:13:57,628
ideas about how we move forward. It sets up our next mayor with

1144
01:13:57,628 --> 01:14:00,231
the information based on those things to make decisions and

1145
01:14:00,231 --> 01:14:05,310
what will be her most consequential first budget.

1146
01:14:05,369 --> 01:14:08,306
one minute from mr. Chairman. Chair mendelson: without

1147
01:14:08,306 --> 01:14:11,306
objection. Councilmember frumin: right now,

1148
01:14:12,420 --> 01:14:16,748
it looks like the fy 26 close will allow us to replenish the

1149
01:14:16,748 --> 01:14:19,148
reserve. We will see.

1150
01:14:19,350 --> 01:14:22,319
but every indication is that it will.

1151
01:14:22,319 --> 01:14:26,324
if it does, then it really truly validates the approach that you

1152
01:14:26,324 --> 01:14:29,924
have taken. Meanwhile, the whole process

1153
01:14:31,996 --> 01:14:37,402
sets up the next mayor as well as we possibly could.

1154
01:14:37,402 --> 01:14:42,141
I want to say, I'm incredibly grateful, chairman mendelson, to

1155
01:14:42,141 --> 01:14:45,143
you and your team. I'm incredibly grateful to my

1156
01:14:45,143 --> 01:14:50,549
team and all of the staff of the council for the work that has

1157
01:14:50,549 --> 01:14:55,180
happened over the last 10 weeks. We have really come up with

1158
01:14:55,180 --> 01:14:59,590
something that we can all be very, very proud of.

1159
01:14:59,590 --> 01:15:02,360
I will very probably vote for this budget.

1160
01:15:02,360 --> 01:15:03,896
thank you for everything you've done, mr. Chairman.

1161
01:15:03,896 --> 01:15:07,496
chair mendelson: thank you, councilmember frumin.

1162
01:15:08,633 --> 01:15:10,501
so we have the bill as amended before us.

1163
01:15:10,501 --> 01:15:15,901
>> my hand was raised. Chair mendelson: finally on the

1164
01:15:19,243 --> 01:15:24,430
side of the day is. Councilmember lewis george:

1165
01:15:24,549 --> 01:15:26,951
vekic, mr. Chairman. After the first vote, I spoke

1166
01:15:26,951 --> 01:15:30,210
broadly about this budget including the city investments

1167
01:15:30,210 --> 01:15:31,756
and trade-offs and challenges before us.

1168
01:15:31,756 --> 01:15:34,792
today I want to speak directly to ward 4 residents about what

1169
01:15:34,792 --> 01:15:38,197
this but it delivers for our community and why these

1170
01:15:38,197 --> 01:15:40,765
investments matter for the whole district.

1171
01:15:40,765 --> 01:15:44,736
ward 4 is a community that shows up for each other from tacoma to

1172
01:15:44,736 --> 01:15:47,604
brentwood, shepherd park to riggs park on pepper three

1173
01:15:47,604 --> 01:15:50,604
tributaries. Ward 4 residents care deeply

1174
01:15:50,742 --> 01:15:52,811
about the city and deserve a city that reflects their needs

1175
01:15:52,811 --> 01:15:57,110
and values. For ward 4, this but include

1176
01:15:58,617 --> 01:16:01,386
some important wins. It invested in our schools and

1177
01:16:01,386 --> 01:16:04,422
school facilities including modernization funding for what

1178
01:16:04,422 --> 01:16:09,222
your elementary school, lasalle elementary school, funding for

1179
01:16:09,360 --> 01:16:11,595
the shepherd park thorton library modernization.

1180
01:16:11,595 --> 01:16:14,132
these are long needed investments in public facilities

1181
01:16:14,132 --> 01:16:16,340
that serve ward 4 families every day.

1182
01:16:16,340 --> 01:16:20,234
it includes more than 3,000,004 summer .26 school readiness

1183
01:16:20,772 --> 01:16:25,143
work, helping to make dcps campuses, making sure they are

1184
01:16:25,143 --> 01:16:28,178
ready to welcome students, educators, and families the

1185
01:16:28,178 --> 01:16:30,514
school year. It also includes funding for a

1186
01:16:30,514 --> 01:16:33,184
career ready early scholars which helps our young people

1187
01:16:33,184 --> 01:16:36,388
explore career pathways earlier and build the skills they need

1188
01:16:36,388 --> 01:16:39,957
for the future. It invest in recreation and

1189
01:16:39,957 --> 01:16:43,161
community spaces across ward 4 including hvac and russo played

1190
01:16:43,161 --> 01:16:47,265
that work in chevy chase recreation center, hvac

1191
01:16:47,265 --> 01:16:50,134
placements at la salle recreation center, community

1192
01:16:50,134 --> 01:16:53,771
garden at fort stevens recreation center, also includes

1193
01:16:53,771 --> 01:16:56,541
funding for many of the amenities that are community

1194
01:16:56,541 --> 01:16:59,344
supports. This budget as a target

1195
01:16:59,344 --> 01:17:03,348
investment that includes rodent resistant litter cans at emory

1196
01:17:03,348 --> 01:17:06,217
heights recreation center, and up share recreation center,

1197
01:17:06,217 --> 01:17:09,153
additional support for what resistant trash cans and a new

1198
01:17:09,153 --> 01:17:11,355
building inspector at the department of buildings.

1199
01:17:11,355 --> 01:17:14,559
also includes a greenhouse gas emission study to help the

1200
01:17:14,559 --> 01:17:17,228
understand and reduce emissions as we plan for a healthier

1201
01:17:17,228 --> 01:17:20,565
future. I also proud of this budget that

1202
01:17:20,565 --> 01:17:22,567
includes ward 4 specific investments into, main street

1203
01:17:22,567 --> 01:17:24,602
and the bright white family success center.

1204
01:17:24,602 --> 01:17:27,572
these are investments in local businesses, families and

1205
01:17:27,572 --> 01:17:31,743
community support systems that help neighborhoods thrive.

1206
01:17:31,743 --> 01:17:34,446
importantly, this budget includes winds for workers.

1207
01:17:34,446 --> 01:17:37,715
it provides 6.5 million dollars in additional enhancement for

1208
01:17:37,715 --> 01:17:41,252
the workforce and has been at account to support overdue pay

1209
01:17:41,252 --> 01:17:43,388
increases for essential public sector workers including

1210
01:17:43,388 --> 01:17:45,924
firefighters and other workers to keep our city running.

1211
01:17:45,924 --> 01:17:50,610
it also fully funds the electric and gas utility underground work

1212
01:17:50,610 --> 01:17:54,565
wage act of 2024, extending prevailing wage protections to

1213
01:17:54,565 --> 01:17:57,568
underground utility work performed by gas and electrical

1214
01:17:57,568 --> 01:17:59,370
workers. Public dollars and essential

1215
01:17:59,370 --> 01:18:01,638
info structural work should support good jobs can reduce the

1216
01:18:01,638 --> 01:18:05,100
risk of labor disruptions, and ensure high quality for the

1217
01:18:05,100 --> 01:18:06,477
district residents. Thank you for working with me to

1218
01:18:06,477 --> 01:18:10,615
get that done. I want to make clear to our

1219
01:18:10,615 --> 01:18:11,949
constituents that our work is not done once we pass this part

1220
01:18:11,949 --> 01:18:15,420
of the budget. There is still important work to

1221
01:18:15,420 --> 01:18:19,357
be done to ensure that out-of-state corporation that

1222
01:18:19,357 --> 01:18:22,159
benefit from our resources and infrastructure are paying their

1223
01:18:22,159 --> 01:18:25,163
fair share of taxes. We cannot continue to kick the

1224
01:18:25,163 --> 01:18:28,966
can down the road as more than two years after the tax revision

1225
01:18:28,966 --> 01:18:31,369
commission published a recommendation for a broader,

1226
01:18:31,369 --> 01:18:33,839
more resilient taxpayers to protect against economic

1227
01:18:33,839 --> 01:18:36,306
downturn and to ensure future funding for high quality public

1228
01:18:36,306 --> 01:18:39,778
services. We cannot continue to rely on

1229
01:18:39,778 --> 01:18:43,470
last-minute solutions. I support the chairman's

1230
01:18:43,470 --> 01:18:47,180
decision to hold a fall hearing on a full array of choices

1231
01:18:47,180 --> 01:18:50,618
including councilmember nadeau's and others provisions.

1232
01:18:50,788 --> 01:18:53,792
the people of the district deserve a full hearing on where

1233
01:18:53,792 --> 01:18:57,128
they can weigh in on the options before us and where we can

1234
01:18:57,128 --> 01:18:59,529
thoughtfully consider the proposals and make any needed

1235
01:18:59,529 --> 01:19:01,332
adjustments based on their feedback.

1236
01:19:01,332 --> 01:19:04,669
I look forward to hearing from district residents at the

1237
01:19:04,669 --> 01:19:09,607
hearing later on this fall. This budget is not perfect, no

1238
01:19:09,607 --> 01:19:12,144
but it never is. There are still urgent needs and

1239
01:19:12,144 --> 01:19:15,278
ward 4 and across the district. We will have to keep fighting

1240
01:19:15,278 --> 01:19:18,749
for affordable housing, safe streets, reliable basic

1241
01:19:18,749 --> 01:19:21,152
services, and a government that works for every resident.

1242
01:19:21,152 --> 01:19:24,355
today, I'm proud that we were able to secure investments for

1243
01:19:24,355 --> 01:19:27,558
residents enrolled for while protecting citywide priorities.

1244
01:19:27,558 --> 01:19:30,361
these investments reflect the work of residents, advocates,

1245
01:19:30,361 --> 01:19:33,361
workers, families, anc commissioners, community

1246
01:19:34,631 --> 01:19:37,187
organizations who showed up and made clear that there

1247
01:19:37,187 --> 01:19:40,787
neighborhoods and the city needs matter.

1248
01:19:40,993 --> 01:19:44,595
thank you again, chairman, council collars, council budget

1249
01:19:44,595 --> 01:19:47,650
staff, committee staff, my team from everyone who worked hard

1250
01:19:47,650 --> 01:19:51,865
through this budget process. Chair mendelson: thank you,

1251
01:19:52,738 --> 01:19:53,805
councilmember lewis george. Councilmember pinto.

1252
01:19:53,805 --> 01:19:56,941
councilmember pinto: thank you so much, mr. Chairman.

1253
01:19:56,941 --> 01:19:59,878
thank you for all of your work and partnership on this budget.

1254
01:19:59,878 --> 01:20:03,948
thank you to everybody in the budget office and the office of

1255
01:20:03,948 --> 01:20:08,748
general counsel. My team, all of my colleagues

1256
01:20:11,489 --> 01:20:13,291
teams. This is a very intense process

1257
01:20:13,291 --> 01:20:15,426
for the last couple of weeks. I appreciate everyone's

1258
01:20:15,426 --> 01:20:19,497
partnership. As I mentioned at the first

1259
01:20:19,497 --> 01:20:23,601
vote, do is grappling with a shifting federal landscape,

1260
01:20:23,601 --> 01:20:26,670
building vacancies, shifting uses in our downtown, and the

1261
01:20:26,670 --> 01:20:29,773
rising cost of living that has become prohibitively expensive

1262
01:20:29,773 --> 01:20:33,445
for so many of our residents. The policies of this

1263
01:20:33,445 --> 01:20:37,450
presidential administration on government layoffs, immigration

1264
01:20:37,582 --> 01:20:39,383
policy, and tariffs have deeply hurt district residents and our

1265
01:20:39,383 --> 01:20:42,319
economy. Even while wages were district

1266
01:20:42,319 --> 01:20:46,323
workers rise, families are feeling it with soaring costs at

1267
01:20:46,323 --> 01:20:50,523
the grocery store, housing, and utility bills.

1268
01:20:51,596 --> 01:20:53,932
the increase in the poverty rate particularly for black residents

1269
01:20:53,932 --> 01:20:58,970
is especially troubling, and ensuring we have a tightly woven

1270
01:20:58,970 --> 01:21:01,400
safety net and robust opportunities to lift every

1271
01:21:01,400 --> 01:21:05,576
resident out of poverty must continue to be a priority.

1272
01:21:05,576 --> 01:21:08,879
our role on the council to put forth a budget is ever more

1273
01:21:08,879 --> 01:21:12,617
important as we confront the urgent need to diversify our

1274
01:21:12,617 --> 01:21:16,217
local economy and provide innovative economic

1275
01:21:16,888 --> 01:21:21,325
opportunities for our residents while we maintain fiscal

1276
01:21:21,325 --> 01:21:24,896
responsibility, ensure public safety for our residents and

1277
01:21:24,896 --> 01:21:28,800
visitors, increase affordability for housing and childcare, and

1278
01:21:28,800 --> 01:21:30,902
support our seniors, young people, and residents most in

1279
01:21:30,902 --> 01:21:34,502
need. I am pleased for your

1280
01:21:34,772 --> 01:21:38,577
partnership from mr. Chairman, to continue to support the

1281
01:21:38,577 --> 01:21:41,845
workforce investment fund so that we can pay our hard-working

1282
01:21:41,845 --> 01:21:46,645
firefighters, union and nonunion employees additional money for

1283
01:21:47,985 --> 01:21:52,123
the pay equity fund, $200,000 for the structure and literacy

1284
01:21:52,123 --> 01:21:54,926
training, additional $1.4 million for the lead up, lead

1285
01:21:54,926 --> 01:22:01,526
out program, to support residents in the d.c. Jail, over

1286
01:22:01,733 --> 01:22:04,168
$800,000 for rat proof trash cans.

1287
01:22:04,168 --> 01:22:06,205
probably the number one concern I hear from residents in all

1288
01:22:06,205 --> 01:22:09,205
eight wards. Support is coming.

1289
01:22:11,709 --> 01:22:14,946
restoration of ftes the department of rehabilitative

1290
01:22:14,946 --> 01:22:17,683
services, so important to keep for kids in custody and staff

1291
01:22:17,683 --> 01:22:21,283
there safe. Additional funding to support

1292
01:22:21,820 --> 01:22:26,391
our bids to activate space for our young people in particular.

1293
01:22:26,391 --> 01:22:29,626
excited to see much of this funding become available even

1294
01:22:29,626 --> 01:22:32,429
in, the fiscal year supplemental budget so we can make sure our

1295
01:22:32,429 --> 01:22:36,167
kids have safe thing to do this summer.

1296
01:22:36,167 --> 01:22:39,370
I will say, though, while the chairman has found hundreds of

1297
01:22:39,370 --> 01:22:44,800
millions of dollars to fund these other important programs,

1298
01:22:44,800 --> 01:22:47,545
and I appreciate doing so while avoiding significant tax

1299
01:22:47,545 --> 01:22:51,449
increases, I continued to have serious reservations about the

1300
01:22:51,449 --> 01:22:55,153
use of our reserves and caution the continued use of these funds

1301
01:22:55,153 --> 01:23:00,553
in the future could prove perilous for the district.

1302
01:23:00,958 --> 01:23:04,595
reserves should be used for cash flow and emergencies, not for

1303
01:23:04,595 --> 01:23:08,499
one time funding of programming. I'm glad to see some changes in

1304
01:23:08,499 --> 01:23:13,872
the lba that clarify their punishment of the reserves

1305
01:23:13,872 --> 01:23:16,974
moving forward from this year if we are in a budget surplus.

1306
01:23:16,974 --> 01:23:19,760
I know the chairman will have a hearing in the fall about

1307
01:23:19,760 --> 01:23:22,760
different options for raising taxes.

1308
01:23:22,580 --> 01:23:28,190
raising taxes while our economy is on such uneasy footing could

1309
01:23:28,190 --> 01:23:31,223
very well backfire. Having tremendous impact on our

1310
01:23:31,223 --> 01:23:34,560
businesses and our families. I think it is very important and

1311
01:23:34,560 --> 01:23:37,962
do see that we have a tax structure that is progressive,

1312
01:23:37,962 --> 01:23:40,698
and we know that we have one of the most progressive tax

1313
01:23:40,698 --> 01:23:45,436
structures in the entire nation. And at the same time, encourages

1314
01:23:45,436 --> 01:23:48,640
growth so we can generate jobs can keep businesses here, and

1315
01:23:48,640 --> 01:23:53,745
bring new ones, and help ensure all of our families, all of our

1316
01:23:53,745 --> 01:23:57,848
residents and seniors can drive. We cannot do this and fund

1317
01:23:57,848 --> 01:24:03,955
everything we need to as a city without people coming here and

1318
01:24:03,955 --> 01:24:05,389
growing and opening up their business here.

1319
01:24:05,389 --> 01:24:09,589
we need both. I will end there.

1320
01:24:09,794 --> 01:24:12,664
thank you, mr. Chairman. There is lot of work and

1321
01:24:12,664 --> 01:24:15,400
conversation we need to have around the bsa which I look

1322
01:24:15,400 --> 01:24:18,200
forward to having in the coming days.

1323
01:24:18,200 --> 01:24:20,270
I'll be voting for today's budget.

1324
01:24:20,270 --> 01:24:23,474
thank you. Chair mendelson: thank you.

1325
01:24:23,474 --> 01:24:26,577
councilmember parker. Councilmember parker: thank you,

1326
01:24:26,577 --> 01:24:28,146
mr. Chairman. I'll be brief.

1327
01:24:28,146 --> 01:24:31,616
I want to leave by thinking my team and committee staff.

1328
01:24:31,616 --> 01:24:35,752
I want to thank the budget team as well as your team, mr.

1329
01:24:35,752 --> 01:24:37,880
chairman. There is a lot of work that goes

1330
01:24:37,880 --> 01:24:42,160
into preparing this budget. This year, like has been said,

1331
01:24:42,160 --> 01:24:44,795
it has been a really challenging year.

1332
01:24:44,795 --> 01:24:48,165
a few committee highlights. I'm thrilled we were able to

1333
01:24:48,165 --> 01:24:51,969
restore five of the nonfamily success centers that were cut.

1334
01:24:51,969 --> 01:24:54,304
those include bellevue, braidwood, congress heights,

1335
01:24:54,304 --> 01:24:58,709
deanwood. We restored to chores as well as

1336
01:24:58,709 --> 01:25:03,982
partially restored at million for critical messengers, fund of

1337
01:25:03,982 --> 01:25:07,510
the soul act which will create a new permanency pathway for our

1338
01:25:07,510 --> 01:25:11,251
older foster youth. Ward 5, we secured 15 million

1339
01:25:12,990 --> 01:25:16,560
additional dollars one the langdon park recreation center

1340
01:25:16,560 --> 01:25:19,998
modernization, added policy language to ensure project

1341
01:25:19,998 --> 01:25:22,998
reflects the desires of residents.

1342
01:25:23,167 --> 01:25:25,669
we also added policy language for the harry thomas recreation

1343
01:25:25,669 --> 01:25:30,942
center project for the same reason, added $1 million to the

1344
01:25:30,942 --> 01:25:34,779
new york avenue recreation center to put it on the map for

1345
01:25:34,779 --> 01:25:37,615
future monetization. Thanks to the chairman's

1346
01:25:37,615 --> 01:25:40,785
partnership, we were able to secure $700 million for a new

1347
01:25:40,785 --> 01:25:44,355
hvac system for wheatley which is long overdue.

1348
01:25:44,355 --> 01:25:46,842
thanks to councilmember allen's partnership, we were able to

1349
01:25:46,842 --> 01:25:51,642
safeguard the $6 million for wmata for metrobus improvements

1350
01:25:52,181 --> 01:25:58,781
to ensure the c63 adn d36 are addressed and can support

1351
01:25:59,321 --> 01:26:03,580
seniors and ward 5. We secured 155 thousand dollars

1352
01:26:03,580 --> 01:26:07,258
to improve traffic safety with truck cameras.

1353
01:26:07,296 --> 01:26:12,468
we secured new retail grants for our major corridors including

1354
01:26:12,468 --> 01:26:15,337
rhode island avenue and 12th street in northeast.

1355
01:26:15,337 --> 01:26:18,673
I want to give a shout out to the brooklyn neighborhood civic

1356
01:26:18,673 --> 01:26:21,410
association for their partnership there.

1357
01:26:21,410 --> 01:26:24,346
last but not least, really looking forward to the office of

1358
01:26:24,346 --> 01:26:30,552
planning as we look toward the comp plan to assure that we can

1359
01:26:30,552 --> 01:26:33,288
finally address the concentration of industrial land

1360
01:26:33,288 --> 01:26:36,288
use in communities endboards, 57, eight.

1361
01:26:36,792 --> 01:26:39,861
there's a lot to celebrate but I want to thank the budget team,

1362
01:26:39,861 --> 01:26:43,232
my team, and yours, mr. Chairman, for all of your work.

1363
01:26:43,232 --> 01:26:46,832
chair mendelson: thank you, councilmember parker.

1364
01:26:47,970 --> 01:26:51,306
now, if there is no further, we have the bill as amended before

1365
01:26:51,306 --> 01:26:53,306
us. Bill 26-659.

1366
01:26:57,212 --> 01:27:00,582
I believe for staff to make technical conforming and

1367
01:27:00,582 --> 01:27:03,686
reconcile changes. All those in favor say aye.

1368
01:27:03,686 --> 01:27:09,686
are there any opposed? Hearing none, the ayes have it

1369
01:27:10,794 --> 01:27:13,328
unanimously. We will turn onto the fiscal

1370
01:27:13,328 --> 01:27:19,968
year request act of 2026, 26-58. Not sure why this is on non-.

1371
01:27:19,968 --> 01:27:22,471
went to market through the committee as a whole today.

1372
01:27:22,471 --> 01:27:27,271
in any event, so moved. Is there discussion?

1373
01:27:30,145 --> 01:27:35,351
the what will be on bill 26-685, again with lee.

1374
01:27:35,351 --> 01:27:38,887
to make conforming and reconciling changes.

1375
01:27:38,887 --> 01:27:42,558
I don't think they'll need to do that with this.

1376
01:27:42,558 --> 01:27:47,496
bill26-685, final reading, all those in favor say aye.

1377
01:27:47,496 --> 01:27:50,900
are there any opposed? Hearing none, the ayes have it

1378
01:27:50,900 --> 01:27:54,500
unanimously. We have bill 26-208, open

1379
01:27:57,373 --> 01:27:59,641
meeting clarification amendment act of 2026.

1380
01:27:59,641 --> 01:28:03,841
so moved. I circulated an amendment, I

1381
01:28:04,179 --> 01:28:08,379
believe last evening. This amendment is not

1382
01:28:09,385 --> 01:28:10,986
substantively different from what was approved at first

1383
01:28:10,986 --> 01:28:15,186
reading. It clarifies the language in the

1384
01:28:18,927 --> 01:28:22,731
amendment that councilmember allen had moved, was adopted.

1385
01:28:22,731 --> 01:28:26,603
I move the amendment. If there is no objection, the

1386
01:28:26,603 --> 01:28:30,203
amendment will be accepted. >> mr. Chair.

1387
01:28:31,373 --> 01:28:32,273
not objecting but I have a question.

1388
01:28:32,273 --> 01:28:34,673
chair mendelson: councilmember allen.

1389
01:28:36,450 --> 01:28:41,383
councilmember allen: I agree. For my politics following this

1390
01:28:41,383 --> 01:28:45,870
closely, the amendment in front of us is not sensitive in

1391
01:28:45,870 --> 01:28:49,887
nature, it is clarifying wordsmithing as it were.

1392
01:28:50,192 --> 01:28:52,761
I had one question to make sure that it was on the record to

1393
01:28:52,761 --> 01:28:55,764
make sure there is not any misinterpretation.

1394
01:28:55,764 --> 01:28:59,169
one of the elements of this clarifying amendment is that

1395
01:28:59,169 --> 01:29:03,239
email messages are not considered meetings under the

1396
01:29:03,239 --> 01:29:06,908
open meetings act. I want to make sure it is clear

1397
01:29:06,908 --> 01:29:10,113
for the record your intent does not foreclose someone requesting

1398
01:29:10,113 --> 01:29:14,616
those email exchanges through foia as long as they are

1399
01:29:14,616 --> 01:29:18,787
responsive to that foia request. Just to clarify that for the

1400
01:29:18,787 --> 01:29:20,722
record, moving that language is not an act of singles those

1401
01:29:20,722 --> 01:29:25,928
email messages are not foia, if they were subject to a request.

1402
01:29:25,928 --> 01:29:29,965
chair mendelson: you are correct, this bill does not

1403
01:29:29,965 --> 01:29:31,334
implicate the freedom of information act.

1404
01:29:31,334 --> 01:29:33,735
councilmember allen: I just wanted to make sure that was

1405
01:29:33,735 --> 01:29:37,473
clear. Chair mendelson: if there is no

1406
01:29:37,473 --> 01:29:41,577
objection, the amendment that I circulated will be

1407
01:29:41,577 --> 01:29:44,130
accepted. Hearing no objection, it is

1408
01:29:44,130 --> 01:29:45,681
excepted. We have the bill as amended.

1409
01:29:45,681 --> 01:29:51,681
is there discussion? But what will be on bill 26-208

1410
01:29:52,187 --> 01:29:54,123
as amended. All those in favor say I.

1411
01:29:54,123 --> 01:29:57,123
any opposed? Councilmember allen: please

1412
01:29:58,360 --> 01:30:01,764
record as voting no. >> please record me as voting

1413
01:30:01,764 --> 01:30:04,764
present. Chair mendelson: mr. Assistant

1414
01:30:08,570 --> 01:30:11,973
secretary, councilmember allen, louis george are recorded as no.

1415
01:30:11,973 --> 01:30:14,108
councilmember trayon white is recorded as present.

1416
01:30:14,108 --> 01:30:20,108
the ayes have it. We will turn now to emergency

1417
01:30:20,115 --> 01:30:24,915
legislation, and the first item is the declaration.

1418
01:30:28,123 --> 01:30:33,523
2 this would be bill6-662, fiscal year 2026 revised local

1419
01:30:33,729 --> 01:30:39,729
budget emergency act. To get there we have to approve

1420
01:30:40,100 --> 01:30:42,100
the declaration. 460.

1421
01:30:43,772 --> 01:30:45,541
so moved. I circulated an amendment in

1422
01:30:45,541 --> 01:30:52,741
nature of a substitute. I think I will go over the --

1423
01:30:56,551 --> 01:30:58,621
and nature of a substitute to a good declaration.

1424
01:30:58,621 --> 01:31:05,360
I will speak to but we are doing to the revised local budget act.

1425
01:31:05,360 --> 01:31:07,896
this is what we call the supplemental.

1426
01:31:07,896 --> 01:31:11,900
the revision to the current fiscal year 2026 local budget

1427
01:31:11,900 --> 01:31:14,900
act. Ans was circulated yesterday.

1428
01:31:18,707 --> 01:31:22,907
there are reductions for overspending, savings across

1429
01:31:23,378 --> 01:31:26,314
agencies which are used to balance the budget and financial

1430
01:31:26,314 --> 01:31:29,914
plan. The largest of these reductions

1431
01:31:33,722 --> 01:31:37,259
which occurred over the weekend is $22 million from workforce

1432
01:31:37,259 --> 01:31:41,263
investment account in fy 26 to cover a spending pressure that

1433
01:31:41,263 --> 01:31:47,863
was identified over the weekend as a result of public charter

1434
01:31:50,906 --> 01:31:53,306
schools, special education funding.

1435
01:31:55,957 --> 01:32:00,157
all of that is consistent with upsff.

1436
01:32:00,195 --> 01:32:03,980
I'm not sure why that funding pressure was not identified

1437
01:32:03,980 --> 01:32:06,234
earlier in this budget season, but it was.

1438
01:32:06,234 --> 01:32:10,972
I will not go through all of the changes but includes $10 million

1439
01:32:10,972 --> 01:32:14,776
to the office of the state superintendent of education to

1440
01:32:14,776 --> 01:32:18,814
fully address the childcare subsidy spending pressure in fy

1441
01:32:18,814 --> 01:32:21,315
26. There are additional dollars to

1442
01:32:21,315 --> 01:32:24,119
the department of parks and recreation to support the

1443
01:32:24,119 --> 01:32:27,719
expansion of dpr hours and programs.

1444
01:32:31,993 --> 01:32:35,530
additional dollars in the department of general services

1445
01:32:35,530 --> 01:32:40,330
to support school readiness work in the summer.

1446
01:32:40,369 --> 01:32:43,538
there are additional dollars to the commission on arts and

1447
01:32:43,538 --> 01:32:47,142
humanities so that they can restore the large capital grants

1448
01:32:47,142 --> 01:32:52,542
program that was aborted with the mayor's proposed budget.

1449
01:32:54,182 --> 01:32:57,386
there is additional dollars to the board of elections to

1450
01:32:57,386 --> 01:33:00,986
replace 450 express boat ballot marking devices.

1451
01:33:01,560 --> 01:33:05,256
I think we call those voting machines.

1452
01:33:06,194 --> 01:33:10,799
we mentioned in connection with fy 27, there are some dollars

1453
01:33:10,799 --> 01:33:14,999
apparently in 26 related to the resale act.

1454
01:33:15,604 --> 01:33:19,804
those are just some of the highlights.

1455
01:33:22,177 --> 01:33:27,982
what I am moving is the declaration pr 26-40 so that we

1456
01:33:27,982 --> 01:33:33,382
can move to the bill. I circulated an amendment.

1457
01:33:35,991 --> 01:33:38,193
nature was substitute to the declaration.

1458
01:33:38,193 --> 01:33:40,128
I have to move that. So moved.

1459
01:33:40,128 --> 01:33:45,266
is there discussion on the ans? If there is no objection, the

1460
01:33:45,266 --> 01:33:49,204
nature of the substitute for the declaration will be accepted.

1461
01:33:49,204 --> 01:33:52,107
hearing no objection, it is accepted.

1462
01:33:52,107 --> 01:33:55,707
we have the declaration as amended.

1463
01:33:56,111 --> 01:33:58,111
discussion? Vote?

1464
01:34:00,215 --> 01:34:03,885
all those in favor of the declaration say body.

1465
01:34:03,885 --> 01:34:08,490
are there any opposed? Hearing none, the ayes have it

1466
01:34:08,490 --> 01:34:12,900
unanimously. The underlying bill, bill 26-662

1467
01:34:13,795 --> 01:34:16,198
which I just described. So moved.

1468
01:34:16,198 --> 01:34:18,633
I circling an amendment nature of the substitute which I just

1469
01:34:18,633 --> 01:34:21,330
described. Is there discussion?

1470
01:34:24,239 --> 01:34:32,639
I do want to note I am moving this measure with lee for staff

1471
01:34:33,582 --> 01:34:37,782
to make technical conforming and reconciling changes.

1472
01:34:40,155 --> 01:34:43,392
the amendment nature of the substitute.

1473
01:34:43,392 --> 01:34:46,995
if there is no objection, it will be accepted.

1474
01:34:46,995 --> 01:34:49,730
hearing no objection, it is accepted.

1475
01:34:49,730 --> 01:34:51,666
we have the bill as amended before us.

1476
01:34:51,666 --> 01:34:55,866
further discussion? I do have an amendment.

1477
01:34:59,741 --> 01:35:04,541
give me a second. Apparently I have two

1478
01:35:20,229 --> 01:35:22,970
amendments. One of them I circulated

1479
01:35:22,970 --> 01:35:27,736
yesterday last evening. It is to replace the chart in

1480
01:35:27,736 --> 01:35:29,538
section six, capital project funding rescissions and

1481
01:35:29,538 --> 01:35:34,338
increases with the following. That is budget neutral.

1482
01:35:39,914 --> 01:35:43,718
the chart and amendment nature substitute omitted the project

1483
01:35:43,718 --> 01:35:46,854
adjustments to move budget between funding details net to

1484
01:35:46,854 --> 01:35:51,540
zero dollars. These are highlighted in green.

1485
01:35:51,126 --> 01:35:53,596
if you have the color version for informational purposes in

1486
01:35:53,596 --> 01:35:57,131
the circulation. The green will be removed and

1487
01:35:57,131 --> 01:36:02,531
the final bill. I guess we are doing monochrome.

1488
01:36:03,638 --> 01:36:07,238
I move this amendment number one.

1489
01:36:07,942 --> 01:36:12,142
discussion? If there is no objection, it

1490
01:36:12,414 --> 01:36:16,152
will be accepted. Here are no objection, it is

1491
01:36:16,152 --> 01:36:19,752
accepted. What is my second amendment?

1492
01:36:29,300 --> 01:36:33,230
I remember that. Give me a second.

1493
01:36:55,457 --> 01:37:02,570
give me just a second. I don't have the paperwork in

1494
01:38:07,471 --> 01:38:09,606
front of me but it was circulated yesterday.

1495
01:38:09,606 --> 01:38:12,542
I have a two amendments. The first one was accepted to

1496
01:38:12,542 --> 01:38:17,342
the capital, the capital table in the bill.

1497
01:38:19,382 --> 01:38:22,552
this amendment is amendment number two, circulated yesterday

1498
01:38:22,552 --> 01:38:26,752
evening. What it does is, it clarifies

1499
01:38:29,559 --> 01:38:34,630
the amendment nature, substitute nature used in both fy 26 and fy

1500
01:38:34,630 --> 01:38:36,630
27. So moved.

1501
01:38:37,800 --> 01:38:40,336
amendment number two, circulated yesterday evening.

1502
01:38:40,336 --> 01:38:43,336
is there discussion? Hearing none.

1503
01:38:44,807 --> 01:38:49,212
if there is no objection, it will be accepted.

1504
01:38:49,212 --> 01:38:52,315
here no objection, it is accepted.

1505
01:38:52,315 --> 01:38:58,315
so we have -- we have the bill as amended.

1506
01:39:03,927 --> 01:39:10,527
bill 26-662, amended by the amendment of the nature of the

1507
01:39:11,000 --> 01:39:12,935
substitute, amendment by amendment number one, amendment

1508
01:39:12,935 --> 01:39:16,739
by amendment number two. Is there any further discussion?

1509
01:39:16,739 --> 01:39:23,120
all those in favor of the fiscal year 2026 revised local budget

1510
01:39:23,120 --> 01:39:29,120
emergency act of 2026 say aye. Are there any no boats?

1511
01:39:30,190 --> 01:39:34,819
hearing on coming the ayes have it unanimously.

1512
01:39:40,530 --> 01:39:45,930
the next measure is br 26, local budget resolution of 2026.

1513
01:39:59,582 --> 01:40:03,182
so moved. Give me a second.

1514
01:40:45,428 --> 01:40:47,429
my confusion is that the agendas of list it.

1515
01:40:47,429 --> 01:40:51,634
there was an amendment to the declaration of the substitution

1516
01:40:51,634 --> 01:40:56,440
but I circulated that yesterday, so I have move the declaration.

1517
01:40:56,440 --> 01:40:58,975
I'm now moving the end of the nature of the substitute.

1518
01:40:58,975 --> 01:41:03,813
apologize for the confusion. So moved on the amendment nature

1519
01:41:03,813 --> 01:41:04,947
of the substitute. This is to the declaration for

1520
01:41:04,947 --> 01:41:07,947
pr 36-639. Is there discussion?

1521
01:41:12,822 --> 01:41:17,325
what we're doing is adopting the local budget act for fy 27 on an

1522
01:41:17,325 --> 01:41:22,125
emergency basis. The local budget act which we

1523
01:41:23,332 --> 01:41:25,334
previously adopted at this meeting has to go to congress

1524
01:41:25,334 --> 01:41:29,372
for the congressional review so it's unlikely that it will be

1525
01:41:29,372 --> 01:41:33,900
effective by the start of the fiscal year.

1526
01:41:33,900 --> 01:41:37,130
we do this as an emergency version as well.

1527
01:41:37,130 --> 01:41:38,748
is there discussion on the amendment nature of the

1528
01:41:38,748 --> 01:41:41,751
substitute? If there is no objection, it

1529
01:41:41,751 --> 01:41:46,551
will be accepted. Here no objection, it is

1530
01:41:46,722 --> 01:41:52,122
excepted. The vote will be on pr 26-639 as

1531
01:41:52,829 --> 01:41:55,897
amended. All those in favor say I.

1532
01:41:55,897 --> 01:42:01,370
are there any opposed? Hearing none, the ayes have it

1533
01:42:01,370 --> 01:42:04,206
unanimously. I move the underlying bill,

1534
01:42:04,206 --> 01:42:07,806
bill26-660. Give me a second.

1535
01:42:26,195 --> 01:42:28,463
I am just double checking. I don't think we circulated an

1536
01:42:28,463 --> 01:42:30,599
amendment picture of the substitute.

1537
01:42:30,599 --> 01:42:35,999
>> we did in order because the mayor introduced [indiscernible]

1538
01:42:46,749 --> 01:42:52,149
chair mendelson: madam general counsel, barely I circulated an

1539
01:42:52,922 --> 01:42:55,957
amendment nature substitute. The reason I'm not sure, it is

1540
01:42:55,957 --> 01:43:00,196
not listed on the agenda. I don't know if I need to move

1541
01:43:00,196 --> 01:43:02,998
the amendment nature of a substitute because I'm going to

1542
01:43:02,998 --> 01:43:08,637
ask or say that my motion is conforming to the permanent.

1543
01:43:08,637 --> 01:43:10,390
I think that then encompasses everything.

1544
01:43:10,390 --> 01:43:14,239
>> that's correct. Chair mendelson: ok, our members

1545
01:43:19,882 --> 01:43:20,851
clear?on that the fiscal year 20.7 local

1546
01:43:20,851 --> 01:43:24,120
budget emergency act but I am moving conforms to the permanent

1547
01:43:24,120 --> 01:43:27,720
version. Bill 26-659 which we adopted

1548
01:43:31,594 --> 01:43:35,598
earlier in this agenda, and which we ended in several ways.

1549
01:43:35,598 --> 01:43:40,403
in fact, many ways. The emergency conforms to that.

1550
01:43:40,403 --> 01:43:44,300
any questions from members? Hearing none.

1551
01:43:45,408 --> 01:43:48,408
is there discussion? Hearing none.

1552
01:43:49,211 --> 01:43:55,811
the vote is on bill 26-660. Conform to the permanent bill.

1553
01:43:56,219 --> 01:44:02,219
all those in favor say aye. Are there any opposed?

1554
01:44:02,825 --> 01:44:07,625
hearing on coming the ayes have it unanimously.

1555
01:44:15,100 --> 01:44:19,810
we have under temporary legislation bill 26-663, fiscal

1556
01:44:21,160 --> 01:44:24,553
year 26 revised local budget temporary act of 2026.

1557
01:44:24,553 --> 01:44:28,153
so moved. Madame general counsel, same

1558
01:44:30,393 --> 01:44:34,593
question. There was an amendment nature of

1559
01:44:34,830 --> 01:44:41,430
a substitute but my motion is that this conforms to the

1560
01:44:41,471 --> 01:44:44,206
emergency we just adopted. >> that's correct.

1561
01:44:44,206 --> 01:44:50,790
chair mendelson: everyone clear? We are only passing one bill but

1562
01:44:50,790 --> 01:44:55,417
three versions of it. One version of three bills.

1563
01:44:55,417 --> 01:44:59,421
they are all the same. One is emergency, one is

1564
01:44:59,421 --> 01:45:01,821
temporary. One is permanent.

1565
01:45:03,392 --> 01:45:05,392
so moved. Discussion.

1566
01:45:07,229 --> 01:45:12,601
assuming everyone knows what we are doing, the vote is on bill

1567
01:45:12,601 --> 01:45:15,601
26-663 conforming to the permanent.

1568
01:45:16,805 --> 01:45:21,610
all those in favor say I. Are there any opposed?

1569
01:45:21,610 --> 01:45:25,914
the ayes have it unanimously. Madame general counsel, you are

1570
01:45:25,914 --> 01:45:28,817
clear on what we've done. >> yes, mr. Chairman.

1571
01:45:28,817 --> 01:45:34,817
chair mendelson: all of this was moved leaving room for

1572
01:45:36,625 --> 01:45:38,259
technical and reconciling changes.

1573
01:45:38,259 --> 01:45:41,196
there is no further business. The council will have a regular

1574
01:45:41,196 --> 01:45:44,433
meeting of the regular monthly meeting on june 30.

1575
01:45:44,433 --> 01:45:48,690
we will have an additional legislative meeting on july 7

1576
01:45:48,690 --> 01:45:50,439
where we will take up a budget support act.

1577
01:45:50,439 --> 01:45:55,543
we will have an additional meeting on july 14 where we will

1578
01:45:55,543 --> 01:45:58,313
have our last meeting before the council recess.

1579
01:45:58,313 --> 01:46:03,113
>> mr. Chairman. Question, it is the only thing

1580
01:46:04,853 --> 01:46:07,222
on the device of the agenda the budget support act?

1581
01:46:07,222 --> 01:46:10,691
chair mendelson: at the moment, yes.

1582
01:46:10,691 --> 01:46:14,280
because it is an additional meeting, I have the ability to

1583
01:46:14,280 --> 01:46:19,428
keep things off. If there was something like an

1584
01:46:19,500 --> 01:46:24,239
emergency that came up to him about an emergency, but a real

1585
01:46:24,239 --> 01:46:29,639
emergency. I don't want to say that it is

1586
01:46:29,778 --> 01:46:34,578
only that but it is probably only that.

1587
01:46:36,418 --> 01:46:41,818
the time is 1:53 p.m. This meeting is adjourned.