COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:         Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council

               

FROM:  Phil Mendelson, Chairman

                                                               

DATE:    June 22, 2026

 

RE:         Notice of intent to move an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the June 23, 2026 Additional Legislative Meeting

 

This memorandum serves as notice that I intend to move an amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS) for each of the following measures at the Additional Legislative Meeting scheduled for June 23, 2026:

 

• PR 26-640, Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Adjustment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026
• Bill 26-662, Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Adjustment Emergency Act of 2026
• Bill 26-663, Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Adjustment Temporary Act of 2026

 

On April 20, 2026, as part of the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget package, the Mayor transmitted the above measures. The ANS includes Council adjustments necessary to balance the FY27 budget and financial plan, technical and conforming changes, as well as edits developed in concert with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and the Executive. The changes in the ANS include:

 

• Reductions for underspending and vacancy savings across agencies, which are used to balance the budget and financial plan:
  • The largest of these reductions is $22,000,000 from the Workforce Investments Account associated with funding for step increases that have already been absorbed by individual agency budgets. This reduction was made at the request of the Mayor to resolve a spending pressure in the Public Charter Schools UPSFF Payments paper agency payment;

 

• Enhancements to agency budgets, made at the committee level, including:
  • $10,000,000 to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to fully address the childcare subsidy spending pressure in FY26, regardless of any enrollment freeze in place;
  • $435,000 to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to support the expansion of DPR hours and programs in FY26;
  • $410,030 to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ) to provide additional Safe Commercial Corridors grant funding;
  • $400,000 to OSSE to restore funding for the District’s education research-practice partnership (the Education Research Collaborative), which was removed in the Mayor’s proposed version of this legislation;
  • $346,700 to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) for renovation of the African American Civil War Museum;
  • $315,203 to the Department of General Services (DGS) to support school readiness work at District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) campuses for the 2026-27 school year;
  • $233,088 to the Department of Energy and Environment for an enhancement to the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU);
  • $200,000 to DMPSJ to provide additional Non-Profit Security grant funding;
  • $125,000 to the Department of Employment Services for the Middle School Career Ready Early Scholars Program;
  • $74,144 to the Department of Health to restore funding for the Office of Food Policy for the remainder of FY26; and
  • $38,000 to the DC State Board of Education to support necessary hardware upgrades.

 

• Enhancements to agency budgets, made at the Council-wide level, including:
  • $22,000,000 to the Public Charter Schools UPSFF Payments paper agency to cover a previously unknown spending pressure, communicated to Council on Thursday, June 18, related to heightened IEP (individualized education plan) designations at public charter schools after the enrollment audit for school year 2025-26. This is in addition to the $11,100,000 included in the Mayor’s proposed supplemental legislation for FY26 for the same purpose;
  • $8,951,687 to the District’s Pay-As-You-Go capital funding line to switch the fund type in existing projects that may not be eligible for borrowed capital;
  • $2,900,000 to DGS to support school readiness work at DCPS campuses for the 2026-27 school year, which is in addition to the $315,203 added at the committee level;
  • $2,600,000 to the Commission on the Arts and Humanities to restore the large capital grants program in FY26;
  • $2,500,000 to the Board of Elections to replace 450 ExpressVote ballot marking devices;
  • $700,000 to the DC Housing Authority Subsidy for security deposit assistance, which was shifted forward from a larger enhancement for this assistance in FY27 (original enhancement of $1.7 million in FY27);
  • $254,000 to DMPED for renovation of the African American Civil War Museum, which is in addition to the $346,700 added at the committee level;
  • $155,000 to the Corrections Information Council to restore funding for the agency’s Chief of Staff position;
  • $150,000 to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection to fund provisions associated with the RESALE Act (B26-224);
  • $117,782 to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to refund existing property taxes paid by Howard University;
  • $50,000 to the Judicial Nomination Commission for background research on potential candidates; and
  • A net-zero shift of rent budget from the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA) to the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC) so that OANC can make rent payments for their new physical location in office space currently leased by ODCA, beginning July 1, 2026.

 

• Capital project additions:

• Department of Parks and Recreation

• $1.0 million in FY 2026 to replace the Kelly Miller Pool shell, liner, and pipes, for a total enhancement of $1.3 million;
• $650,000 in FY26 to address urgent repairs at Rita Bright Community Center;

 

• Bill 26-662 and Bill 26-663 also contain legislative provisions, including sections that:

• Authorize DMPED to issue one or more grants to Children’s National Hospital for site assessments for a new hospital campus;
• Provide for certain amounts of fund balance and other revenue in enumerated special funds to be made available for general purposes;
• Direct the transfer of $150 million from the Fiscal Stabilization Reserve Account to the General Fund (previously included in the committee print for Bill 26-661, the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act of 2026); and
• Adjust funding to a list of capital projects.

 

The ANS for PR 26-640 simply revises that emergency declaration resolution, considering the changes made to the underlying emergency bill.