The chair of the D.C. Council on Monday canceled this week’s planned delivery and presentation of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s fiscal 2025 budget proposal — an unusual step that he blamed on the mayor’s administration.
Washington, D.C
D.C. Council chairman blames budget delay on mayor’s office
A spokesperson for Bowser did not return multiple requests for comment Monday.
The delay threatens to further complicate a budget season that has already sparked discussions about potential cuts and tax increases to fill the financial gaps, as the city grips with modest revenue growth projections, an unstable commercial real estate market and some major upcoming expenses paired with expiring pandemic-era federal aid.
To ensure a timely start to budget deliberations, council members in January voted on fiscal 2025 budget submission requirements that called on Bowser to deliver her proposal no later than Wednesday. Under D.C. law, the council has 70 days after the mayor transmits her budget proposal to adopt a final version, kick-starting its tight annual timeline to hold dozens of agency hearings, make revisions and hold multiple votes.
Further complicating the situation is that Lee this year reiterated his office’s request to have 10 days to certify the mayor’s budget once he received it before it could be presented to the council. Wilson said the CFO has always had a “pencils-down” date set 10 days before the mayor delivers her budget to the council, giving them enough time to ensure the proposal is balanced and that any documents are legally sufficient.
Lee reminded city leaders of that timeline in a Feb. 5 memo to Mendelson, City Administrator Kevin Donahue and the budget directors for both the council and Bowser’s administration, noting he’d need to receive the budget on or before March 10 to stay on schedule. In a March 11 letter to the same group, Lee noted that because the budget proposal had not been sent to his office by March 10, it could not be transferred to the council this Wednesday as planned.
In an interview, Mendelson said the delay was unusual. If the budget delivery is delayed until the end of March, he said, the council’s 70-day window to approve it would bump right up against the District’s June 4 primary election where several members are on the ballot for reelection.
“Campaigning takes full time. Considering a $20 billion budget takes full time. The last several weeks when we are voting — and we vote twice — are all consuming with the budget,” Mendelson said. “You throw in the campaign, and it becomes unthinkable.”
Mendelson said there have also been disagreements between the CFO and legislators in recent weeks about how quickly the city must move to replenish its local reserves. He said while that may have initially slowed things down, Bowser’s administration had identified a plan last week.
“The reserves are not the issue for the delay,” he said.
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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 26th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.
MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on a bad Christmas tradition in Washington D.C.
CAL THOMAS: When Washington politicians speak of a Christmas tree this time of year, they are not referring to an actual tree. It means they’ve loaded up a bill with another kind of “green,” the kind that’s decorated with money.
The “bipartisan” bill passed just before midnight last Friday, minutes before a government “shutdown” would be an embarrassment to anyone but the politicians who voted for it. Like Christmas, this scenario gets played out almost every year with no regard for the growing debt.
The first bill was more than 1,500 pages. Elon Musk denounced it and suddenly it shrunk to over 100 pages, but that was too little for the big spenders. What passed last week at 118 pages may take days to digest, but you can be sure of one thing: pork is part of it. Always is.
For the last ten years, Republican Senator Rand Paul has published what he calls a “Festivus” report on just some of the wasteful spending in which our Congress is engaged. His latest – and you should Google it to see it all – includes the following:
Some of the highlights – or lowlights as I like to call them — include funding for the National Endowment for the Arts to subsidize ice-skating drag queens and promoting city park circuses. Additionally, the Department of the Interior invested in the construction of a new $12 million Las Vegas Pickleball complex. Interior also allocated $720,479 to wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico. This year, the Department of State is featured eleven times, with expenditures including $4.8 million on Ukrainian influencers, $32,596 on breakdancing, $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security (what about security at our border?), $3 Million for ‘Girl-Centered Climate Action’ in Brazil, and much more!
Hey, it’s not their money, it’s our money.
At least this time a pay raise for members didn’t make it to the final bill. Members should be having their pay cut, not raised, for under-performing.
Perhaps Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk can do something about the misspending that has led to the unsustainable $36 trillion dollar debt with interest of $1 trillion dollars just this year.
Others have tried and failed to break the spending habit. Maybe they will succeed this time, but the odds are not good. It’s not called “the swamp” for nothing.
I hope you had a Happy Christmas. Your politicians did.
I’m Cal Thomas.
WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.
Sidwell Friends School and St. John’s College continue to headline the District of Columbia girls basketball Top 10 poll.
The undefeated Quakers (7-0 overall) are headed to California to participate in the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic in San Diego while St. John’s (10-0) will be home for Christmas after winning the St. Petersburg bracket at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational in Florida.
The Cadets will host their Holiday Hoopla mixer, Dec. 30 and 31.
Theodore Roosevelt debuts in this week’s poll at No. 10.
Previous rank: 1
The Quakers will play at the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic in San Diego starting Thursday.
Previous rank: 2
The Cadets won the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational championship in Florida.
Previous rank: 3
The Frogs, winners of three straight, next plays at the Christy Winters-Scott Invitational Dec. 31.
Previous rank: 4
The Colts will play Archbishop Carroll at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday.
Previous rank: 5
The Cubs will play at the Candy Cane Classic at Thomas Johnson (Md.) Friday and Saturday.
Previous rank: 6
The Ramblers will play at the Beltway 8 Holiday Classic in Houston starting Friday.
Previous rank: 7
The Bulldogs will play Charles H. Flowers (Md.) at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday.
Previous rank: 8
The Tigers will play at the Candy Cane Classic at Thomas Johnson Friday and Saturday.
Previous rank: 9
The Penguins split with Anacostia and No. 6 Eastern.
Previous rank: Not ranked.
The Roughriders will play KIPP School at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday.
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