Washington

Opinion | Raising taxes this much in D.C. will backfire

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2024

Opinion | Raising taxes this much in D.C. will backfire

Like many U.S. cities, D.C. faces a cash crunch. Costs have risen for nearly everything, while revenue has been relatively flat. Cities have run through federal pandemic relief dollars, of which D.C. received more than $3 billion. Commercial property taxes have fallen sharply, in tandem with property values, and are likely to deteriorate further as buildings sit empty. The District’s leaders have tough choices to make in their 2025 budget to close a $700 million hole. The top priorities are clear: public safety, downtown revitalization and youth. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s proposed budget would spend just shy of $21 billion. The D.C. Council’s plan spend about $41 million more than the mayor’s. Their big differences lie in the policy details, and they matter.

Taxes are going up, but the two branches disagree over which levies to increase — and how much. Ms. Bowser (D) would raise the paid family leave tax that businesses pay, add an 80-cent per night fee on hotel rooms and increase the sales tax (gradually, from 6 percent now to 7 percent by fiscal 2027). In total, revenue would rise $447 million next year under the mayor’s proposal. The council would raise more — $550 million in new revenue next year — via both a higher paid family leave tax and higher property taxes on homes worth $2.5 million or above. In fact, the council’s budget closes the vast majority of the budget shortfall via higher taxes.

That’s unwise. Raising so many taxes, in lieu of spending cuts, signals to businesses and residents that legislators are unable to focus on what truly matters. It’s also a warning sign of more taxes and fees to come if budget holes persist. As business leaders consider whether to keep their business in the city or relocate to Maryland or Virginia, they will factor in the city’s public safety and finances.

The council eliminated the mayor’s proposed hotel fee, arguing it would hurt D.C.’s ability to compete for conferences and events. A similar logic should apply to the council’s own proposed tripling of the family leave payroll tax, from the current level of 0.26 percent of wages paid to an employee to 0.75 percent. (Ms. Bowser is proposing 0.62 percent.) This tax is supposed to fund employees’ time off work to care for a baby or a sick family member, but it will soon be used for general city expenses. In contrast, the council’s property tax increase would be relatively modest and targeted at the most expensive homes.

As for spending, it’s encouraging that the mayor and council agreed on more money for the police and for converting unused offices to other uses, as well as for strategically transforming public spaces and empty storefronts. Education also receives a bump, though the mayor and council continue to spar over how much should go to the central office vs. schools. In that case, the council is right to emphasize funding teachers and classroom needs.

The other reality in the District is a vast income and wealth inequality that is especially pronounced between White and Black households. Ms. Bowser proposed steep cuts to critical programs for those less well-off, including housing assistance for struggling families, the Access to Justice program that provides civil legal assistance to low-income residents, and the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund that subsidizes pay for child-care workers. The council mostly restores these, but then goes a step further by creating a new Child Tax Credit (CTC) of $420 per child to provide more money to low- and middle-income families with kids and a Baby Bonds program to invest $1,000 per year per low-income child. It would be better to fund Baby Bonds through a private foundation than public dollars, and this is not the right time to do a CTC for married couples earning up to $240,000 a year.

Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee has to sign off on whatever the mayor and council adopt. Residents and Congress are not going to be comfortable if he does not. We are glad to see the mayor and council working closely with Mr. Lee as the June 12 budget vote approaches. The District has to replenish its reserves, but not necessarily in 2025. There’s a smart compromise in the works to ensure the city will have adequate liquidity to pay all bills on time by allowing the CFO to temporarily tap into different trust funds, if needed. This is a common tactic used by other state and local governments and works well as long as a good accounting and audit systems are in place.

As the council makes its final tweaks, there has to be a reality check on taxes and spending. Scaling back is hard. But making tough choices now is better than losing business to Virginia and Maryland.

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Washington

IMPD adds third public safety camera along Washington St in three months

Published

5 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

IMPD adds third public safety camera along Washington St in three months

INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD has a new public safety camera downtown to help address crime or deter it altogether.

The technology is up and running at the intersection of W Washington Street and N Illinois Street. It’s the third camera to be installed along Washington Street in the last three months.

“We’ve had a lot of success with our cameras, using them with juvenile mitigation or violence crime reduction efforts to identify those people involved in crimes, and we’ve been able to make arrests because the cameras are there,” IMPD Downtown District Commander Shane Foley said. “If the cameras weren’t there, there’s certain situations we would not be able to make arrests.”

The other intersections that had cameras installed back in March previously had mobile surveillance units in place, but that wasn’t true for the Illinois Street location.

“Washington and Illinois is one of the most travelled parts of downtown and it’s important to have this tool to monitor activity,” Foley said. “We didn’t have a camera at this location at all, so that really emphasizes the importance of this location being added.”

The streams from the cameras are monitored by IMPD’s real-time crime center, but also by officers on the streets. The video can alert officers to incidents before 911 is even called.

“We have five different camera angles, and as you can see here, this can be used for traffic investigations,” Foley said while showing the stream from inside of his car. “If there was a crash or a pedestrian struck, this might help identify a vehicle involved in that incident.”

The Conrad Hotel on the corner paid to put the camera in place, an investment General Manager Ryan Fitzgerald hopes helps officers better secure the area.

”All the men and women that are down here making the city safe, it’s really important to us and we just wanted an opportunity to support that,” Fitzgerald said. “They do all the hard work, so anything we can do to support that effort is in the interest of all of our residents, our team members and our guests.”

Video from the cameras that don’t show criminal activity is thrown out after 30 days. IMPD is hopeful to further secure community partnerships to fund more cameras in the future.

“Ultimately, the goal of these cameras is to make downtown a safer place for people to work, live and visit,” Foley said.

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Washington

Washington Nationals vs. Tampa Bay Rays prediction, pick for Friday 6/19/26

Published

16 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Washington Nationals vs. Tampa Bay Rays prediction, pick for Friday 6/19/26

Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today’s game between the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays on Friday’s MLB slate.

Did anyone have the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals competing for the MLB Postseason on their bingo cards? It’s June 19 and both these teams have winning records, but the ways they’ve gotten there are completely different. On Friday evening, this pitching-reliant Rays group squares off against the Nats’ formidable offense, setting up a fun battle at the Trop.

As the new series begins tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET, here’s a betting prediction and pick for this Nationals vs. Rays matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Nationals vs. Rays prediction, preview

Washington Nationals

The Nats are perhaps the most fun team in the entire MLB this season. With a group of talented young bats, they’ve cruised to a 39-36 record on the campaign with a +15 run differential, also going 6-4 over their last 10 games. The upside of this offense is immense, and if they can get the pitching figured out, we could be looking at a future power in the NL. Washington produces an MLB-best 5.43 runs per game with a .744 OPS that ranks fifth overall. The full slash line reads .247/.323/.421 with a .287 BABIP; tonight, the group faces a RHP with a split of .238/.311/.414 for a .725 OPS against similar handedness. It may be the lower of their splits, but the Nationals do have 73 of their 96 homers against righties. The club’s .174 ISO comes in at fourth in the sport, but a composite speed score of 6.0 also leads all other teams, too. Plus, a 21.0% K% and 8.9% BB% are solid-enough marks.

RHP Cade Cavalli was scheduled to start for the Nats today but has now been scratched due to illness. A new starter is currently TBD, but this section will be updated when the announcement is made. The bullpen’s numbers aren’t great though, sitting 24th in ERA at 4.71 with a 1.42 WHIP and 7.5% K-BB%.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have dropped from the top spot in the AL East after a few rough weeks in June, now sitting 41-30 with a +5 run differential. However, momentum is not on their side after going 4-6 over their last 10 and dropping both of their last two series — one to the Angels and the other to the Dodgers. Their offense is good with 4.44 runs per game, but doesn’t quite have the elite upside of today’s opponent. Tampa Bay has a .713 OPS and a slash line of .255/.333/.379, and the club gets the better of its lefty/righty splits today at .259/.339/.393 for a .732 cumulative mark against right-handed pitching. That’s a positive, as is a BB/K ratio of 0.50 fueled by an MLB-best 19.1% K% and a 9.6% BB%. A .301 BABIP is nice to see, but a .124 ISO and 58 home runs this year leave much to be desired in terms of power. That’s the biggest weakness of this team by far, but they have hit 45 of those off a RHP.

RHP Griffin Jax gets the starting nod for Tampa Bay today. He’s 1-5 across 20 games and nine starts. His numbers include a 3.68 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and 41 SO in 44.0 IP. He’s forced ground balls at an above-average rate and has seen positive results in terms of chase and whiff rate as well. The Rays’ bullpen has a 4.67 ERA that ranks 22nd with a 1.37 WHIP and 10.9% K-BB%.

Nationals vs. Rays pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Rays as -126 Moneyline favorites at home today. The Rays are underdogs at +104 odds to win outright with the run total set at eight.

Best Bet: WAS Nationals ML (+104)

A straight-up pick is the move tonight as we target the Nats for an outright win on the road. Here’s the logic. I like the Washington offense far more than Tampa Bay’s, especially as of late. The Nationals have an .840 OPS in the last two weeks with a .221 ISO, though that drops a smidge to .772 and .185 over the last seven days in particular. They’re just as productive as usual though, if not more so. On the opposite side, the Rays are dead last over the last week at a .609 OPS and an .088 ISO, and while their strikeout rate has remained the same as on the full year, the OBP has dropped and they’re hitting a paltry .216. Looking at the last two weeks, they’re still 25th in the league with a .676 OPS as well and below .100 in ISO once again at .097. Jax has been solid as per usual, but it hasn’t translated to wins yet this year and likely won’t against such a high-powered lineup.

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Washington

Storm Team4 Forecast: Much-needed morning rain before sunny afternoon

Published

1 day ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Storm Team4 Forecast: Much-needed morning rain before sunny afternoon

4 things to know about the weather:

Some needed rain early
Sunshine On the way
Nice, dry weekend
Stormy Monday

Most of the area will get at least some rain this morning but a cold front will push the rain out and bring the sunshine back by early this afternoon.

Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of VA will get the most rain (1/4” to 1/2”) while the Shenandoah Valley will be lucky to get much more than a few hundredths of an inch. Southeast Virginia is likely to get over 1” of rain. I-95 travel South of Richmond, and I-64 towards Virginia Beach, could be slowed by the rain. Here in our area, the rain will be over by noon and sunshine will be making a quick return.

Steady, northwest winds will bring much lower humidity levels and ensure a beautiful weekend for all of the Capital Pride activities and Father’s Day on Sunday.

Afternoon highs will mostly be in the low/mid 80s today and Saturday and the mid/upper 80s on Sunday.

Better still, overnight lows tonight and Saturday night will fall into the 50s north and west of Dulles Airport and the low-60s in metro D.C.

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

Clouds will return late Sunday afternoon and rain chances will arrive late Sunday night. All of the forecast models are still showing a high chance for rain for Monday into Tuesday. This doesn’t look like a blockbuster event but rain totals of around 1/2” still look like a good bet.

All of our region is still in drought with extreme drought conditions for most of central Virginia and all of the Delmarva Peninsula. That Monday storm is pretty much our best chance for rain over the next 10-14 days. Thankfully, the long range temperature outlook is for daytime highs to stay in the 80s all the way through next week.