Residents knew the city was preparing for major cuts after Congress cut D.C.’s budget in March. Now they have specific details about which cuts are being implemented following an announcement from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration Tuesday.
The cuts are significant, impacting several D.C. government agencies.
They include a freeze on hiring new employees, a freeze on the authorization of overtime pay for work performed after April 27 and a freeze on pay raises, bonuses and promotions.
D.C. officials revealed the city administrator would, by April 25, present recommendations to the mayor on furloughing employees and temporarily shutting down certain D.C. government facilities.
The city administrator may take other actions, too, as they relate to layoffs and the early termination of contracts, leases or grants.
Agencies will get a chance to avoid some of the cuts by seeking waivers.
Bowser administration officials said they would review each waiver request and make recommendations about whether the request should be approved or denied.
The budget crisis dates back to March, when the U.S. House passed a federal government funding bill that forced D.C.’s government to revert to its 2024 spending levels, effectively cutting $1.1 billion from its current budget.
Bowser spearheaded an intense congressional lobbying campaign to prevent the change, saying it would result in immediate, across-the-board cuts to staffing and programs — including layoffs of teachers and police officers.
The Senate approved the funding bill with the cut but immediately followed up with a separate bill that would make the District’s budget whole again.
That fix then reverted to the House for approval. So far, the House has not brought the proposal to the floor for discussion.
Under federal law, District officials said they have the authority to increase spending levels in the current budget by about 6%, which would absorb some of the cuts.
However, even with that extra 6%, D.C. still faces about $400 million in reductions.
Bowser said she was holding out hope that the House would pass the D.C. budget bill when lawmakers return to the Capitol in a couple of weeks.
“It leaves still hundreds of millions of dollars of money that we have that will be in the bank that cannot be used on critical service for the residents of the District of Columbia,” Bowser said. “We need the Congress to act.”
The House returns from recess April 28.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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