Dear Neighbor,
Today, the DC Council passed the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget! I want to highlight some of the major priorities we funded that will make a meaningful difference in our communities, as well as remind you to join me tomorrow, June 26th for community office hours!
For a comprehensive summary of the expansive investments the Council made in our Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, I encourage you to read my last newsletter.
Major investments in our communities
I worked with all of my colleagues to put forward a sustainable budget that seeks to improve public safety, revitalize our downtown, support our small and local businesses, expand education and youth opportunities, support housing and health initiatives, and help our communities across the District to thrive.
Below, I will highlight a few of the major priorities I am proud to have secured this year that do not always get the most limelight but that will make critical improvements to the safety and wellbeing of our residents and businesses, including:
- Fully funding my bill the BEST Act to revamp and streamline the business licensing process and make it easier to start and maintain a business;
- Funding literacy coaching and training for our kindergarten teachers to begin implementing recommendations from the Early Literacy Task Force I established in FY22;
- Establishing and protecting funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team through the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to provide supports to violence and crime survivors;
- Establishing a nonprofit security grants program to ensure organizations can seek safety and security supports amidst a rise in hate crimes and violence against racial, ethnic, and religious groups;
- Establishing grants for Chinatown businesses to support long-term lease agreements for existing and new businesses and enhance the neighborhood’s cultural heritage; and
- Funding a new Ward 2 Senior Center so that we can move forward with the location recommendations from the Senior Wellness Center Task Force – a priority I have been advocating for two years, since Ward 2 is the only ward without a senior center.
Changes made since the June 12th vote
I am also proud that since our last vote on June 12th, I worked hard to make several important changes that will better serve our residents, businesses, and communities by:
- Implementing the core pillars of my bill the RECOVERY Act by protecting the incentivization of office-to-residential and office-to-mixed use conversions across our Central Business District to immediately catalyze new conversion projects;
- Strengthening the tools in the Vitality Fund for our businesses to ensure these resources can be flexibly used to accommodate their needs;
- Expanding experiential learning opportunities for high-need schools through a new microgrant program; and
- Ensuring that our truancy programs and grants the Council restored can be quickly and efficiently implemented.
That being said, I am disappointed that we were unable to mitigate some of the serious concerns I had about a number of the new tax increases, including the municipal bonds tax, by today's final budget vote.
As a reminder, currently, District residents who hold District or other state and municipal bonds can exclude interest gained from those bonds from their gross income on their DC tax return. The new budget removes this exclusion for bonds from other states and jurisdictions starting on January 1, 2025.
I am concerned that the municipal bonds tax will have an unfair and harmful impact on District residents whose livelihoods are embedded in these assets, especially our seniors who are at or nearing retirement, low- and middle-income residents, and those on fixed incomes. I am continuing to work to identify potential avenues that will mitigate these impacts following the budget.
We have come a long way in the last few months to move the District forward with a vision that provides fundamental safety for our residents in every neighborhood, ensures DC is a competitive and opportunity-rich location to do business with a thriving Downtown, and invests in our residents across all ages and incomes so that everyone can prosper.
I look forward to the work that continues after today to ensure these meaningful investments are implemented and moved forward by our District agencies.
Lastly, I want to invite you to join me and my team for our next office hours TOMORROW, June 26th at The Little Gay Pub on the border between Logan Circle and Shaw from 5-6:30pm! I would love to see you and hear about your priorities for the neighborhood and District.
Yours in Service,
Brooke
On June 27th, the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will hold a public roundtable on six confirmation resolutions for nominees to the Science Advisory Board, which plays an important advisory role with the Department of Forensic Sciences.
The roundtable will be held virtually over Zoom. You can find information on all upcoming hearings at the Council and sign up to testify here.
Witnesses who anticipate needing language interpretation, including sign language interpretation, are asked to inform the Committee of the need as soon as possible but no later than five business days before a hearing during registration or by contacting Ms. Aukima Benjamin, Committee Manager to the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, at (202) 724-8058 or via e-mail at judiciary@dccouncil.gov.
In the last few weeks, Councilmember Pinto and Team Pinto have been out and about in Ward 2 and across the city, including to:
- Meet with US Attorney Matthew Graves to discuss how to ensure our criminal legal system has the needed tools to lead to consistent accountability for crime in DC.
- Attend the world premier of the 51st STATE documentary at Landmark E Street Cinema downtown with District Leaders to explore the national importance of DC Statehood.
- Join neighbors for the Burleith Citizens Association Annual Summer Picnic with good food and merriment.
- Speak at the GeorgeTown Club about her focus on public safety across the District.
- Hold a public roundtable regarding the confirmation of William “Clint” Osborn as the Director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
- The Washington Post: Five winners and losers in D.C.’s 2025 budget. Winners: “And a bill by council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) – the BEST Act, which is funded in the budget – reduces licensing burdens and fees for businesses trying to get up and running with fewer headaches. ... Led by Pinto, lawmakers on the public safety committee said the [Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement] needs to focus on enhancing its program by pursuing universal training for violence intervention workers and contractors and completing a merger with the attorney general’s similar Cure the Streets violence intervention program. ... Pinto said she’d hoped that merger would be ready in time for this year’s budget, adding that the work, is ‘certainly not over’ in urging the executive to move toward a more ‘comprehensive strategy to prevent violence.’”
- WAMU: In a tight budget year, the D.C. Council gives final approval to 2025 budget. “Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto voted against [At-Large Councilmember Robert White’s] amendment, saying they couldn’t cut funding aimed at reducing D.C.’s high chronic absenteeism rates – which stood at a staggering 60% for high school students in 2022-2023. ‘That is a crisis,’ Pinto said. ‘That is absolutely unacceptable.’”
- The NATO Summit will be coming to the Convention Center July 9-11. In the days leading up to, during, and immediately following the Summit there will be increased local security measures in place. Major traffic, parking, public transportation, bike lane and pedestrian impacts should be expected downtown and around the Convention Center between 6th St. NW, 11th St. NW, I Street NW, and O Street NW. While residences and businesses inside this affected area will be generally accessible, vehicles and pedestrians may be required to undergo security screening prior to entering. Updates on traffic plans, street closures, and parking restrictions will be available at https://mpdc.dc.gov/NSSE in the weeks to come. Text NATODC to 888-777 for live text updates. Please plan ahead.
- Metro is holding a public hearing to get feedback on the 2025 Better Bus Network. There are a variety of hearings, both in-person and virtual, that anyone can attend! Information on the hearings can be found below. For more information on Better Bus Network, visit wmata.com/betterbus.
- Late Night Hype events are back! Every Friday from June 7 to August 23 Late Night Hype events will be held at different locations throughout the city and feature music, food, video games, and other entertainment. The events are welcome to the entire community! For more information such as location and future dates, visit this link.
- The Department of Buildings has released their newly-updated Illegal Construction Inspection Request Form. Enhanced with a more user-friendly interface and new features that allow for shorter wait times and more efficient requests. To file a complaint visit this link.
- Trying to keep rats away from your home? DC Health will be hosting a 2-day Rodent and Vector Control Academy. The free, on-site event will cover the most current rodent control principles and practices. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with directors and representatives of relevant agencies; specifically, DC Health’s Senior Deputy Director Arian Gibson will give opening remarks. The Academy will take place Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11 from 8:30 AM to 5 PM at the George Washington University Student Center Continental Ballroom. The event will be limited to 100 participants so make sure to register soon.
- Due to the 4th of July Holiday, DPW Trash and recycling collection will “slide” to Friday, July 5.For a guide on all upcoming holiday slides, check out this link.
- Stay cool this summer! DPR-run splash pads and pools are open for the summer. For updated locations and hours, check out this link.