What’s in the DC budget released by the council ahead of Monday’s vote

Funding for the RFK stadium a set minimum wage for tipped workers and more funding for DNA testing are various of the major highlights from the D C budget disclosed by the council ahead of a vote on Monday The D C Council distributed the proposed budget Sunday afternoon and it has specific notable changes At a news conference after the announcement D C Council Chairman Phil Mendelson criticized Mayor Muriel Bowser s budget proposal for being excessive It is spending above what was appropriated he stated It is in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act and we should not have to fund that The mayor should not be overspending and the CFO should not be allowing the overspending D C s Anti-Deficiency Act restricts executive functionaries from exceeding available funds or without proper authorization This is to prevent agencies from spending more than the legislature has allotted In the budget Bowser included the funding for the redevelopment of RFK stadium and campus in her budget and on Sunday the council has taken it out to have more time to consider it The council commented it recognizes the once-in-a-generation opportunity the District has to redevelop the RFK campus and bring the Commanders back to their rightful home in the District However the Committee also recognizes that the Council demands more time to consider the proposed deal which would commit the District to spending well above billion over the coming decade Related stories Bowser s budget sidesteps DC layoffs but makes cuts to cover funding gap Conservationists decry Bowser budget slashing millions from city s environmental agency Despite budget hole DC makes investments in early instruction for future budgets DC Council considers delaying stadium deal approval until the fall The mayor s proposed deal allows the Commanders to build a new stadium group offices and parking garages It also gives the unit improvement rights for bulk of the remaining RFK campus allowing it to build and operate housing and stores on the site The plan includes about a million commitment from D C to help build the stadium plus million from the city and Events DC for parking garages The city would also contribute another million for infrastructure improvements and tax abatements The council declared the RFK funding is now in stand-alone rule it ll be voted on without attachment to the budget bill In an crisis vote in June the D C Council voted to pause the increase of the tipped minimum wage in the city which would have taken effect July Initiative was passed by an overwhelming majority of D C voters in and was set to raise the minimum wage of tipped workers such as restaurant employees or hair stylists from to in July to by The council is now set to change that further Included in the council s budget is the Tipped Minimum Wage Amendment Act of which will set the tipped minimum wage at an hour and would require an employer to cover the difference between the employees earnings including tips and an hour It also allows for automatic adjustment of the tipped minimum wage for inflation When it comes to restaurant amenity fees the council budget would cap those at The D C Council budget includes million to the Department of Forensic Sciences for the ability to conduct in-house DNA testing The council also includes million in one-time funds to the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement to restore funding for six Cure the Streets sites The campaign aims to work in discrete high violence neighborhoods using a data-driven public-health approach to gun violence by treating it as a syndrome that can be interrupted treated and stopped from spreading The campaign has had success since launching in It at present operates sites in Wards - and last year saw an drop in assaults with a deadly weapon near those locations Two sites saw more than declines in violent incidents The District Department of Transportation in the budget would receive in one-time funds to continue providing rebates or vouchers to District residents for the purchase of electric bicycles Mendelson described WTOP that he wishes the council could have changed more budget items of concern especially surrounding the child tax credit and environmental programs I think the child tax credit has to be more robust then even what we adopted last year and I think that s where we have to go Mendelson noted Environmental programs are very troubling he explained adding that the mayor has made complicated maneuvers surrounding the Sustainable Vitality Trust Fund It s a fee on utility bills and she s sort of moved it through different agencies so that it ends up paying the city s utility bills Mendelson declared To unwind that is not only expensive but very complicated He also stated he would have liked the budget to better address affordable housing issues WTOP s Jimmy Alexander contributed to this account Source