D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) on Monday proposed addressing $1.5 billion in revenue shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic by freezing employee hiring and pay, using federal relief funds, and exhausting reserves and budget surpluses.
After years of flush revenue, the District, like many jurisdictions across the nation, is confronting its first budget holes in nearly a decade.
But city officials say they were able to avoid widespread programmatic cuts, layoffs or tax increases under Bowser’s plan to address revenue plunging after she shut down the local economy to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Bowser entered the budget cycle with two challenges. The city lost more than $700 million in revenue for the current budget, which officials had to balance. And she had to propose a budget for the year starting in October, for which projected revenue declined by nearly $800 million.
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