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Mayor urges spending cuts, opposes new taxes as council weighs budget
Summary
At a press availability, the Mayor said the administration proposed $1 billion in cuts over five years, opposed new or higher income and property taxes, and discussed possible impacts on utilities, Department of Energy funding and library hours.
Mayor (name not specified) told reporters that his administration has proposed roughly $1 billion in spending reductions over five years and opposes raising income, property or other new taxes as the D.C. Council considers changes to the budget.
The mayor said rising utility costs — which he said have increased more than 50% over the last five years — are driving some of the proposed spending and policy choices, and that moving funds within the budget would require cuts elsewhere or higher taxes.
"I would not support raising income taxes, property taxes, or any new taxes," the mayor said. He added that the administration's approach is to "right size our spending and cut cost, and grow activity, grow revenue." Reporters asked about whether existing earmarked revenues such as a bag tax could be repurposed; the mayor said allocation changes are possible but any shift would require offsetting moves elsewhere in the budget.
Reporters also pressed the mayor about proposed reductions that could affect D.C. Public Library hours. The mayor said he cannot comment on specific proposed changes but asked the library to show usage patterns across branches and hours so the city can align hours with demand. The mayor cited testimony from a library official that had suggested reducing neighborhood-branch hours from 61 to 40 per week as a proposed change under budget pressure.
Environmental groups were raised in questions about proposed cuts to the DOE budget; the mayor said difficult choices were necessary across "all of our clusters" as the council holds hearings on the Budget Support Act. He urged restraint on increasing fees that appear on utility bills, saying council action to increase those fees again would be inappropriate.
No formal council action or vote on the mayor's proposed package was reported during the press availability. The mayor said budget negotiations are ongoing and that any reallocation of funds would be for the council to decide.
Less critical details: reporters at the session included David Kaplan of Fox 5, Alan Atter of WTOP and Dan O'Hara of JC News Now. The mayor closed the session after taking a final question.
