Mayor’s FY26 proposal moves LGBTQ office into cultural affairs cluster, trims staff but keeps core programs

Councilmember Brianne Nadeau convened the Committee on Public Works and Operations on June 13 to review the mayor’s proposed FY26 budget for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs (MOLGA) and the Department of For Hire Vehicles.

MOLGA Director Jaffer Bowles told the committee the FY26 proposal transfers the office into the mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs as part of an administrative reorganization. "The office's role and mission will remain unchanged," Bowles said, adding that programs and services to LGBTQ+ residents will continue under the new cluster.

The change reduces MOLGA’s headcount from six full‑time employees to five, with the displaced FTE shifting to Serve DC in the Executive Office of the Mayor, Bowles said. The office also faces several scheduled one‑time grant reductions: $250,000 for the Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) enhancement, $100,000 for a Ward 6 LGBTQ+ small business support grant and $250,000 for a Black LGBTQ+ history preservation grant. George Garcia, MOLGA director of operations, said those three items were one‑time awards that conclude in FY25 and that the office will absorb a 5% “mark” efficiency reduction of roughly $28,000 through non‑personnel spending and internal efficiencies.

Why this matters: MOLGA officials described continuing delivery of programs that city leaders and community groups flagged as central to serving an estimated 80,000 LGBTQIA+ District residents. Bowles said the office will continue housing navigation, workforce supports, cultural humility trainings and grantmaking.

Program details and recent activity

Bowles highlighted the office’s role in WorldPride 2025 and its grants and housing work. He said MOLGA has helped allocate 110 housing choice vouchers: "As of today, 83 residents have been successfully housed," he said, adding that other referrals and placements remain in process. In response to committee questions, Garcia gave a more detailed status breakdown the office provided to staff: 83 residents housed; 4 pending lease-up/awaiting unit inspection; 9 eligible/actively searching; 2 pending; and 12 with paperwork completed and awaiting processing by the housing authority — totaling the 110 vouchers MOLGA described.

MOLGA described other FY25 activity the office says it will continue into FY26: more than 308 WorldPride‑related events across the city; more than $1.1 million awarded to 22 community organizations through the community development grants; and a violence‑prevention response program that has engaged "more than 800 community members" since October, according to Bowles.

Training and workforce efforts

The office said it has expanded cultural humility trainings for government staff and community members. Garcia told the committee MOLGA delivered 13 in‑person trainings since October and had issued about 86 continuing‑education certificates and trained roughly 729 government employees and community members. Bowles said the office aims in FY26 to deliver more than 30 live trainings and 500 certificates.

Committee questions and follow-up items

Councilmember Nadeau and committee staff asked for a grantee list and funding amounts, which MOLGA staff agreed to provide after the hearing. Members pressed for details about the size and permanence of reductions; Garcia confirmed the three central items listed above are one‑time enhancements that conclude in FY25 and that core recurring grants and staff positions were not eliminated in the FY26 proposal. Garcia also said MOLGA would provide an errata letter clarifying how the staff FTE is relocated to Serve DC under the Executive Office of the Mayor’s budget.

What did not change

Bowles repeatedly told the committee that the office’s core mission, programs and outreach will continue under the new cultural affairs alignment. "We will continue to deliver high impact services in access, cultural humility training, and civic engagement for LGBTQIA+ residents and allies all across the district," he said.

Looking ahead

Bowles and Garcia said MOLGA will continue to coordinate with partners including the Interagency Council on Homelessness, housing providers such as Joseph's House, the Office of Veterans Affairs and Serve DC. The office said it will send the committee requested breakdowns of grantees and voucher status; those materials were requested in follow‑up by committee staff.

Ending note

Committee members thanked MOLGA leaders for their testimony and for WorldPride planning. No formal action or vote occurred at the hearing on the FY26 proposal; the hearing record remains open until the council’s published deadline for written submissions.