Public Works committee backs FY26 budget recommendations, restores services and funds public restrooms

Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, chairperson of the Committee on Public Works and Operations, moved and secured approval Tuesday for the committee’s report and recommendations on the fiscal year 2026 budget and related Budget Support Act (BSA) subtitles, advancing funding changes that restore service cuts and add new permanent positions at the Department of Public Works (DPW).

The committee’s report — the product of months of hearings, testimony, meetings and data analysis — redirects some proposed one‑time mayoral funding into permanent staff positions, expands composting and litter‑collection programs, funds a permanent public‑restroom program, and transfers money to other committees to avert cuts in social services. “This report of the Committee is the result of months of hearings, testimony, meetings, performance and data analysis,” Nadeau said.

Why it matters: The committee’s recommendations change how DPW will staff and operate several core services the district’s residents encounter daily, and they flag a potential legal and federal‑funding risk tied to moving stormwater‑permit fund dollars into DPW operations. The changes also preserve funding for social‑service programs that the committee said the mayor’s proposed budget would have reduced.

Key changes and funding decisions - Street cleaning and DPW staffing: The committee converted a mayoral proposal of about $4 million in one‑time term positions for corridor cleaning into fewer, higher‑paid permanent DPW positions. The committee funds 20 permanent positions for corridor cleaning and increases staffing for graffiti removal, nuisance abatement and litter collection. Nadeau summarized the approach: “Adequate cleaning of our high traffic corridors should not be an initiative. It should be a baseline expectation and part of the core functions of DPW.”

- Street sweeping account and risk to environmental programs: The committee highlighted a $9.3 million transfer from the stormwater permit review fund that the mayor proposed to use for a sweeping program. The committee said placing those dollars in DPW as one‑time IT‑encoded funding risks violating the special purpose account’s escrow requirements and could jeopardize related federal funding. The committee did not adopt this change and said the funds will likely need to be returned to the originating account before the full Council finalizes the budget.

- Performance evaluation capacity: To support a data‑driven review of street sweeping, the committee funded one new program analyst post to evaluate sweeping routes and performance. Nadeau noted that the current petition‑based list of blocks swept is not tied to performance data and that the district spends about $2,500 per mile of street swept annually.

- Public restrooms: The committee backed the Public Restrooms Program Amendment Act of 2025 and funded both operations and oversight to expand public restroom availability. The budget restores funding for six existing stand‑alone public restrooms and provides funds to install four additional units at Ellington Plaza (Ward 1), Watkins Recreation Center (Ward 6), Starburst Plaza (Ward 5) and Marvin Gaye Park (Ward 7). The committee also funded a DPW program manager position to oversee the restroom program.

- Litter, recycling and composting: The report funds more than 250 new public litter and recycling cans, expands curbside compost pickup from 9,000 to 12,000 households, and adds 10 neighborhood “smart bins” for 24‑hour food‑waste drop‑off. The committee consolidated park litter and recycling collection responsibility at DPW (previously split between DPW and the Department of General Services) and accepted transfers that include funding to inventory and service park collection.

- Social services and other transfers: The committee transferred $6.4 million to the Committee on Human Services to prevent proposed rollbacks in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy. Other transfers noted during the meeting include approximately $1.3 million to restore TANF funding, $247,000 for two sweep inspector positions (including one supervisor), $100,000 for Walter Pierce Park restroom work in Adams Morgan, $750,000 for community navigators addressing substance use disorders, and $500,000 restored to the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children.

- Budget Support Act (BSA) subtitles: The committee recommended removing several BSA policy changes unrelated to budget mechanics so they can proceed through the regular legislative process. It recommended approval of three mayoral subtitles with little change (Community Affairs Amendment Act; Surplus Property Sales Fund Amendment Act; Technology Ecosystem Support Amendment Act) and approved a modified Vending Compliance and Modernization Amendment Act that removes many substantive changes but retains provisions needed to implement current law. The committee did not fully strike the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) subtitle but recommended working with the Committee of the Whole to reduce its impact; the PLA subtitle would raise the PLA threshold for capital projects from the existing $50 million threshold (per the 2024 amendment) to $100 million and delay PLA applicability for projects first included in the capital plan through 2032.

Discussion, support and next steps Councilmembers on the panel praised the committee’s work during a constrained budget cycle. Ward 4 Councilmember Janice Lewis George and At‑Large Councilmember Robert White both thanked the chair and staff for restoring services and improving coordination of park waste collection. Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder highlighted the investments in cleanliness and noted Ward 7 will receive a new public restroom as part of the plan.

Nadeau moved to “move and block the report on the Committee’s recommendations on the fiscal year ’twenty‑six proposed budget and the Committee’s recommendations on the fiscal year ’twenty‑six Budget Support Act of 2025, with leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes.” All present committee members responded “aye,” and the chair concluded, “The ayes have it.”

The committee’s report now proceeds to the full Council, where transfers, funds drawn from special‑purpose accounts and BSA subtitle language could be modified further before the Council’s final budget vote.