D.C. Council fixes May 15 budget submission deadline after mayor missed April 2 date

The Council of the District of Columbia unanimously approved emergency measures to set May 15 as the new submission date for the fiscal year 2026 budget after the mayor failed to deliver the proposal by the April 2 date the council had adopted, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said at a special legislative meeting.

Mendelson said the mayor's office did not reach "pencils down" until April 9, which started the chief financial officer's 10-day certification window. Because the CFO has said he will not certify the FY26 proposal as balanced until he also receives a supplemental or revised budget for the current fiscal year, Mendelson said the council must set a later submission deadline to preserve the schedule for committee hearings and readings.

The new schedule in the emergency resolution sets pencils-down for the mayor effectively on May 5 and a formal submission deadline of May 15, Mendelson said. Under that timetable, the council's first-reading public vote on the Local Budget Act would fall about July 10, with a second vote around July 24. Mendelson…