I submitted my second budget letter to Mayor Bowser this week. In it I outlined more than three dozen funding requests in education, housing and homeless services, public safety, health, community, workforce development and business that I hope she will incorporate into her proposed budget for fiscal year 2024, which starts Oct. 1, 2023.  

A few of my requests:  

• Increase funding for Nightlife Task Force programs, which engage community members on public safety and other matters 
• Bolster the emergency rental assistance program, $117 million 
• Support school-based and community-based behavioral health services, $18 million 
• Additional funding for Out-of-School-Time programs to ensure students at all schools have access to enriching activities and experiences, $10 million. 

In a letter I sent last month, I detailed requests for investments specifically in Ward 1.  

The Mayor is expected to submit her proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget to the Council on March 22, after which the Council will hold numerous hearings with government and public witnesses (you should testify!), ask executive agencies to explain how they will use their budgets, make revisions based on public feedback, and vote on a final budget, likely in late May.