D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson issued a dire picture Monday of the city’s forthcoming budget, estimating that it could face a $600 million to $800 million deficit in the next fiscal year and hinting that both agency cuts and tax increases could be on the table.
The comments come just over two weeks before Mayor Muriel Bowser is scheduled to present to the council a first look at her proposed fiscal year 2025 budget. The fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
While Mendelson has not seen the budget proposal, he said he arrived at the looming deficit with “back-of-the-envelope” projections.
“I expect what the mayor will be proposing will be a lot of cuts to programs, and I think this is unavoidable,” Mendelson said at a regular legislative briefing with reporters. “What exactly will be cut is not clear. I suspect that new programs are likely to be on the chopping block because they’re new, and there will also be effort looking at some efficiencies, and, I’m going to say, restructuring.”
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