(Washington, DC) – Today, on the eve of the new fiscal year, Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighted the investments included in her historic Fiscal Year 2023 Fair Shot budget. This approved budget includes significant investments in building a stronger, more equitable, more affordable DC.
Economic Recovery
Supporting Small and Local Business:
- $18M to add fresh food access points East of the River
- $6M to help equity impact enterprises buy commercial property and receive more flexible financing options
- $3.4M to help small and medium business growth
- $500K to increase employer spending with minority led firms
Arts and Entertainment:
- $8M to continue the Bridge Fund, enabling arts and entertainment venues to reopen and recover post-pandemic
- $1.5M to continue waiving public space fees for neighborhood festivals and community-driven special events
Increasing Job Experience and Training Wages:
- $21M to raise participant wages in training programs in all DOES programs—including MBSYEP
Reimagining Tourism:
- $2.5M in new competitive grants to create or enhance attractions for families to visit the city
- $3M for a new marketing campaign to attract leisure and business travelers
- $750K to sponsor large events and festivals
- $750K to pay DC musicians to play music at key destinations to activate and enliven public spaces
- $100K for a Cherry Blossom bus tour to promote the Cherry Blossom Festival and attract visitors in Spring 2023
Spurring Downtown Recovery:
- $2.5M to attract transformative businesses
- $233K to plan a new residential conversions incentive program
Education
- A 5.87-percent increase in the base amount of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF)
- $18M to provide stability to schools through the Pandemic Supplement fund
- Historic $43.6M investment in FY 2023 to replace aging HVACs and boilers in schools
- $15M for preventative maintenance of HVACs and boilers to ensure systems work year-round
- $3.8M to safeguard students’ mental health with additional supports through the school-based mental health program
- $35M to stand up a community-based program at Winston Education Campus with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment for hands-on learning
- $45M to equip a new high school on MacArthur Blvd with dedicated Citywide seats
- $71M to add four new PACE schools to the CIP for full modernizations— Simon, Hendley, Bunker Hill, and Langley Elementary Schools
- $462M over the next six years to construct and modernize parks, recreation facilities, and libraries, including:
- Fully fund all remaining library modernizations
- New funding to fully modernize the Rita Bright Rec Center, establish …….
Source: https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-highlights-key-investments-fy2023-fair-shot-budget