Economic Development Committee FY 2009 Budget Update
Yesterday, The D.C. Council approved the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Support Act of 2008. Councilmember Brown, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development, was pleased to submit an operating budget that moves neighborhood projects forward and supports community programs and initiatives that develop District residents and businesses. Below are highlights from the Budget Suppport Act which identifies funding for agencies under the purview of the Committee on Economic Development:
Developing a Uniformed Compliance Unit The Committee funded the Office of the DC Auditor to create and operate a Compliance Unit at a level of $646,307 for FY09 ($531,057 for personnel services and $111,250 for non-personnel services). The appropriation follows the Council’s passing of the Compliance Unit Establishment Act of 2008 , authored by Councilmember Brown . “We cannot continue to take developers at their word - that they are going to do right by District residents,” said Brown. “I want to make sure that we have a compliance report in place that helps to ensure that promises made to our District residents – are promises kept.” These funds will come from the Cash Reserve Fund. The Compliance Unit will conduct an audit and report on compliance related to real estate development transactions, agreements, or parcels (“projects”) receiving government assistance, which were previously managed by the dissolved NCRC and AWC and placed under the management of ODMPED. The Unit will focus on compliance in the areas of Contracting and Procurement, CBE participation, Affordable Housing, Green requirements and Living Wages. Moving Neighborhood Development Projects Forward At the start of FY2007, the Council authorized a massive shift in Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s responsibilities for the District’s economic development projects. The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation and the National Capital Revitalization Corporation and its subsidiaries were both dissolved, and all their assets and liabilities and responsibilities were transferred to the executive branch. Operational Budget:
The Mayor proposed a gross operating budget of $61,710,000 for ODMPED for FY09. The proposed budget is an $86,536,000 decrease from the FY 2008 budget. The number of authorized full time equivalent employees (“FTEs”) supported by the proposed budget is 76.5, which is an increase of 31 FTEs from the FY 2008 budget. The Committee adopted the proposed gross operating budget of $61,710,000, which supported the following policy initiatives:
- An increase of $4,000,000 to expand the New Communities Human Capital Program. This is one time funding that will be used to fund program initiatives, which include adult education and employment, physical and mental health, youth development, and public safety.
- An increase of $500,000 for developing a database for tracking affordable housing in the District.
- An increase of $4,881,000 to continue economic development capacity absorbed from AWC and NCRC. The funds are derived from the income associated with NCRC, AWC and DMPED projects.
Supporting the District’s Certified Business Enterprises
The Committee also recommended that DSLBD’s Micro Loan Fund be given grant-making authority so that this fund can be used to provide grants to small businesses in addition to providing low interest loans. The Committee proposed a new title to the Budget Support Act, the Small Business Micro Loan Fund Amendment Act of 2008, which achieves this goal. These grants will be used to provide relief to small businesses negatively impacted by District sponsored construction or street-scaping projects and particularly businesses in the Anacostia, Brookland, Georgia Avenue and H Street corridors. Additionally, this amendment provides that remaining funds from the FY08 budget will be carried over to FY09 and used for grants to support local businesses. The Committee further recommended granting $300,000 from the Micro-Loan fund to DSLBD to establish a Procurement Technical Assistance or PTAP program in the District. The mission of the PTAP is to assist small businesses with accessing and obtaining contracting opportunities with the federal government through bid matching, training, networking, and one-on-one counseling. In addition, PTAP provides tools for small businesses to access greater local and state procurement opportunities.
Adopting a Capital Budget that Benefits Neighborhoods The Committee on Economic Development adopted a Capital Budget of $12.7 million that includes: - $1 million for affordable units at the Golden Rule project (New Communities);
- $500,000 for predevelopment activities on all New Communities sites;
- $500,000 for the Southwest Waterfront project to be used for Gangplank Marina Capital Improvements;
- $2,300,000 for Canal Park to be used to complete the construction of the project;
- $960,000 for the Federal Land Transfer to be used for design ($200,000) and project management and professional services ($760,000).
The Committee also recommended that the capital budget related to the acquisition of property around the $7.5 million requested for the Howard Theater project be reduced from $7. 5 million to $7 million, a reduction of $500,000 to be allocated to a capital project for the acquisition of certain real properties and their conversion to a rain garden at the O Street Wall, at the intersection of O Street, S.E., and Branch Avenue, S.E.. The Committee has reviewed the requirements to complete this project, and concludes this reduction will not have a negative affect on the renovation of the Howard Theater, including the acquisition the properties necessary to enlarge its loading dock.
The Committee further recommended that the capital budget related to the capital project requiring a Federal Land Transfer described herein be reduced from $960,000 to $860,000.
Additional Operating Budgets Approved by the Committee on Economic Development:
- Office of Motion Picture and Television Development $684,000
- The Commission on Arts and Humanities $8,738,187
- The Washington Convention Center Authority (WCCA) $96.7 million
- D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission $66,000
- D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission $7.6 million ($5.1 million funded by Special Reserve Funds; $2.5 million funded by D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission Subsidy in FY 2009 Budget Request Act)
For more information or to review the Committee on Economic Development's full report on the FY 2009 Budget, please contact Mr. John Adams (202)727-6683 or visit www.dccouncil.us.
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