Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Priorities

Posted by Ashley Fox on March 16, 2017 at 1:04 PM

To download Councilmember Silverman's letter to Mayor Bowser outlining her Fiscal Year 2018 budget priorities, click here.

March 10, 2017

Dear Mayor Bowser:

As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2018 budget submission, I want to share with you some of my biggest priorities for the year ahead. We are fortunate to have a healthy, growing economy and stable financial footing as a city, and I look forward to working together on a budget that makes key investments to ensure all District residents share in that prosperity. I am eager to collaborate with you in the year ahead in our shared goal to make the District an equitable, inclusive, and thriving place for all.

Certainly, a top priority for me is the work of my committee on labor and workforce development. My committee staff and I are trying to wrap our arms around the issues, policies, and people. I look forward to working with all the agency heads in this area of government, particularly Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity Courtney Snowden, Department of Employment Services Director Odie Donald, and DC Department of Human Resources Director Ventris Gibson. I do not have specific budget asks in these agencies right now, but I do have requests that I consider very related to workforce development in childcare, TANF, and adult learner transportation subsides.

I ask for your consideration and funding for the big ticket items listed below, which I believe will have a big impact on creating a stronger city and giving residents pathways to the middle class and beyond.

Emergency Cold Weather Preparedness Information

Posted by Ashley Fox on March 13, 2017 at 6:08 PM

To download this list of emergency information, click here.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

• Sign up for AlertDC to receive text messages about the latest information on weather.
• Sign up for MetroAlerts to receive transportation updates via email or text message.
• Bulk trash pickup and street sweeping is suspended for Tuesday. Daily trash and recycling pickup services will be determined on Tuesday morning.

TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

• Metrorail will operate on a regular weekday schedule on Monday evening. The rail system will close at midnight.
• On Tuesday, the rail system is expected to open at 5 a.m. with service above and below ground. All stations will be open. Trains will operate on a Saturday schedule (about every 12 minutes on each line).
• On Tuesday, SafeTrack shuttle buses between Franconia-Springfield and Pentagon will not operate.
• Metrobus will operate on a severe snow weather plan on Tuesday. Metrobus service on Monday evening may be delayed or detoured due to road/weather conditions.
• MetroAccess paratransit service is suspend as of 4 p.m. Monday. There will be no service on Tuesday.

Newsletter: Snow! Budget! Read On...

Posted by Elissa Silverman on March 13, 2017 at 4:33 PM

Dear Resident,

It’s certainly March Madness (or global warming): After enjoying summer-like temperatures last week, the District is poised to experience the biggest snowstorm of the season. District government agencies have been preparing for the nor’easter over the weekend, and we will have people and equipment in place for whatever comes over the next 48 hours. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and please check on neighbors who might be less mobile, particularly our seniors or residents with a disability. You can find a list of warming centers here and track the District’s snowplows here.

With various threats to our local community on our minds—not only the storm, but various deleterious policies being implemented or proposed on the federal level such as immigration, health care and budget proposals—I wanted to share with you a moment from last week that gave me immense hope for our city.

After an engaging conversation with Glover Park neighbors and Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 3B last Thursday night, I was approached by a mom and her two children. I had noticed the three listening attentively in the second row of seats. I found out the reason they came that night is that Amar, a second grader at Stoddert Elementary, and her brother, Jakob, a fourth grader at Stoddert, were really upset by the national political dialogue and wanted to do something. Their mom suggested they get involved in their local community, and the three came to the ANC meeting to learn more about what they could do. Amar and Jakob said they were very interested in the issue of childcare, and also how to expand recreation opportunities, including summer camp slots. They said they would advocate for these items in the budget, and I told them to pick a date to visit me at the Wilson Building. It was the highlight of my week.

Newsletter: What's Up With Paid Family Leave?

Posted by Elissa Silverman on February 22, 2017 at 12:25 PM

Dear Resident,

We are living in unusual times, both in national and local politics. I want to thank all of you who are taking action, calling, emailing, and rallying to support our values as a city and as a country. I especially want to thank those who took action by contacting members of Congress to protect our ability to make decisions about what is the best policy for the District of Columbia. Your efforts are making a difference! Keep it up, and keep your ideas coming!

On the local front: It is oversight and budget season at the Wilson Building! Our version of March Madness is the best opportunity for you to tell me and my colleagues your priorities for how your tax dollars should be spent. The schedule is here. I also encourage you to attend Mayor Bowser’s budget engagement forums in the next week, which are listed below.

4 Ways To Tell Trump and Congress #HandsOffDC

Posted by Elissa Silverman on February 12, 2017 at 10:13 AM

Dear Resident,

Congress is voting TOMORROW evening on a bill to prevent D.C. from implementing Death With Dignity, legislation passed by an overwhelming majority of the D.C. Council last fall and signed into law by Mayor Bowser. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will hold a markup of the disapproval resolution Monday evening to repeal this District law—and this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Women’s reproductive health rights, the District’s common-sense gun laws, and voter-passed marijuana initiatives have also been challenged.

As you may have read in my newsletter last week,  this is the first of what looks to be many more attempts by this Congress to undermine the District’s authority and the rights of our residents.

It’s now more important than ever to rally! My colleagues and I are doing all we can to protect our city’s well-being, but we need your help!  

Here are four immediate things you can do to tell Congress to do their job and leave D.C. alone:

Councilmember Silverman Introduces Childcare and Housing Legislation to Benefit D.C. Working Families

Posted by Ashley Fox on February 07, 2017 at 2:10 PM

At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman introduced two bills at today’s D.C. Council legislative session to help ease the burden on the District’s working families. The first bill would evaluate the need for more non-traditional child care providers and slots for parents who work in hourly and shift-based jobs. The second bill would help increase affordable housing options for lower income residents.

“Access to child care and affordable housing are two critical services we can provide to make our city a place of opportunity for everyone who wants to live here,” Silverman said.

In response to the District’s high demand and high cost of child care, Silverman introduced the Non-Traditional Child Care Needs Evaluation Act of 2017. The bill was co-introduced by At-Large Councilmember Robert White, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.

Newsletter: Help Tell Congress to Leave D.C. Alone!

Posted by Elissa Silverman on February 06, 2017 at 12:13 PM

Dear Resident,

The days since Jan. 20 have been long and taxing on our city, on our country, and, indeed, on ourselves. But, in this challenging time, I have been uplifted by the activism and engagement of D.C. residents and others across the country and the world. Keep it up! The District of Columbia and our residents are particularly vulnerable, and we will need to work together as a community to protect the policies our city values.

Let’s pause for a moment on this. You may have read in the Washington Post that Republicans in Congress are working to repeal the Death with Dignity Act recently passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor, to loosen our gun-control laws, and to restrict the use of local funds for reproductive health services in the District. And that’s just for starters. That’s why I joined with our Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton on Capitol Hill last week, along with Mayor Bowser, Chairman Mendelson, and other colleagues, to tell Congress to let locally elected officials do the job that our voters asked us to do and to leave us alone! Give us local control to set the policies that work best for our community, such as being a sanctuary city. Let me repeat: The District will remain a sanctuary city despite threats and bullying by Congress, and we will not support any legislation this new administration puts forth that forces residents to live in fear of their safety or well-being.

I am working with our mayor and her federal relations team, along with my colleagues, to craft effective strategies to deal with this Congress and this White House. But I want and need your help! First of all, keep up the activism and engagement. Second, many of you have expertise in the federal realm. Send me your ideas on how to protect the best interests of D.C.! The best way to do that is send me an email at esilverman@dccouncil.us. I look forward to putting them into action!

Newsletter: A Call to Action, and Committee Open House Invitation!

Posted by Elissa Silverman on January 19, 2017 at 1:24 PM

Dear Resident,

This is a challenging week in the District of Columbia. We began by celebrating and learning from the uplift of Martin Luther King, Jr., and we will conclude with the inauguration of a President who many of us believe is unfit and unprepared for this immense task. The threat to working families and to basic progressive values is very real, and it will make our work at the state and municipal level even more important. You have my commitment to preserve and protect the truths we hold to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal, that it is our diversity and inclusion that makes our country great, and that each resident should be given equal opportunity through public services including high-quality public education.

Newsletter: Paid Leave Passes in 2016! On to 2017!

Posted by Elissa Silverman on January 02, 2017 at 3:55 PM

Dear Resident,

Happy New Year! I want to wish you and your family a very joyous, healthy, and productive 2017. Thank you for your support these past two years.

Today, I joined my colleagues in swearing in one new member, Trayon White representing Ward 8; one returning member, Vincent Gray representing Ward 7; and four current members, Jack Evans representing Ward 2, Brandon Todd representing Ward 4, and at-large colleagues Robert White and David Grosso. Congratulations to all, and I look forward to working with them as the new chairman of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development! In the new Council period, I will also remain a member of the Committees on Finance and Revenue and Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization.

I think we all agree 2016 will be a year to remember! For many of us, national politics has been heart-wrenching, but I hope you feel that local politics has provided a hopeful path forward.

Newsletter: Holiday Party and Paid Leave Info! Important Reading!

Posted by Elissa Silverman on December 14, 2016 at 10:12 AM

Dear Resident,

Happy Holidays!

Next Tuesday is our last legislative meeting of the year and of this two-year Council period. This means that all legislative items—bills, resolutions, and emergencies—must be voted on by Dec. 20. After Tuesday, any outstanding legislative items must be reintroduced in the next Council period, which begins once our newly-elected Council members are sworn in on January 2.