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Dear Resident,

Budget season is in full swing! Agencies are appearing before the Council for the next few weeks as we make decisions about how to spend your tax dollars. Community meetings I’ve attended throughout budget season have brought timely conversations with District neighbors across the city about what my Council colleagues and I should be putting residents’ taxpayer dollars toward. I’ve visited at least one community meeting every week over the last couple months, and have been continually reminded of why I ran for office: to bring more transparency and accountability to the District’s budgeting and policymaking process.

Thank you to each of the residents that have attended meetings and asked questions, written in with their advocacy, called to voice concerns or support, and even showed up in-person at my office. These efforts are invaluable to me as a legislator and—in hopes of inspiring more people to do the same—I’ll be highlighting a neighbor’s efforts that stand out every month!

So for this week’s Neighbor(ly) News: Thanks to Ward 4 resident Eric Atilano for organizing last week’s #KidsLobbyDay at the Wilson Building! I met Eric at March’s ANC 4B meeting, and he followed up with my office about providing more opportunities for some of our youngest residents to be exposed to the legislative process at an early age. I heard from both kids and parents on the need for funding for a variety of issues—from full NEAR Act funding to school modernization. I had a lot to think about afterward and am looking forward to the next one.

On Thursday, April 27, at 10:00 a.m., the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hold a budget hearing on the following agencies: Office of Employee Appeals, Public Employee Relations Board, and Office of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining.

The draft agenda and witness list is attached here.

The Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will meet to vote on PR22-0128, the “Director of the Department of Employment Services Odie Donald Confirmation Resolution of 2017,” on Monday, April 24, at 4:00 p.m. in Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW).

Below are the draft committee report, report attachments including the committee print, and draft meeting agenda.

• Draft Committee Report - Odie Donald Nomination
• Committee Meeting Agenda - 04-24-17
• Attachment 1, PR22-0128 - Introduction
• Attachment 2, Pre-Hearing Questions
• Attachment 3, PR22-0128 - Hearing Notice - 04-12-17
• Attachment 4A, PR22-0128 - Hearing Agenda and Witness List - 04-12-17
• Attachment 4B, Hearing Witness Testimonies
• Attachment 5, Submitted Written Letters
• Attachment 7, PR22-0128 - Committee Print

The Committee on Labor & Workforce Development will hold a public hearing on PR22-0128, the "Director of the Department Of Employment Services Odie Donald Confirmation Resolution of 2017" on Wednesday, April 12, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Buildling (1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW).

A draft witness list is available here.

Dear Resident,

Yesterday Mayor Bowser released her budget for fiscal year 2018. And so begins the Council’s eight week examination of the proposal, including a second round of agency hearings to learn how each plans to spend your taxpayer dollars on programs and services. Our office will be examining the budget closely, and, in a very cursory look, I’m pleased to see the Mayor fund several items I highlighted in my budget letter. Funding for items like affordable housing and housing preservation, childcare, and a new 14th Street express bus line. Please be in touch about your thoughts; I’ve heard from hundreds of residents already on a variety of issues—from school infrastructure to public safety to housing to parks and recreation—and some of the best advocacy has come from residents under the age of 21.

The Committee on Labor & Workforce Development will hold a public hearing on B22-54, the "Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Expansion Act of 2017," and B22-111, the "Safe Way Home Act of 2017" on Monday, April 3, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Buildling (1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW).

A draft witness list is available here.

At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman, chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, today released the following statement after the Office of the D.C. Auditor released its final audit of the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP):

“The Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program is one of the District’s most beloved and well-known programs, and we want to maximize the opportunity it gives our young people. For many in the District, MBSYEP gave them their first job—and first encounter with the world of work. We want it to be a formative experience that imbues our young people with the life skills needed to be productive workers and lifelong learners – and helps put them on a career pathway.

At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman today introduced two bills to help our local government function more effectively by getting District government out of the business of owning vacant properties and boosting D.C. government’s competitiveness in the hiring market.

The first bill, the Property Disposition Reform Amendment Act of 2017, aims to get vacant and blighted properties owned by District government into productive use by engaging licensed real estate brokers to sell these properties on the District’s behalf. The bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development—which currently has up to 180 vacant and blighted properties in its portfolio—to follow a broker disposition process used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This would put properties on a faster track to getting back into use for affordable housing or other purposes, but does not change the current mission of selling these Property Acquisition and Disposition Division or “PADD” properties to non-profit organizations at a significantly discounted rate for the purpose of redeveloping them for low and moderate income residents.

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.

The Committee on Labor & Workforce Development will hold a Performance Oversight Hearing on the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity, Workforce Investment Council, and Department of Employment Services. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 15, at 10am in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building.

A draft copy of the agenda is below, along with agencies' performance oversight responses.

• Performance Oversight Hearing Agenda
• Performance oversight responses from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Development, Workforce Investment Council, and Department of Employment Services