Gray's Proposed Budget: No New Taxes

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray released his 2013 budget proposal Friday, saying that no new taxes or fees will be added to close an anticipated $172.1 million gap. He said fiscal responsibility will be used instead.

"This budget continues to fund my administration’s top priorities -- education, public safety and jobs and economic development -- while respecting the fiscal discipline required to safeguard those services for the future," Gray said in a release. "We had to make difficult choices, but we believe this budget maintains the right level of government services, including protecting our most vulnerable citizens, without raising taxes."

To close the budget gap, the District would make $102.7 million in cuts to expenditures and $69.4 million in revenue initiatives. Gray said the District would not dip into its crucial reserve fund.

"One thing we need to do a better job of is collecting what is already owed to the District government, and this budget invests in improving the efficiency of our revenue-collection process," Gray said.

More details on investments:

  • A 2 percent boost in the per-pupil funding formula for students in the D.C. Public Schools and public charter schools. The increase is part of an overall $85.8 million in additional investments for the District’s traditional and charter public schools.
  • A $20.5 million increase for the Metropolitan Police Department, fully funding a force of 3,907 sworn officers and funding 29 new civilian positions in the department.
  • A $6.6 million increase in local funding for workforce-development initiatives through the Department of Employment Services.
  • Increased funding for ethics-regulation agencies, including the Office of Campaign Finance and the new Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.


There will be a series of town hall meetings to help Gray get the word out to the public.

  • WARD 8: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, April 2nd, Savoy Elementary/Thurgood Marshall Gymnasium
  • WARD 3: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 4th, Alice Deal Middle School
  • WARD 5: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 10th, McKinley Tech High School
  • WARD 7: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 17th, Deanwood Recreation Center
  • WARD 2: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19th, Historic Charles Sumner School and Archives
  • WARD 4: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, April 23rd, Brightwood Elementary School
  • WARD 6: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 25th, Eastern Senior High School
  • WARD 1: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, April 30th, Bell Multicultural High School

Find out more about the budget by clicking here, and check back throughout the day on News4 and NBCWashington.com for more information and analysis.

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