Midway through the DC Council’s budget work session, legislators are making clear some of their shared priorities on where to direct any available funding to avoid — or at least trim — cuts proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in her fiscal year 2027 budget proposal.

At a series of markups last week, committees shuffled budgets internally — or sent available funds to others — to address some issues, including the restoration of food access grants slated for elimination and a boost in nighttime recreation center hours. But concerns loom around funding for various programs deemed “nonnegotiable” by multiple legislators.

Today’s meeting began with presentations on budget recommendationsadopted by the council’s various committees. Once that’s complete, Council Chair Phil Mendelson said, the agenda will turn later this afternoon to a more detailed look at priority issues, to be followed by a closed-door discussion of legal matters.

Last week, Mendelson said he expects to propose the use of $420 million from two revenue sources to fund the council’s identified priorities. That includes use of about $270 million in revenue collected this year under tax decoupling legislation approved by local officials. Another $150 million would come from changing rules for the District’s locally established reserve accounts, Mendelson said.

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