It’s that time of year again in the Nation’s capital - around the time the Groundhog sticks his head out of that hole in Punxsutawney, Pa., to see if winter will end soon or last another six weeks; a few weeks shy of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day; and still two months short of the arrival of the cherry blossoms.  It’s Budget Season in Washington, DC!

In the DC Council, the Budget Oversight process is a two step process, involving two sets of hearings for each agency of the District government.  The first set of hearings, referred to as “performance oversight” hearings, was initiated in 1999 while the city was still under the control of the financial control board that was established by the White House and Congress to manage the city’s finances.  The purpose of the performance oversight hearings – which are set to begin next week - is to gauge how effectively each agency is spending the funds it has already received.

The second set of hearings provide an opportunity for each agency head to defend the Mayor’s budget request for the coming fiscal year (FY ’09) for the particular agency.  This year, the Mayor is expected to submit his budget request to the Council on March 20, and hearings are scheduled to commence on April 2.  Committees are expected to markup budgets for the agencies under their respective jurisdictions by May 2, and the full Council is expected to complete its work on the budget by June 3.

The Committee on Human Services has scheduled performance oversight hearings for the agencies under its jurisdiction for the following days: 

• Thurs. Feb. 14 - Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and Children and Youth Investment Trust, Corp.
• Wed. Feb. 20 – Department on Disability Services and Department of Human Services; and
• Thurs. Feb. 21 – Child and Family Services Agency and Board of Social Work.

Budget hearings for these agencies are scheduled for the following days:

• Thurs. Apr. 10 – Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and Children and Youth Investment Trust, Corp.
• Sat. Apr. 12 – Child and Family Services Agency
• Thurs. Apr. 17 – Department on Disability Services and Department of Human Services
• Fri. Apr. 25 – Board of Social Work and Commission on Poverty (new)

As former Councilmember Kathy Patterson pointed out in her Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post (Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008), “Today, in the wake of the D.C. tax office scandal and the horrific deaths of four sisters known to child welfare authorities, the performance hearings set to begin on Feb. 11, should be particularly vigorous.”

For more information about the budget process in general, or about the performance oversight hearings in particular, please feel free to contact me at 724-8153.  The public is invited to testify at any of the hearings, and we welcome your participation in the oversight and budget processes.