Good afternoon, everyone.

It is twelve oh seven PM on Thursday, April thirtieth, and we are in room one twenty of the John A.

Wilson building.

Today's budget oversight hearing of the subcommittee recording in progress on local business development is now called to order.

Uh today we will hear from both public and government witnesses regarding the fiscal year twenty twenty-seven proposed budget for the Department of Small and Local Businesses, otherwise known as DSLBD.

This hearing comes at an important moment for our city and for our small businesses.

Across the district, local businesses continue to face rising operating costs, changing consumer behavior, public safety concerns, commercial vacancy challenges, and uncertainty in the broader economy.

At the same time, the district itself is navigating fiscal pressures and difficult budget decisions.

That is why today's conversation is not simply about numbers on a spreadsheet, it's about priorities.

That goal reflects an understanding that keeping DC dollars in D.C.

is one of the strongest economic development strategies we have.

But if we are serious about meeting those goals, we must ensure that DSLBD has the resources necessary to support businesses competing for those opportunities.

Over the last several weeks, we've heard directly from business owners throughout the district, particularly in historically underserved communities and emerging commercial corridors.

Many business owners share that DSLBD programs and grants help stabilize their businesses during difficult periods, programs supporting corridor activations, technical assistance, and small business grants provide meaningful relief and support.

But we also heard a consistent concern.

Stabilization is not the same as growth.

Too many businesses are still struggling to scale, access larger procurement opportunities, hiring additional workers, securing long-term leases, or expanding into a new market.

We also heard concerns about whether resources are being distributed equitably across all communities and whether funding levels truly reflect the differing economic realities across wards and corridors.

These concerns become even more significant during periods of budget reductions.

Because when cities face fiscal challenges, small business investments are often viewed as optional.

I disagree with that approach.

Protecting small and local business investments during difficult fiscal times is not simply economic policy.

It is neighborhood policy, workforce policy, public safety policy, and building wealth policy.

When local businesses close, corridors suffer, jobs disappear, vacancies increase, communities lose gathering spaces, and neighborhood anchors.

But when local businesses succeed, communities become stronger, safer, and more economically resilient.

So today I look forward to discussing how DSLBD plans to maximize its resources, protect critical business support programs, improve accountability and outcomes, and ensure the district continues to prioritize local businesses despite broader fiscal pressures.

So with that, I want to call up our first panelists.

If you're rather if you're by yourself, you have three minutes.

If you're an organization, you have five minutes to uh for your testimony.

Uh and we're going to start uh with the first group.

And I'm going to call your name.

If you're here, you're more than welcome to come up.

Uh Alex Pedro, Noah Gitz, Kelsey Adams.

Okay.

I'll just do some shifting.

Gloria.

Gloria Garcia, Cassandra Headington.

And I see Alex's virtual.

Uh Alex, you're your first year morning.

Uh you can get started when you're whenever you're ready.

Good to see you.

Likewise, thank you, Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee.

I'm Alexander Padro, Executive Director of Show Main Street since 2004.

In the current challenging economic climate, Shaw Main Streets and our sister main streets play a critical role in supporting our mostly small local independent businesses, the businesses that are both important employers of our residents and community anchors.

We are grateful that the Bowser Administration and the Council appreciate the crucial role that the DC Main Streets program will continue to play in supporting our city's economic recovery and upcoming challenges.

Our clean and safe teams help to make our commercial corridors safer, more attractive places for businesses and residents alike.

We regularly hear from our business owners that having Shaw Main Street support has played an important role in their business's survival, success, and future.

This is especially notable coming from owners of multiple businesses, some of which are not in DC Main Street's corridors.

The combination of technical assistance and marketing and promotion provided by Main Streets leverage business owners' investment in their enterprises and help ensure tax generating activities that sustain district government operations.

Hospitality establishments are Shaw's largest business cluster.

While we have lost notable businesses recently as 10 year leases have expired, our vacancy rate remains minuscule due to the attractiveness of retail spaces with commercial kitchens in place.

As our attractive second generation vacant restaurant spaces are released by new tenants, we support them with technical assistance in navigating the district government bureaucracy, marketing and publicity assistance, and one available grant funding to assist with signage, storefront improvements, and other needs.

Our major public events like Arnold Knight, which Shaw Main Street started in 2011.

Shaw Open House and E Drink Shaw, which takes place tonight at the Howard Theater, bring tens of thousands of people to show every year.

In 2025, Shaw Main Street has welcomed nearly 5.3 million unique visitors, making us the second most visited Main Street in the United States and the first uh most visited Main Street in Washington, D.C.

after two years as number three in the nation.

These visitors spend millions of dollars in Shaw's supporting our local businesses and tax base.

Public safety challenges have required a greater share of Shaw Main Street's resources since the pandemic.

Thousands of staff and volunteer hours have been focused on working with private and public sector partners on making our commercial corridors look and feel safer.

The challenges are ongoing with progress is being made.

This committee has often been successful in identifying additional funds to deepen the impact that Main Streets have on the businesses and communities we serve.

We understand that FY27 may not afford such opportunities.

But as you work to balance the many demands that current and impending financial challenges pose to our city, please remember that over three dollars comes back to city coffers for every one dollar invested in Main Streets.

This is a national average that has been validated by local economic impact studies here in DC.

Lastly, I would like to express appreciation for the continued support of the Department of Small Local Business Development team led by Director Rosemary Suggs Evans.

Though small in number, the team manages to juggle our largest in the nation urban main street program.

They are to be commended for their hard work and dedication to service.

I'm available to answer any questions you may have for me now or after the hearing.

Thank you so much for that.

Uh Alex.

Next, we're going to go to Noah.

Thank you so much, uh, Mr.

Chairman.

First of all, I wanted to thank the council for your generous and continued support of our Main Streets in Washington, D.C.

Our work would not be possible without the support.

In this difficult budget cycle, we seek your continued support and in particular request that you continue to fund the council enhancement, which provides a vital stopgap between the standard funding and the funds we need to operate.

In addition, I support the plan for this enhancement to be built into future budgets for the Main Street program to provide consistency and stability to what is the primary funding for the majority of our Main Street programs in Washington, D.C.

My testimony today is about the direct impact that a small amount of funding and the power of personal connections can make in Washington through the Main Street model of small business support.

An independent print shop, Print Space, opened in Temley Town in 2022.

For PrintSpace and other small businesses in Washington, D.C., the stakes are high, and our support is critical for their survival in a changing landscape.

For example, independent print shops across the country are no longer profitable by taking on big jobs, as was historically the case.

Instead, they are finding success with specialized products and fast turnaround times for signage and other specialty products.

Two years ago, as Princepace was looking for opportunities to grow their business, I learned through conversation that they had identified a specialized cutter valued at $20,000 that would make a significant difference in their ability to increase their turnaround time for jobs and cut costs, making them both more competitive and more profitable.

They were able to negotiate the price for this printer and apply for a Main Street small business grant for $5,000 to purchase this equipment.

The small investment of time and resources has revolutionized their ability to increase their turnaround time because there's no middlemen for them to send out for finishing work.

Their growth over the last two years has been steady with the ability to complete 80% of the work in-house, and additional funding from our grant program this year is allowing them to purchase a co-leader tomorrow, which will once again make them more competitive in a challenging environment and strengthen a small business in our corridor.

I have a vested interest in PrintSpace in the vibrancy of Tendley Town's Main Street corridor, both as a resident of AU Park and as the executive director of Tinley Towns Main Street.

Beyond this, my background includes an intimate understanding of small business.

My father started and owned an offset printing company, and I saw the challenges of being the owner of a small business and how isolating that process can feel when you're responsible for all aspects of the success of your business.

I was attracted to the Main Street model because it provides tangible support, like our small business grant program, as well as things that are less tangible but no less important, like personal check-ins, creating connections between owners and government leaders and advocates, and other critical resources that are only possible when there is an active personal connection.

You may think that $5,000 grant would not have a sustained and meaningful impact on a small business in Washington, D.C.

However, when those grants are targeted through personal conversation and thoughtful consideration, they can be leveraged for lasting impact like Print Space.

Thank you for hearing my testimony today and about the direct impact that a small amount of funding and the power personal connections can make in Washington DC through the small Main Street uh model of small business support.

Thank you so much.

Uh thank you, Noah, Cassandra.

All right.

Good afternoon.

Can you hear me?

Loud and clear.

Great.

Uh thank you very much, Chairperson, uh, Councilmember Felder and members of the committee.

My name is Cassandra Heatherington, and I am here today on behalf of Cleveland Park Main Street, a program of district bridges, and one of the 29 Main Streets supported by DSLBD.

First, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the council for your continued year-over-year investment in the Main Street program.

That consistency is critical.

It allows us to build long-term relationships with businesses, respond to challenges in real time, and create thoughtful programming that strengthens our corridor.

I also want to recognize the incredible team at DSLBD.

They are dedicated, responsive, and hard working, even while they are currently down a staff member.

Their commitment does not go unnoticed, and we deeply value their partnership.

A special thank you to Councilmember Fruman for his leadership and securing additional funding for Main Streets last year.

That investment had a direct and meaningful impact in Cleveland Park.

Because of the support, we were able to invest in placemaking improvements that have helped make Cleveland Park more welcoming, comfortable, and vibrant for both visitors and residents alike.

From installing six new awnings that enhance storefront visibility to adding benches that invite people to sit and stay a while, to improving gardening beds that bring life and color to the corridor.

These changes have improved the everyday experience of our neighborhood.

These weren't just physical upgrades.

They created a stronger sense of place.

By making the corridor more attractive and pedestrian friendly, we've helped businesses draw in foot traffic, encouraged people to linger longer, and fostered more organic connections between neighbors and local businesses.

For instance, uh the manager and owner of VATE, Diana, I am not going to try to pronounce her last name.

She had to say about her new awning that the awning has been such a great addition and making the promenade look appealing and inviting.

We also supported businesses with improvements that directly impacted their day-to-day operations, from replacing broken and worn-out equipment to strengthening their online presence and marketing strategies.

Mark Al Adas, owner of the Biblosidelli said, I have owned a small business for 25 years.

Twenty of those years were before the Main Street program came to Cleveland Park.

For many years, we had a lot of foot traffic from the uptown theater and the zoo, but since COVID, things have really slowed down.

Helping help having help from the Main Street has been a huge relief, especially when our commercial freezer broke during one of these slower times.

These stories highlight the real value of the Main Street program.

It's not just grants or technical assistance.

It's about helping small businesses feel supported, visible, and positioned to succeed.

Restaurants and retail businesses are the backbone of DC's sales tax base.

In Cleveland Park, they are also the heart of the community.

Bringing people together, activating our streets, and making our neighborhood a destination.

The 29 Main Street organizations play a vital role in sustaining these businesses across the city.

Continued investment in DSLBD and the Main Street program ensures that corridors like Cleveland Park remain vibrant, resilient, and economically strong.

Thank you again for your leadership and your support.

I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

No, thank you.

I just have a specific question for you, and then I have a question for each of the panelists.

Mr.

Pedro, within your RAN testimony, you mentioned that your Main Street was recognized as number two in the country.

Correct.

What would you attribute the success of your Main Street?

We've been fortunate in that as a result of having had so many opportunities for development in our neighborhood as a result of the aftermath of the 1968 uh riots uh that uh we were able to galvanize uh the the financial support of these uh commercial and residential uh landlords uh in attracting the types of businesses that uh neighborhood residents and uh and workers uh were looking to support.

So it's been a win-win situation.

Having the convention center as uh part of our service area has also been a very big part of our success.

Uh the partnership with Vince DC has been outstanding uh since the building opened in 2003, which is the same year that our organization began its work.

Uh and then uh the successes of our major events like Art All Knight, which now uh generates uh hundreds of thousands of visitors citywide uh have also uh helped to make it uh clear to visitors uh to our city uh that uh Shaw is a place that they should be coming and visiting and spending their money.

Um our wonderful uh success with uh restaurants uh that have uh achieved Michelin star status uh and have gotten attention and awards uh such as Rammy Awards, James Beard Awards, etc.

have also helped to elevate uh our profile uh nationally and locally in terms of uh the attention of of foodies and and aficionados of uh of cocktails.

So um those are some of the elements that uh taken together uh with uh the wonderful support that we've had from our community, our many volunteers and other stakeholder partners, uh it's just been a perfect storm.

And uh while uh we uh are having some uh challenges currently with uh the economy in terms of our uh development community being able to uh continue with uh the last few development projects uh that are waiting in the neighborhood.

We know that once the economy uh warms up uh that we'll be able to uh get uh uh these projects finished and uh be able to uh to celebrate uh you know pretty much uh a finished product in terms of of a neighborhood revitalization that won uh the Great American Main Street Award, the Oscars of Commercial Revitalization uh from the National Main Street Center back in 2016.

Uh thank you for that.

Um Alexandro, you talked about our economy and how um we just in a tough economy right now and how so important it is uh for the government to step up to support our small and local businesses, especially at a time such as this.

Uh my question, Universal Um is how when you look at the the certain the current funding level uh that DSLBD has provided to support Main Streets based on your review, would you say that that's adequate funding?

I would call it baseline funding.

Uh you know, it's what we need in order to be able to operate and to meet you know certain minimum expectations uh that our businesses and and community have.

Uh we've been fortunate that we've been able to, through the action of this committee uh and its uh predecessor full-fledged standalone committee on business and economic development uh to uh access additional funding and and those dollars have really been able to have an incredible impact in all of the neighborhoods uh that uh they were implemented in.

Uh so uh uh yes, we can keep our doors open, you know, with uh the the funding level uh you know that's uh that's currently in place.

Uh but uh we can do so much more.

For example, not all of our commercial corridors are covered by our clean team.

Uh so there are areas where businesses and and residents uh you know have a lot of more trash on their streets uh than uh they're comfortable with, and DPW isn't able to uh make up the slack.

We'd like to be able to expand into those other areas, but you know the dollars aren't in place.

Other things, uh grant dollars.

Uh all of our businesses are are eager to be able to compete uh for grant dollars uh to help to uh leverage their own investments.

Uh but uh we have 40,000 dollars uh uh or in the past our grant agreements have uh provided 40,000 dollars that we can use uh exclusively on grants.

If that amount was greater, we would love to be able to support our businesses, more of our businesses and and uh make deeper commitments in terms of uh financial support, uh, but those are dollars aren't there.

And again, when you consider that the return on investment that the district gets on uh on Main Street uh in dollars, uh it it's a no brainer.

Uh but we understand that you know there are so many challenges uh that uh are faced by our our city currently.

I can only hope that uh when uh uh interest rates allow all of the major developments that are remaining in our neighborhood and in others uh can move forward uh that uh uh that uh additional uh you know revenue for the for the city would allow us to be able to access some additional resources.

And and I would uh add to that comment.

I you know uh what occurred to me is um you know I think it's a great question and and I would echo the same kind of sentiment.

I mean I think we're at kind of um as Alex said, kind of a baseline funding model, but I think the what I've seen uh among my colleagues uh among the 29 executive directors and and leaders of this main streets is that there's a great entrepreneurial spirit among each of us, and I think that's part of the reason why we get three dollars of a one dollar in uh return on investment is that we're dealing with entrepreneurs and the uh the people that we're working with are used to um doing a lot with a little, I would say.

And so uh, you know, to the extent that it would would be possible to increase that amount uh for each main street, even uh a small amount would go a long way because of that kind of personal connection and the ability to think strategically day in and day out about what really matters in that particular corridor.

Um I think that last year when Cleveland Park Main Street was able to obtain the growth fund grant uh from DSLBD, that that was a real game changer for us.

I think we we we stopped being on sort of playing uh defense.

I'm not a sports person, so I might have that wrong.

But uh instead of reacting to the needs of the businesses, that money was able to really help us focus and um prioritize what needed to happen to improve the entire corridor, and it's been pivotal for us to um develop more of an intentional strategy.

And without that funding last year, I just think we would still be operating in the mode of helping businesses with their broken equipment and things like that, which is important, but you know, when you look at the corridor as a whole, it's like the the needs of the corridor are sometimes different than the needs of the individual businesses, and that that funding really allowed at least me to focus on the the bigger picture in Cleveland Park.

So if that makes sense.

Thank you for that, Cassandra.

And um, just uh follow-up question for the both of you.

Um could you speak to what what are some of the challenges that you're hearing from small businesses within your respective main streets?

And if there were uh some additional funding that magically appeared, where would that funding go towards the You know, I think um, you know, we're we're in a space where uh some of the challenges um at least the conversations have to do with vacancy rates.

Um, you know, I I think again in Timley Town, we're we're fairly fortunate.

We're pretty stable, but people are noticing.

Um and uh the other piece that I think people are talking about uh surrounds the uh amount of time that sometimes it takes for permitting or and and that may not be really a uh even a reflection on DC government, but it may be a reflection on education and the capacity to really be with them throughout the process.

So I I think for myself that additional funding will go directly into really kind of uh working together with the other main streets and kind of uh I think developing a kind of playbook for for those kinds of permitting questions and really being able to have more boots on the ground to help uh business owners move through that process from dream ideation to really being open and successful.

And uh it I found it very interesting because uh during those critical steps and processes um, even when you're working with the small business owners, they may only do this process one time in their life.

So there's a lot of learning and handholding that can make a huge difference there.

So um so to me, those are those are the first sort of things that come to mind.

Uh another piece I think would be a direct um small grant funding uh from a portion of uh of increased funding.

We have um many needs and um and some of them are larger, some of them are smaller, but they they can all make a huge difference.

Uh thank you, Noah, Cassandra.

Uh can you repeat the question, please?

Thank you.

Um what are some of the challenges that you're hearing from conversations with of small businesses that reside within your main street, and if there was a magical wand and some money were to appear, what would you do with those additional funds?

Um so the continued struggle, at least in Cleveland Park is foot traffic.

Uh, you know, with the closing of the uptown theater, that was uh pretty dramatic for the neighborhood with the expansion of other neighborhoods uh becoming onto the scene, which is great for the entire city.

Um, but it, you know, people sort of have forgotten about Cleveland Park, and there's there was not a lot of um there was no real investment in trying to improve the the look of the corridor.

I mean, some of the businesses have been there for 30, 40 years.

We have, I think it's 16 businesses have been there for a minimum of 20 years, and they haven't had any kind of new awnings or upgrades to their their facades in that time.

And so um it it things were looking really kind of shabby, and just being able to help the place look nicer has been uh it's been a real jump start, I think, in getting people to come back out to the corridor.

Um, in terms of um a magical amount of money.

I mean, I I would like to continue to improve the appearance of the corridor.

I'd love to um I'm hoping that council member Henderson's bill passes and we can start replacing the the rat buffet trash cans.

Um we have a real rap problem in Cleveland Park, and we actually do have a really high vacancy rate right now.

It's um approximately what it was during the recession in 2007.

Um and so that's that's a real problem.

Um the zoo, something uh is just not quite clicking anymore with the zoo foot traffic.

Um I mean, if I had the money, I would love to change the name of the Cleveland Park Metro station to Cleveland Park slash zoo.

Um I would love to do uh more of the facade improvements for the businesses that haven't been fixed.

We have this giant uh promenade that needs some shade, uh, a few more benches, some more plants.

Just you know, I'd like I like to make things really look nice so that when people come there they they feel welcomed and that they want to stay and they want to continue to come to Cleveland Park.

Uh thank you for that.

Um just one final question for this panel, but I'm only gonna ask you, Cassandra.

Uh, have you had a chance to visit other main streets or the uh annual conference, Main Streets Conference, and if so, what are some of the lessons that you think the district could incorporate as lessons learned from those conferences?

I did.

We actually just had a conference in um Tulsa, Oklahoma a couple weeks ago, and uh I was fortunate enough to visit one of the very small communities called Perry, Oklahoma, and uh they're they're experiencing a bit of a revitalization boom right now.

And I think what really struck me the most was how much the states and the the local governments are really invested in supporting those small businesses.

Um they're really partners, and a lot of the other main street programs across the country have partner agencies that go to the conference as well.

And you know, we've we're there and we're just you know, I'm I was talking to the director of the Perry Perry Main Street program, and you know, she was telling me that they're giving their small businesses a minimum of ten thousand dollars for facade improvement.

And I mean that amount is and and their corridor is her corridor is the um is almost the same size as Cleveland Park, you know, and just ten thousand dollars to businesses and and not just one business in a fiscal year, but many, many businesses, and and you can really see the impact on the downtown.

I mean, it's it's just crazy, and it's just you know, made me really jealous that we don't have that kind of um strong partnership across the city, and that we don't have as much of an investment um into our small businesses.

Uh thank you and thank you all, and that concludes my questions.

Um I want to call up the next uh panel.

Uh Kelsey Adams, uh Gloria Garcia, uh Heather Gustafson, Rachel Shank, and Wasseline.

And Blackwell.

Kelsey, you can kick us off.

Y'all can hear me.

All right, hey everybody.

Um good afternoon, Chair and members of the council.

My name is Kelsey Adams, and I serve as the U Street Main Street manager for U Street under District Bridges, um representing DC's Black Broadway.

And I want to start there because U Street is not just a corridor, it is a legacy, a legacy of black entrepreneurship, culture, and resilience.

A place where even systems exclude us, we build our own economy, our own stage, and our own power.

That legacy is still a lab today, but it requires intentional investment to sustain it.

Main streets are not just small business programs.

We are community wealth builders.

On U Street, we are working every day to support small businesses navigating rise and calls while also preserving one of the most culturally significant corridors in the country.

The grants we receive have made a real difference.

U Street has grown over the years because of this program.

We've been able to stabilize businesses, activate storefronts, and bring people back to the corridor.

Through programming like Black History Month Honoring Black Broadway, Women's History Month activations, upcoming Juneteenth, and DC's Art All Night, we are creating opportunities for businesses to thrive.

And let me be clear community events like Juneteenth at Harrison Park and Art All Night are not just celebrations.

They are economic engines.

They drive foot traffic, increase revenue, and allow us to celebrate the neighborhood while directly supporting small businesses.

We are grateful, and we thank Councilman Freuman for his leadership and continued commitment to enhancing the Main Street's program, and we thank the director of DSLBD and their team for their partnership.

The grantees across this network are truly grateful.

We also recognize you, Chairman Belder, who chairs this committee and your role of supporting small business infrastructure across all eight wards.

But as we look ahead, we need to protect and build on the progress that we have started to make.

Right now, there's confusion around the FY26 budget.

We understand that the last year's approved budget included a return enhancement growing over four years, beginning in fiscal year 26.

That enhancement reflects an additional approximately $522,000 system wide or about $18,000 per Main Street.

We believe maintaining that enhanced level is the right ask.

Because in this moment, we should not be scaling back, but we should be building infrastructure.

Too often, economic development prioritizes large corporate incentives.

But Main Streets represent a different model, one rooted in local ownership, cultural preservation, and long-term community health.

And that investment is especially critical right now as we look at major developments like the Reeves Center right at 14th and U.

Getting that project underway is essential, not just for the future of the building, but for the vitality of the entire U Street corridor.

It has the potential to elevate our neighborhood, increase foot traffic, and create new opportunities for small businesses.

But only if the surrounding corridor is strong enough and supported.

This is where we come in.

So my axis simple.

Maintain enhanced funding levels for Main Street programs across all 29, ensure transparency in how funds are allocated, and continue investing in infrastructure that supports our small businesses, not just large-scale development.

Because when you invest in Main Streets, you are investing in neighborhoods, you are investing in the culture of Washington, D.C., and you're investing in the people.

U Street has given so much to the city and to myself, and with the right support, it will continue to give across the district.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Next, Heather.

Thank you for having me.

I am from the Palisades Main Street, which is one of the smaller Main Street organizations founded approximately four years ago here in Washington, D.C.

I think we were the 27th, if I'm not incorrect, of the many Main Street programs here.

Ever been there?

Right.

That's sort of our community nature.

We're a high traffic commuter corridor with approximately 51,000 residents within approximately a mile.

Our commercial real estate in the Palisades is limited in size and scope, and that is one of the primary issues that the Palisades Main Street really helps the community to activate its commercial real estate in ways that truly benefit a community that has limited access to commercial real estate to serve the needs of the citizens.

I wanted to tell you a story today about a very specific act that the Palisades Main Street recently has been engaged in.

I think you'll find it a real glimpse into the type of work that Main Streets can do when they are called into action.

My story today is about the Palisades Plaza and how the Main Street helped this essential commercial asset for the neighborhood in a true time of crisis.

In fact, thanks to the City Council and to DSLBD, I recently had the chance to present this story on the national stage in Oklahoma at the Main Street Now conference to a national audience.

The title of my presentation then was From Flooded and Forsaken to Flourishing Again, a beyond the playbook Main Street rescue story.

The Palisades Plaza is about 42,000 square feet.

It has 69 parking spaces, which in the Palisades neighborhood, like many DC neighborhoods, is unusual.

In fact, it's the only plaza in all the Palisades that has any attached parking, which I'm sure as City Council representatives, you are very familiar with that issue here in our city.

This building is highly confusing to investors and developers because all four floors of the building play essentially a retail role in the functioning of the building due again to that limitation on commercial real estate in the Palisades.

We have basement tenants who are serving a retail role, and we have third floor tenants who are serving that essential retail role.

In July of 2024, the owner of the Palisades Plaza abandoned the building, leaving 15 locally owned tenants without any basic services.

I myself was in bed with COVID when I found this out, and my local group of teen volunteers who were the first on site discovered a building that was flooding, where the trash was not being picked up, and over the ensuing months, we discovered that the owner had simply walked away, leaving the tenants and the community high and dry.

Although the building was not dry.

In fact, the film the building was not only flooding, but the flooding was flowing into the fire control room and covering the entire floor space of five basement tenants who are family and child serving.

So this was a true disaster that the main street strode into all resources flaring.

Over the course of eight months, I became the rent collector, the janitor janitor, the general contractor, the therapist, the lawyer, the rodent catcher, the fire inspector, the elevator operator, and everything else that you could possibly imagine in order to protect this building and its essential services that it delivers to the Palisades.

Without the direct intervention of the Palisades Main Street and the full-throated support of city council and especially council member Matt Freuman, who went to the highest order of business to prevent full utility shutoff for this building.

This building would have closed.

15 essential service tenants for the Palisades community would have gone out of business, losing their livelihoods, and we would have had a much bigger problem on our hands.

What's very exciting about the end of this story, rushing to try to finish up in my allotted time, is that we are now heading toward a spectacular conclusion for the Palisades Plaza.

Thanks to the growth fund, we were able to prov we were able to apply for and we did receive an exceptional grant for technical assistance for a small locally owned grocer who is now planning to expand his store after after an extensive period of months of learning and support from architects, contractors, business plan support, and community stakeholders, expanding his store into a locally owned grocer to anchor the future of this plaza and for city council's knowledge to solve the food desert problem in the Palisage, which is an amazing story that everybody on City Council should know.

So thank you very, very much for your support of our Main Street.

I hope that story brings it to life.

Thank you for that story.

Chair Felder, staff and community.

Thank you so much for having me today.

My name is Rachel Shank, and I have served as the executive director of Georgetown Main Street for the past seven years.

I'm here today to speak, of course, about the DC Main Street program and to share how Georgetown Main Street continues to deliver meaningful results for our business community and the district as a whole.

I want to first begin by thanking Mayor Bowser for maintaining our baseline funding.

And I really understand the fiscal constraints facing the district this year, and I'm grateful for the continued investment from Mayor Bowser.

And I want to express sincere gratitude to Councilmember Fruman and this committee for their commitment to maintaining the enhancement for Main Streets in fiscal year 27.

This commitment means a great deal to Georgetown Main Street and the DC Main Street community.

Georgetown Main Street is the sixth most visited corridor in the Main Street network, drawing over three million neighbors, tourists, and regional shoppers to Wisconsin Avenue year-round.

The sales tax revenue generated by Georgetown's businesses, I'm sure is a meaningful contributor to the district's task tax base and the health that the health of the corridor is not accidental.

It reflects years of intentional investment in businesses and the people that support them.

Georgetown Main Street is part of the civic infrastructure in Georgetown, including the bid and other organizations that keep it vibrant, visited, and viable.

In fiscal year 25, Georgetown Main Street supported over 200 small businesses along Wisconsin Avenue, welcomed around 33,000 attendees across our community events, logged 1,225 volunteer hours, awarded 57,000 in subgrants, and welcomed 28 new small businesses to the corridor.

We also earned our Main Street America accreditation, which consist reflects the quality and consistency of our work.

Small and independent businesses recirculate dollars locally, create jobs within with community roots, and give our corridors the character and diversity that keep residents and visitors coming back.

One program that sticks out of the work that we do is called Stick Around Georgetown, which launched last launched last year and is continuing this year.

It was designed to help independent businesses navigate lease renewals and resist displacement amid rising rents and corporate creep.

Thanks to the growth fund grant from the Department of Small Local Business Development funded by this committee and in partnership with a DC based consulting firm called Petal Retail Advisors.

We were able to deliver 50 hours of business consultation, which helped five businesses successfully renew or rework their leases.

And we were able to counsel an additional five.

This kind of specialized intervention would not have been possible without the financial support of the district or the dedication of the main street.

One participant in the program, Suzanne Simon, co-founder of Chaya put it this way.

As a small independently owned restaurant in DC, our biggest decisions aren't just about today's sales.

They're about long-term leases, neighborhood stability, and how we grow without losing what makes our business work.

Working with Paddle helped us step back and clearly understand our timelines, options, and trade-offs so we could make more intentional decisions about staying rooted in DC while building a sustainable path forward.

That clarity is crucial for local businesses trying to grow responsibly in this city.

Our stick around Georgetown program is just one example of what the Main Street model makes possible.

Trusted, targeted, community level intervention that a city agency simply can't replicate.

The DC Main Streets are a proven cost-efficient model.

For a relatively modest public investment, we leverage volunteer labor, community relationships, and public and private dollars to deliver programming and direct support that no other city agency is positioned to provide at the corridor level.

We are trusted by our businesses because we show up consistently, speak their language, and advocate on their behalf.

I look forward to continued partnership with the district and fiscal year 27 and beyond.

Thank you for that, Anne.

Good afternoon.

My name is Ann Blackwell.

I'm the executive director of Historic DuPont Circle Main Streets.

We are a nonprofit based out of 15 DuPont Circle Northwest.

I'm here to show the DC Council the gratitude that my board and I feel for the funding, as well as the encouragement and support DSLBD provides, our Main Street and our Art All Night programs.

So much is accomplished with this funding, but my theme today, as it is on many days, Main Streets are placekeeping.

I found this term at the Main Street Now conference in Philadelphia.

And I've been using it since.

I think it's incredibly important for our city right now.

There is a reason that historic is in the name of our Main Street.

DSLBD funding supports all of the directors and managers of the 29 Main Streets in this city.

We are not just placemakers, but placekeepers.

We are the storytellers of our small business corridors.

For DuPont Circle, this includes not just the history of the structures, but storytelling of our queer history.

Volunteers and board members stood at the top of the DuPont Metro entrance and handed out slices of rainbow cake to the general public.

For example, the preservation and reuse of the fantastic performance and exhibition space of the DuPont Underground, which is the restored streetcar space beneath DuPont Circle.

Do you have a question for me?

Okay.

Just wondering.

We also do the storytelling of our diverse group of long-standing business owners.

DuPont Circle has over 50 legacy businesses.

Some of those have our second and third generation ownership, and their continued grit and innovation to survive the challenges that face small business corridors in this city is celebrated.

Every main street is unique, but we are united in using DSLBD funding to keep placekeeping, gatekeeping, and keeping of the spark of celebrating during events like Art All Night, the incredible fabric of cultural history that these small business owners provide.

That's it.

I appreciate that.

I was just reflecting on the phrase you mentioned.

Placemaking.

I love it.

I think every Main Street serves as an opportunity to bring communities together.

And then every Main Street has their respective own identity.

So I'm gonna ask a general question that each of you can answer, and it's based on is based on your respected interaction with your main street.

But but nonetheless, my question is from your perspective, how important would you say it is to fully fund main streets?

Is that a true question?

I don't know.

True question.

I'll ask it a different question.

Okay.

Well, you can you two can answer.

I mean, I'll have a different question for you too.

Okay.

Uh I think when you say fully fund, it from I'm going to answer that from the perspective of through the enhancement that we were scheduled out or that was proposed and scheduled out last year from Councilmember Fruman's team and was approved last year, which included a slight step up every year for four years starting in fifth fiscal year 26.

So assuming that's correct, we're looking at about 18,000 per main street.

I think the importance of maintaining funding for main streets year over year is just consistency.

I think when we've had one-off spikes in the past, which we're incredibly grateful for, it makes it really difficult for our organizations to sustain that level of funding year over year and to continue programs that we've created when we have those upticks.

And as usually one member, one staff member organizations, consistency is really useful, and maintaining some level of additional capacity is important for us.

Thank you for that.

I'm happy to answer as well.

I second Rachel's comment that consistency is key.

One of the key factors in running a main street is creating relationships with local business owners, many of whom may have fears about participating in the program, have language barriers that may pre-exist their presence in the neighborhood about the program, et cetera.

So the consistency is critical.

And we find that year over year over year, the participation of the local business owners grows and grows.

We also find that after successive years of engagement with our locally owned businesses, we can do bigger order projects with them.

So we begin and bring them in with projects that may be more obvious, for example, an awning upgrade or a facade project, and then we can help them with true technical assistance and professional development over time.

So that consistency is very important.

We also find with main streets that your funding of main streets, in my opinion, in Palisades allows us main street directors to truly begin to de-risk commercial real estate investment and big projects or small projects in our neighborhood.

The reason for that, which you probably know this but may not have a lot of direct exposure to it in your daily work on the city council, is that the existing conditions in our city's commercial real estate are often very different from what a commercial real estate investor or developer might think that they can get or should get for that building.

This is because of enforcement of existing leases, uh long-term repair needs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

So main streets actually bring a significant uh value to the process of developing our commercial real estate to fit the needs of communities that is not yet captured in the lingo of commercial real estate investment and development.

Interestingly, again, the city council's support of our travel recently to the Main Street Now conference allowed me to meet members of the International Economic Development Council, which is a national organization that works on resourcing for communities in their commercial real estate development processes, and we're able to contribute our knowledge to a big project they're going to be doing on exactly this issue.

So that consistency and the realization among city council that the value is not only in supporting the tax base of DC among our small locally owned businesses, but also the long-term stability of communities is the real value of main streets, and the value that we're generating is far outpacing the amazing extraordinary funding that the city council is giving us year over year.

I think that's a really important story for us to be able to help you tell as well.

Thank you for that.

Ann and Kelsey.

What specific outcomes did last year's funding help you accomplish?

Um actually I sound like I've been in this job for years.

I've only been here since December.

But I did consult the main street um for the two years prior to me coming on full-time in December.

Um and I will say art all night really is um an incubator in U Street because again, Black Broadway and it does bring a lot of foot traffic.

One problem that I can state though is two three years ago, Art All Night was earmarked amount of funding.

Last year, that funding was slashed, I believe like a third across the budget.

I don't even know.

It was slashed pretty badly.

Um, so we weren't even able to get an actual stage, like the setup was on the ground at 14th and you because the funding was cut, and we have to pay out on the pyramids.

Um, and I believe because it is a mayoral event, there should be some type of interagency workings where we're not as main street managers doing the work to get a permit for a mayoral event.

Um, so I don't know if that answers the question at all, but I just wanted to throw that out there as well.

Thank you.

Uh one thing I hit on was gatekeeping and placekeeping.

And you know, DuPont Circle is one of the oldest and biggest main streets.

And um, so there's 350 businesses, and just like Heather was saying, there's so many different levels.

There's basement, there's storefront, and then we go up multiple floors too along multiple corridors.

Um, the DuPont Circle Main Street goes all the way from 22nd almost to 16th and goes from Florida all the way down to N.

So we are a really big Main Street, and we interact with other agencies constantly.

We are the gatekeepers.

Um, there are people who want to sell your businesses things and try to work through you.

There are agencies that need to reach your businesses, and you are the conduit.

Um, so what happens with that funding is that we can help our businesses with some of the complexity that happens with our agencies.

Uh, for example, streeteries.

Street's became a really complex problem in this last year.

Um, a lot of businesses borrowed to pay best back rent from the pandemic.

10-year loans based on the future of their business that they would do.

And a lot of them are still paying off those loans, but their street years have been torn down.

So that profit margin disappeared.

So for those businesses and for any DuPont business, I've worked on becoming an expert in street restructure with DDOT.

Um, attended public hearings all day, and really tried to work with the businesses in the subgrant money that we gave out this year was to help them with design services that they may need to use, outdoor seating, um, consultants they may need to bring in.

There are multiple agencies, including Department of Buildings that need to sign off on outside structures.

Um it's complex.

And so the funding has really helped with subgrants.

We gave out six subgrants for outdoor seating, and some of its cafe seating for just outside on the sidewalks, and some of it is for actual structures being built again.

Um I think it's really important for the vibrancy of our city that people are allowed to show their business on their sidewalks and outside seating.

Thank you for that, and thank you all for testifying today.

That concludes my questions for this panel.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Uh, next, we're gonna call up our thorough panel.

Christian Burden, Patrick Powell, Bill McLeod, Shingeti Hubber.

Jeremy Sherman.

Anthony Davis.

Kate Ding.

Michaela Blancher.

Patrick, you can kick us off whenever you're ready.

Great, thank you.

Good afternoon, Councilmember Felder Committee and staff.

My name is Patrick Powell.

I'm the Chief of Staff of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.

Thanks for the opportunity to testify on the fiscal year 27 budget hearing for DSLBD.

I'm here today to express my strong support for the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Amendment Act of 2026, which makes a technical clarification that to ensure that the Golden Triangle Bid has the ability to increase its bid tax rate 3%, as was the original intent of the council.

Prior to 2023, DC Code Subsection 2-1215.452 expressly authorized a 3% increase in bid tax rates for tax year 2020 and thereafter, subject to the requirements of the bid code.

This authority has long been relied upon by the Golden Triangle and other bids that have similar language in their code sections to ensure that bids can keep up with rising costs and continue to deliver very high quality services and programming.

In 2023, legislation was introduced that would effectively that would effectuate an increase for tax years 2024 and thereafter.

During the public hearing, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer testified that the existing Golden Triangle bid law already provided for a 3% annual increase, and that the duplicate language in the introduced legislation was not needed.

Consistent with that interpretation, the Committee on Business and Economic Development removed such language from the legislation during the markup, specifically stating that the 3% authoration authorization was unnecessary because of the DC code already providing for it.

And that has created ambiguo ambiguity and uncertainty.

The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Amendment Act of 2026 in the Budget Support Act resolves this ambiguity by providing a simple amendment that aligns the code with the council's original intent.

This clarification ensures continuity of services, provides predictability for property owners and stakeholders, and protects the bid from potential procedural or legal disputes.

Maintaining the ability to implement modest, predictable annual adjustments helps ensure the bid can continue delivering essential services, including public safety support, cleaning and maintenance, economic development, and activation efforts that benefit businesses, residents, and visitors alike.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge the council to support this subtitle and provide clarity conforming the Golden Triangle Bids Authority to implement a three percent annual increase.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for that, Patrick.

Good afternoon, Chairman Felder, members of the committee and staff.

My name is Chinati Hubbard, President and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce, and I'm pleased to testify today on behalf of the more than 1,000 members of the DC Chamber, businesses large and small from all aid wards of the city on the proposed FY 2027 budget for the Department of Small and Local Business Development, DSLBD.

Before I turn to the DSLBD budget, I would like to highlight the broader fiscal conditions shaping this budget proposal.

The challenges we face are not cyclical or short term.

They are structural with lasting implications for the district's financial position.

And in recent years, the district has balanced its budget by drawing down fund balance and enacting tax increases to support new spending.

And repeating this approach will only reinforce the downward pressures the district faces.

The path forward is to really make DC a city that works by strengthening core systems, removing barriers to housing and economic activity, and delivering services reliably, which brings me to my comments on DSLBD.

And I routinely speak with small businesses across our city that want to partner with the district government and the district's general contractors to do business with our local government.

These opportunities help to put our small DC-based businesses in a strong position to hire additional DC residents, making greater investments in local talent and contribute to an even stronger, more competitive local economy.

A well-resourced DSLBD is essential to connect our small businesses with viable, well-matched opportunities that can help them collectively achieve these goals.

The DC Chamber of Commerce has been partnering with DSLBD to help carry out this important mission.

Not surprisingly, our joint focus has been on ways that our local small business community can continue to flourish.

We urge you to preserve DSLBD funding to sustain this important ongoing partnership.

And you know, in the next couple of minutes, I'd like to describe the benefits that accrue to the district's business and employer community as a direct result of this ongoing partnership involvement.

First, the DC Chamber hosts an annual small business summit, a free event that empowers and supports our small businesses in the Washington, D.C.

area.

And I know Councilmember Felder, you will be participating this year, so we're delighted to have you.

The summit brings together entrepreneurs, industry experts, and local leaders to discuss small business challenges and opportunities, offering actionable insights and strategies for growth.

The event includes expert-led panels and interactive workshops, networking sessions to foster collaboration and address critical issues like access to capital, financial preparedness, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance.

As part of the Premier Business Event, we partnered with DSLBD to facilitate the agency's procurement of small business awards in accordance with its creation of categories, nominations, and awardee selection.

And these include formal recognition of the certified business enterprise of the year, the made in DC maker of the year, and the retailer of the year, all awarded to local DC firms.

We also anticipate a prominent role for DSLBD leadership at our next state of the district and region conference.

And that event features leaders from government, education, health care, and other sectors.

This conference marks the release of the chamber's annual state of the business report, highlighting local and regional economic activity and business performance, employment and jobs, while showcasing how key district initiatives, including those spearheaded by DSLBD, can continue to catalyze local business success.

This carefully researched report prepared and conduct in conjunction with the DC Policy Center, presents the latest economic data and other information to help guide district leaders in incentivizing businesses to come and have a business in our nation's capital.

And importantly, the state of the district and region conference also provides opportunities for business owners to connect with local government leaders and business peers.

Finally, we have engaged with DSLBD to foster promotional opportunities for the agency at other DC chamber events, including our RFK redevelopment, matchmaking event, annual women in business luncheon, and most notably the Chamber's Choice Awards and Gala, our signature event which sold out the National Building Museum in 2025.

The Chamber recognizes the fiscal pressures facing the district, but we also know a thriving small business sector is a powerful driver of over-economic growth, overall economic growth.

And if we seek a competitive, inclusive, future-ready economy, then DSLBD must have the needed resources to help facilitate that growth, starting with the small business sector.

The DSLBD is the key district agency focusing on opportunities for small business success.

And as you know, Chairman Felder, the small business sector is a critical part of our local economic ecosystem, responsible for the lion's share of our local job creation and growth.

And in the face of significant economic headwinds, now is the time to redouble our investments and local job creation and growth.

Against this backdrop, we strongly support the agency's budget, including funds for our ongoing small business focused partnership.

The chamber is proud of its partnership with DSLBD, its director, Rosemary Suggs Evans, and we continue to stand ready to work with you and your committee to preserve funding for that partnership while ensuring DSLBD has the overall resources to support our business community.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I welcome any questions.

Jeremy.

Yeah, good afternoon.

Um Chairperson Felder, staff and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Jeremy Sherman, and I serve as ANC for single member district 1A04 in Columbia Heights.

I'm also chair of ANC1A and our small business and economic development committee.

Um, and I'm also eager to be joined here by my fellow commissioner Anthony Thomas Davis.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our neighborhoods.

They fill vacancies and drive foot traffic.

They generate vibrancy and contribute to public safety.

They bring people together, create community, and give neighborhoods their identity.

When a new business opens, it is an investment in that neighborhood.

The FY27 budget needs to do more to help small businesses stay opened, attract new ones to our commercial corridors, and give organizations like Main Streets the resources they need to make that happen.

Columbia Heights is home to one of the most diverse small business communities in the district, with over 50% of businesses minority-owned, including a high concentration of Latino-owned businesses.

We have a top 10 busiest metro station, one of three target stores in DC, and dozens of immigrant and minority entrepreneurs who have built something here.

And yet we have been in economic decline for nearly 20 years without meaningful investment.

We've lost a CBS, a PETCO, a DSW, five below, Wawa, and many more small businesses.

Over 15 storefronts along our core commercial corridor sit vacant.

I'm here today because the FY27 budget takes steps in the wrong direction for neighborhoods like ours.

The Main Street program is being cut by 450,000.

That's a 7.5 reduction percent reduction to the one program that directly funds neighborhood commercial corridor organizations across the city.

And the Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant Main Street program was already under resourced before this cut.

Let me be clear.

We have one budget and one staff person covering three distinct commercial corridors.

This reduction makes it harder, not easier, to support our businesses along 14th Street and 11th Street.

And frankly, it makes it harder on Mount Pleasant as well.

That's why I'm here today renewing ANC 1A's call for a dedicated independent main street designation for Columbia Heights, separate from Mount Pleasant, with its own budget allocation and its own staffing.

I want to be clear that District Bridges, which runs our Main Street program, does really fantastic work.

Despite limited resources, they show up for our small businesses and our corridor every day.

But given the scale and density of Columbia Heights, they need more to work with.

A neighborhood with our level of foot traffic, our mix of anchor retailers and small businesses, and our transit access would typically have a business improvement district.

That's the tool DC uses to provide sustained professional corridor management in places like downtown, Georgetown, NOMA, Golden Triangle, et cetera.

Unfortunately, a bid has not been possible in Columbia Heights because of uncooperative property owners who have refused to participate.

Main Streets is what we have instead.

It is the only dedicated support structure our small businesses can count on right now.

And right now it is the one budget and one staff person spread across three different corridors.

It's simply not enough.

I understand it's a tough budget year, but I urge this committee to restore Main Street funding to at least FY26 levels and to direct DSLBD to consider, evaluate, and move forward on a dedicated program for Columbia Heights.

ANC 1A passed a resolution calling for this in April 2025.

We followed up with a formal FY27 budget request in December 2025, and I'm here today renewing that call.

And I urge the committee and DSLBD to consider it.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you for that testimony.

Anthony.

Good afternoon, Chairman Felder and members of the committee.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify on the mayor's FY27 proposed budget for the Department of Small Business and Local, I'm excuse me, for the Department of Small and Local Business Development.

My name is Anthony Thomas Davis, Commissioner for SMD 1806 in ANC 1A, representing Central and East Columbia Heights, including Civic Plaza, and I also chair the ANC's permanent special committee on public life and neighborhood planning.

I offer these comments in my individual capacity, and they do not represent or express the views of my full commission.

I want to focus on four areas where I feel the committee and DSLBD have an opportunity to strengthen the main street programs, including better accountability and transparency in reporting, tailored alignment of programs and services in neighborhoods, particularly in Columbia Heights, the structure of a current program operators model and investment in clean teams.

I just want to note quickly for the record, as my colleague noted, we did adopt a resolution back in April of last year.

I was proud to sponsor that resolution calling for uh the uh the actual division of our current uh uh you know main street model uh for Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant, and I still support that.

So I want to just attribute myself to the full commission's continued uh position on that particular topic.

The Main Street programs is one of the district's most important quarter level economic development tools, and in many neighborhoods it is working as intended, but the current performance framework makes it difficult to assess where it is succeeding and where it is not.

Listening to the main streets who testified before me, clearly a lot of work is being done.

Yet citywide metrics like jobs, new businesses, and volunteer hours tell us that activity is happening.

They do not, however, tell us whether individual corridors are improving or whether resources are being deployed effectively.

The predecessor committee to this committee has raised concerns in years past about those financial uh reporting timelines.

On the website currently, Fort DSLBD on the Main Street site, no reports are available for public viewing.

So it's unclear of all these metrics that we have, you know, outlined in terms of success across all the 29 main streets.

Where is that success actually showing up and how does it plug into those collective goals uh and you know performance uh you know just standards that we've set for the main street program uh across the district.

I just want to zero in very quickly on the Columbia Heights Mount Pleasant Main Street and just say I believe uh it has failed our uh our neighborhood small businesses.

And I say that in no uncertain terms because I believe the main street program for Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant has taken on too much.

And as my colleague said, yes, it is spread thin because of the limited amount of funds that it has, but I do believe it has tried to focus on issues beyond the core economic development activities that main streets are supposed to focus on.

And trying to pair that economic development model with so many other things, particularly here in Columbia Heights, I think has confused even business owners.

A lot of, you know, property owners simply don't understand what the main street is supposed to be focused on.

So I urge this committee uh to really think about uh again the actual division of main streets, encouraging them to focus on singular commercial corridors in singular neighborhoods so that the actual impact and reach of those main streets can fully be felt.

Uh, I have further comments uh on the current Columbia Heights Main Street model uh that I will submit for the record.

I want to end my testimony by focusing on clean teams.

These are the most effective and visible place management tools we have in the district.

In high traffic corridors like Columbia Heights, it plays a crucial role in maintaining baseline conditions that support small businesses and increase public confidence in our public realm.

However, demand continues to outpace capacity, and the FY27 proposal does not fully address that gap, particularly in areas like Civic Plaza.

The Ward One Clean Team does an awesome job, but they need entirely more resources, more staff.

So I urge this committee to really work to identify additional funding, but also work to make sure that better coordination is done across the government.

For example, the Department of Energy and invironment has expressed an interest in clean teams maintaining some of the grain infrastructure that we have across the district.

I think that is an opportunity to identify what is probably existing funding, right?

They have funding to provide for maintenance, give that to the clean teams who are already in our neighborhoods doing good work on the ground.

So I want to thank you, Mr.

Chairman, for this opportunity to offer testimony.

I will submit a fuller uh statement for the record, and I welcome any questions from the committee.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Now we're going to turn to our in-person panelists.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Thanks for having us here today.

My name is Kate Dean.

I'm the executive director of Glover Park Alliance, which is the nonprofit organization that is operating both the Glover Park and Woodley Park Main Streets.

Before I start today, I think if I can ask your permission, I have written testimony that we've submitted.

And as I sit here looking at it, we've heard from so many of my colleagues already today, and I certainly echo everything that they've said.

We are here to respectfully ask that the funding be maintained at baseline, if not more, where possible.

But if I could set those aside and ask, you know, you can you can read them.

We talk about not what we did with the money in FY25, but we explain what we're doing with the money this year in FY26.

Um, but if maybe I could address some of the some of the issues that have come up in the conversation so far today.

And I also wanted to highlight that both of our main streets are located in Ward 3, which is a section of the city that is sometimes regarded as economically sound and it's buttressed by its residents, of course.

But for us, that's not always the true and full picture.

And I I said I wasn't going to do this today.

I said I was going to be positive and come here with all these great asks and be a little bit more formal.

But the fact is that our small businesses are are they hurting.

Um we're really seeing effects in Glover Park.

We have many large and sustained vacancies.

We expect that number to go up in the very near future.

Umfusingly, but also concurrently, our foot traffic is dropping.

Um, the vacancies are increasing, but yet the triple net, the cost to actually lease any of these spaces is also increasing.

So you can see that that's a self-perpetuating problem that we don't expect will be fixed during this economic downturn.

Um, so if if we could, of course, turn to like what you said earlier about the funding.

With more, we can do more.

So while we appreciate the the current support and we thank everyone for providing it, um, we know that we are scrappy.

You've heard a lot of examples of that today, and certainly with any additional funds, we will make sure that in the most effective, efficient, and quick manner that money is turned and reinvested into the local communities that we serve.

Um, in addition, the the question of data is always on the table, and it's something that I think we as main street programs would also really like to know.

But we don't have those kinds of resources.

You've heard from everybody that we are one person organizations.

Um, but it is something that would be extremely useful.

So, as these conversations happen across the city about on the macro level of what's going on economically in DC on the very hyper local micro level, we're seeing this on a day-to-day basis.

We're the likely to be the ones who might implement some of these solutions down the road.

So, if we could be included in those conversations as they go forward, there are so many of us, and we have so much energy and passion for this work.

It's just figuring out a way to like tap us into what's actually happening right now.

And then lastly, from the perspective of at least these two neighborhoods, one of the ways that we could see a really huge return on investment for both the residents, the small businesses, in addition to everything else that is written and submitted today, is the trash.

Trash and rodents is not a very fun topic to discuss, but it is something that we deal with on an everyday basis in these two communities, and I'm guessing all of my colleagues' communities as well.

It is something that has an immediate impact on the neighborhood and the small businesses.

We are seeing businesses pour a ton of their own resources into rodent remediation.

And so any additional help that we can get from the city on those matters, it it's good for everyone.

Thanks very much.

I just have two questions.

But Patrick, um I want to ask you a question.

You mentioned Golden Triangle.

Thank you for sharing your perspective on the BSA subtitle.

Because the law is now unclear.

Could you speak to what challenges or risk has the Golden Triangle Bear faced?

And how will allowing a 3% increase again improve the services you provide?

Yes, sir.

Thank you for your question.

Um like many organizations, we are facing, and like many of our businesses, um, we are facing increased cost, um, increased labor costs, but also increased costs in many of the consumables that we use.

The uh we use a hundred thousand trash bags a year, and those just get more expensive as as our gas gets more expensive, as our electricity gets more expensive.

Um so a lot of this type of modest increase would be in keeping up with uh the cost of products and goods that we use to implement our programs on the street.

Uh thank you for that, Patrick.

And Shenny.

Um I appreciate first and foremost, I appreciate all the work that is coming out of the chamber.

Uh and I look forward to our continued partnership.

Uh you mentioned how important it is to fully fund uh DSLBD's budget.

Uh could you speak to how should the district measure whether it's funding to support small and local businesses is working.

Yeah, um, and thank you, Chairman Um Felder, and we appreciate the partnership we have with your office.

And while we do also understand, as as uh the other panelists have mentioned, the fiscal realities um, you know, we do know this uh DSLBD is a revenue generating engine, and every dollar invested in small business development really translates into job creation.

And some of the work that we've done that has had some measurable outcomes has been our small business summit, which is coming up in May.

It's a free event that draws entrepreneurs, industry experts, local leaders from across all eight wards and beyond events.

Uh, we do a state of the business report, and it really is driven by insights that inform how DSLBD and other agencies target their investments.

So we know that this all really supports the small business growth across our city, which is the lifeblood of Washington, D.C.

Thank you for that.

And uh that concludes all of my questions for this uh panel.

I'm gonna call up our next uh group of panel list.

Thank you.

Michaela Blanchard, Jim Schumann, Yvette Banfield, Elijah Moses.

Kingata Smith.

Vinny W.

Shwra Shrav.

Shravrum.

She wants to sit here since your furniture doesn't matter.

We called somebody first.

Jim, you can kick us off.

Okay, great.

Um Chairperson Felder, Council members and staff.

Uh I'm Jim Schulman, and I live in Ward 6.

I am the executive director of the Alliance for Regional Cooperation or ARC.

There are other ARCs, as you know, but uh this is the Alliance for Regional Cooperation.

It's a nonprofit organization focused on sustainable economic development.

I'm also an active member of the DC Community Wealth Building Coalition, and I am the former founder of Community Forklift.

It's a year's building materials center 80,000 square feet just across the DC line into Prince George's County.

ARC and the Community Wealth Building Coalition are interested in self-reliant approaches to fostering local and regional business success.

As you likely know, prominent economists and scholars like Michael Schumann and Stacey Mitchell have shown that sixty to eighty cents of every dollar that is spent at a local independent business is on average retained to be spent locally, whereas only 40 cents are retained locally when the dollar is spent at a chain store that's headquartered elsewhere.

This is an astounding difference, and if policy were to shift to even more reinforce this fact, it would contribute immensely to local community wealth building, directly putting more food on more families' plates.

A significant focus of this event pertained to leveraging for local benefit the current national demographic trend referred to as the silver tsunami.

Perhaps you're familiar with that.

Such conversions keep wealth in the community where the business is based and democratically distributes profits and management expertise.

An in-depth study of Montgomery County businesses was done by the national consulting firm Project Equity.

It determined that a whopping 56% of thriving businesses, these are firms that had been in business at least 10 years, they are demographically in danger of being sold to absentee owners or closing their doors.

56% of them.

These businesses are ripe for cooperative conversion.

I suspect that the percentage of profitable businesses in DC in similar situations cannot be too different from Montgomery County next door.

Other strategies that ARC and the community wealth building coalition advocates could be employed to build the wealth of district residents, including the following.

Agency budgets for DC economic development should be saturated with funding for building capacity for the formation of cooperatives of all sorts.

Workers' co-ops, purchasing co-ops, credit unions, consumer co-ops, as these businesses have a demonstrated history of supporting wealth building among disadvantaged workers.

ARC also encourages the establishment of more community housing land trusts and land banks like the extraordinarily successful community Douglas Community Land Trust.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next we're going to turn to Vab Panther.

Uh next we're going to turn to uh I'm sorry for interrupting.

Ms.

Manfield, would you tell me your mic wasn't on?

Now I can't.

Oh so sorry.

I get to start all over.

Or you can pick up where you left off, you're chilies.

Despite the district's current fiscal constraints, we remain clear on one point.

Strong small businesses are essential to strong communities.

Thriving commercial corridors create jobs, generate revenue, and contribute to safe, vibrant neighborhoods.

We appreciate the mayor and council's continued commitment to supporting small businesses during this challenging budget cycle.

Today, the coalition urges council to sustain key investments in the Department of Small and Local Business Development that directly supports small businesses and neighborhood commercial corridors.

First, we request 250,000 for the Aspire Incubator Program, which supports just as involved individuals and returning citizens who are working to start or grow businesses.

This program provides training, mentorship, and technical assistance to help participants build sustainable enterprises.

For many returning citizens, traditional employment remains out remains out of reach.

Entrepreneurship offers a pathway to economic stability and independence.

This investment creates opportunities, support business supports business formation, and strengthens our local economy.

Second, we recommend 5.5 million for the Main Street program.

Main Street organizations support 29 commercial corridors across the district providing direct assistance to small businesses, activating neighborhood spaces, and serving as critical partners on the ground.

These organizations are essential to maintaining vibrant, resilient neighborhood economies, and we are we urge the council to maintain the planned funding increase so that they can continue delivering high impact services.

Third, we recommend we request $8.2 million for the commercial clean teams program.

The clean and safe corridors are fundamental to the small business success.

This program not only supports corridor maintenance but also provides employment opportunities for district residents.

Finally, we request one million for the robust retail grant program, which provides small retailers with up to 5,000 for storefront improvement and improvements and essential equipment.

As businesses face rising costs, this program delivers targeted support that helps them remain competitive and continue serving their communities.

In closing, the coalition urges council to sustain its commitment to small businesses by investing in DSLBD's commercial revitalization programs, grants, and training initiatives.

These investments ensure that small and micro businesses, both existing and emerging, can grow, thrive, and remain rooted in the district.

We urge council to sustain these critical investments.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify.

Thank you.

Vinny Yeah, hello.

Thank you to the council and uh and the chairperson.

Um my name is Vinny.

Uh I live in Ward One, um, pretty close to Malcolm X Park.

Um, so you know, I consider like U Street, but also Columbia Heights and Ams Morgan to be in my communities.

Uh I'm here today with uh the DC Community Wealth Builders, um, which is a coalition uh building shared ownership, locally rooted wealth, uh, and an economic strategy that uh supports local infrastructure, including local and small businesses, uh, instead of corporate incentives.

Uh I'm here today to ask uh the council um to uh pass a measure that would put DC's wealth to work through either a public or a land bank.

Um so a public bank would essentially put DC's cash reserves, um, of which there are hundreds of millions into a public entity that could make loans to serve our city needs, cities needs at interest rates that community groups, businesses can actually afford.

Um, while land bank could do the same uh with the city's vacant properties, um, which are worth billions of dollars, um, or tax liens, which are also worth hundreds of millions.

I'm making this ask because I think that a public andor a land bank could go a long way in helping small businesses reduce their costs, especially rent leasing and energy costs, of which I'm sure those are fast rising for a lot of folks.

When it comes to like rent and leasing, just from a personal perspective, you know, like I'm over by Malcolm X Park, I'm 28 years old, I pay a thousand a month because I have 10 roommates.

I see new apartment buildings going up all the time.

They charge 2,000 for a studio and they're mostly empty.

You know, it seems like there's a lot of our main street folks that have come up have talked about, you know, how like there's a lot of vacancies.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of my, you know, like local businesses that I've loved to frequent go out of business in my time here.

Um I imagine that rent is a is a big part of that.

Umergy, I imagine is is similar.

Um, so I work in the clean energy uh sector, and um I've seen the way that PEPCO uh has raised rates across the district that often gets rubber stamped by the public service commission.

Um just in order to raise profits for their shareholders, right?

But I think like you see the costs here are going up like 25% of the district's residents are in energy debt, and I think like for businesses like energy costs are going up, I think have gone up like 15 to 20% in the last year.

Um I think a land bank or a public bank could address these first by like taking this money and investing in like permanently affordable, both commercial and residential housing.

Um this could essentially like permanently stabilize rents and make it much easier for businesses to stay in business.

Um I would also say like this is money that could directly go a lip plan or a public bank could go to invest like directly in solar and of which DC has about five times the potential to install that it has right now and permanently these energy prices.

Um yeah, I think I will but yeah, that's in conclusion.

That's my ask.

I'd like to ask the council to put DC's wealth to work through a public or a land bank.

Thank you so much.

Uh thank you for your testimony.

Uh, we're going to turn to our own lab panelists.

Uh and please say your name.

I want to make someone pronouncing it correctly.

Sri Ram Sridran, but you can call me Ron.

I usually go by around.

Oh, well, thank you for being here, Ron.

You're whenever you're ready, uh, you can share your testimony.

Well, good afternoon, Councilmember Felder and other members of the council.

My name is Ram Sridharan.

I'm here with uh DC Community Wealth Builders, a coalition working to build shared ownership and keep wealth visited in our communities.

I'm also a public interest attorney, and I focus on economic security and workforce development policy at the federal, state, and local levels.

I'm here to ask you uh to fund a technical assistance grant to support worker cooperative conversions, helping DC businesses sell to their employees instead of shutting down.

Now, across DC and across the entire country, really, as my fellow panelists Jim spoke about, we're facing what's being called a silver tsunami, where millions of small business owners, primarily from the baby boomer generation are reaching retirement.

An estimated six in ten business owners plan to retire or sell their businesses within the next 10 years.

Yet only 15% of businesses are actually passed down to the next generation, and only 20% of listed businesses sell.

So these businesses employ across the country tens of millions of workers nationwide.

And without succession planning, they will close rather than be sold.

And when that happens, we don't just lose businesses, we lose jobs, neighborhood services, and locally rooted wealth.

But closure is not inevitable.

Uh worker cooperative conversions offer real alternative.

Employees purchase and collectively own the business, keeping it open, keeping jobs in place, and allowing owners to retire with dignity.

And the evidence is strong.

Worker-owned businesses are nearly twice as likely to survive as traditional small businesses, and employee ownership is consistently linked to significantly higher worker wealth accumulation, often two to three times greater than comparable non-owner workers.

This is also not a niche idea.

It's a proven model for business stability and shared prosperity.

States like Colorado, California, New York, and New Jersey are already investing in employee ownership through dedicated offices, tax credits, and funding streams.

Colorado particularly is a model to look to, having created a state employee ownership office and tax credit program to support conversions.

And these jurisdictions have shown that employee ownership is a workforce strategy, a small business strategy, and a wealth building strategy all at once.

Now the single biggest barrier for small businesses is not interest in doing this, is technical assistance.

Converting a business to employee ownership is structurally complex.

It requires legal restructuring, business valuation, financing arrangements, tax planning, and governance redesign so workers can transition into ownership successfully.

And most small business owners and their employees do not have access to that expertise.

And without it, even viable businesses default to closure.

So the model works, but the transactions are too complex to happen without support.

And this is where DC council can lead.

A relatively modest investment in a community-based technical assistance provider would unlock these transitions at scale.

It would allow business owners to retire, preserve jobs, and convert existing neighborhood DC institutions into employee-owned businesses that keep wealth circulating locally instead of extracting it out of the city.

So I urge you to fund a technical assistance grant for cooperative conversion so DC businesses can stay open, workers can build ownership, and our local economy can remain strong and rooted in the people who power it.

Thank you for your time.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have now or after the hearing.

Thank you for that.

And thank you for each of your testimonies at this time.

I do not have any questions for this group of panelists.

Next, we're going to call our final panelists.

And Alex Stein.

And I see we have Elijah Moses online and Bill McLeod.

We're going to start with our in-person panelists.

Is it Kia or K?

K.

K.

Okay.

Thank you for having me here.

Can you hear me well?

Yeah.

Yeah, thank you for having me here, Council and Chairman.

My name is Kay Larios.

I am a board member of SECOSOL, acronym for SeedBed of the Solidarity Economy, a nonprofit that provides culturally appropriate technical assistance to immigrant workers in DC, Maryland, Virginia.

And today I come also representing as a board and a volunteer for the DC community wealth builders, a coalition building shared ownership, locally rooted wealth, and economic strategy that supports local infrastructure instead of corporate investments.

So I am asking, I'm asking the chair to prioritize creating technical assistance grant to fund the solidarity economy ecosystems in DC through nonprofits providing co-op cooperative technical assistance.

And I'm asking to directly invest in communities through collective worker ownership.

And specifically for cooperative development.

So this especially matters to me because I come from a very resilient community.

Actually, here in DC, we're on Q Street Northeast.

And I am an advocate of a women's grassroots organization for victims of gender-based violence.

And a lot of the women that I know dream to start to grow their business or gain financial freedom from their users.

Unfortunately, they all face difficulties when they need to formalize their businesses in DC because there are little technical assistance resources available in their languages, their budget, or community aspect that is conscious of their situations.

And I want the resilient to be honored through the commitment that the council makes to fund technical assistance for nonprofits who are who are doing the work that we do to fund uh technical assistance programs.

Worker on cooperative cooperatives can be the vehicle to changing people's lives.

But yeah, thank you so much.

And if you have any questions, let me know.

Thank you, Kay.

Um, greetings to the council and chairperson.

My name's Amani Morrison, and I'm a Ward 4 resident.

Um, I'm here as a volunteer with DC Community Wealth Builders, a coalition building shared ownership, locally rooted wealth, and an economic strategy that harnesses the resources already available in our community to prioritize local financial infrastructure over corporate incentives.

I'm here to ask you to keep DC's wealth local and stop businesses from closing by creating a cooperative conversions grant and a tax incentive for a nonprofit to provide technical assistance to businesses selling to their employees.

I've been a DC resident for a short two and a half years and in the DMV area for a bit longer, but my family's rooted here.

In that time, since I've lived here, I've seen multiple businesses in my neighborhood either close down, move to Baltimore, or relocate to another neighborhood due to the economic pressures that development has invited.

I patronized these businesses, made memories with my family there, and plan to incorporate them into the mundane fabric of my life.

One of the reasons I moved into DC was to be able to be connected to a thriving ecosystem of conscientious neighbors and well-established local businesses that met both my needs and my wants.

While I am invested in living, working and spending my money in the city, I have increasingly found myself seeking goods, services, and experiences in nearby Maryland neighborhoods as local DC businesses I relied on have shuttered.

I want my favorite businesses to stay in DC.

Cooperative conversions allow residents to keep their jobs, build well for themselves, and continue offering services tailored to the communities they know and serve.

Owners would not feel the only option is to close their businesses when they are ready to retire if there were alternative options.

And while there are costs associated with the viable alternatives, which uh some of the other volunteers here have already pointed out, these transactions do benefit everyone.

I ask that you incentivize cooperative conversions to stem the rapid and persistent wave of local businesses shuttering in my own community and across the city.

That means creating collaborative grants for local infrastructure instead of small grants that just benefit whoever has the capacity to apply.

It also means creating incentives and support for businesses to sell to their employees instead of closing.

Thank you.

I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you, Amani.

We're going to turn to our virtual witnesses.

Uh starting with Elijah.

Good evening or good afternoon, Councilmember Felder and uh members of the DC community.

Uh my name is Elijah Moses.

Most people just call me Moses, and I'm here today to testify on behalf of a CDE that I oversee and have co-founded called Urban Equity Consulting Group.

Um, I'm happy to support and notify that I am a DC resident.

Our business is located in the H Street Quarter.

We're in strong support of the CBE or the Certified Business Enterprise Program that is doing exceptional work on behalf of the Department of Small and Local Business Development and the leadership of Director Sargs Evans.

The CBE program stands out as one of the most impactful economic inclusion strategies in the District of Columbia.

It has created meaningful pathways for not only our company but other small and local uh disadvantaged businesses to access government contracting that would otherwise be out of reach for firms like ours and many others rooted in the district.

The program is not simply a preference initiative.

It is a catalyst for sustainability, job creation, and generational wealth building within our communities.

Urban Equity Consulting Group has directly experienced the value of the CBD program through intentional policy design and consistent enforcement.

The program has enabled us to grow and contribute to the DC's economy.

We hire residents of the District of Columbia, of which we are often living in Ward 7 and 8, and contribute to the economy in a meaningful way that aligns with our mission and the city's commitment to equity.

The program has helped level the playing field, ensuring that local businesses are not only included but positioned to lead.

We further appreciate the Green Book, the new e-blast for bid opportunities, although we watch the bid board every day or every other day, uh, and the ability to connect with OCP and other government agencies to outreach events.

So DSC will be the host an event, uh, like a matchmaking that is amazing opportunity uh for us to procure and look at opportunities to procure businesses with agencies.

So DSCLB is just an amazing asset to the government.

Equally important is the role of DSLB's uh D's leadership and staff, the team at DSLBD demonstrated commitment to technical assistance, responsiveness, continuous improvement, their efforts to guide businesses through the certification process, compliance and procurement processes have been instrumental in strengthening the capacity of local enterprises, whether through outreach, through training, uh one-on-one support, the SLBD has proven to be more than just an administrative body, but a true partner in business development.

We appreciate the staff outreach, the responsiveness to needs, and sometimes sometimes, just sometimes, we appreciate the rigor of the CBE process along.

I also like to note that our uh work also includes um working with silver tsunami groups and helping employees or uh uh businesses transition to employee owned.

Uh and I do, although I'm not I've missed the last few meetings of the DC wealth builders, probably the last few, um, we also just encourage you to definitely listen to their voice because there are companies aging out, they don't have anyone to sell to, and it's best that employees uh take that ownership opportunity.

Uh additionally, we also recognize DSLBD's ongoing work to refine and strengthen the program, including efforts to increase transparency, enforce compliance amongst prime contractors, and ensure that CBE's participation translates into real economic impact.

These uh efforts are critical to maintaining integrity and effectiveness in the program.

As the district continues to navigate economic shifts and fiscal challenges, it is essential that the CBE program remains protected, strengthened and adequately resourced.

Investments in local businesses are an investment in the district's workforce, neighborhoods, and long-term economic reliance or resilience.

Uh in closing, Urban Equine Consultant Groups applauds the vision behind the CBE program and the dedicated the dedication of D SLBD staff.

We stand as a testament uh to what is possible when policy, practice, and purpose align.

We encourage continued support, expansion, and innovation within this vital program.

So thank you, thank you, thank you uh for the opportunity to testify as a Ward 7 resident and Ward Six CBE owner.

Uh thank you, Moses.

Bill, uh whenever you're ready.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chairman and members of the subcommittee on local uh business development.

My name is Bill McLeod, and I'm the executive director of the DuPont Circle Business Improvement District.

Our small bid encompasses 22 face blocks and 240 small businesses on P Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Connecticut Avenue.

DuPont Circle is in the midst of a streetscape construction project encompassing five blocks and a new CAP park.

This $37 million project has been very difficult for small businesses who are recovering from COVID and the new spending patterns by the public.

As you know, the business environment is terrible.

Between the government shutdown, freezing cold winter, snowstorm, and the streetscape construction, sales are way down.

The streetscape project has been underway for 10 months now, and 12 more months of construction remain.

I'm here today to ask for grant money to assist small business owners survive construction.

This project is all consuming, sometimes six days a week with jackhammering, utility upgrades, and sidewalk replacement.

The Streetscape project will be transformative with new sidewalks and a CAP park, but we need more financial assistance for small businesses.

We are asking the DC government for two million dollars for grant money to assist small DuPont Circle merchants on Connecticut Avenue to survive construction.

With your support and the committee, the majority of our small businesses will survive.

I want to thank you for listening to me today, and thank you for your support of small businesses in Ward 2.

I'm here to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Well, thank you for that.

Just a quite a question for you, Moses.

Uh do you believe that you get enough adequate technical support from DSLBD?

Oh, I will say that when we first began, we got support, and then once we were up and running, it was it was almost like the bird can fly a little bit now.

Um I think that when we've reached out for additional technical support, so we thought about going to do work with the federal government at one point.

Um, and we did reach out and the request was followed up with, and we were able to get some of the technical support that we needed, but I think that we're pretty good at the work that we do as well as the ability to write proposals, et cetera.

So we don't need as much support.

We're probably granted that it's a fiscal cliff and we've suffered some other economic challenges with the government changes.

However, we're probably more in a position to offer free support to other small businesses that are looking to grow uh because we we've done okay, like we're not you know billionaires or millionaires, but we've done okay.

Um so yes, to to that question, and when we've called to get additional support, uh the agency was really responsible.

Thank you.

And just a follow-up question, uh, what type of additional support could you use?

Um I think that we would have to investigate, but I know I know at one point we were working um with WACIF, and the district government has a few different financial instruments.

So uh lines of credit, let's say that may work in tandem with DSLBD, but it may be actually officiated through DISB and the Department of Insurance Securities and Banking.

Um there's times when we need some to leverage some credit opportunities.

Um we were once going to go into the federal government, but that doesn't seem an option these days.

Um I think that the other probably technical support that we may have needed early, and I don't know that we definitively or directly reached out to DSLBD about would be uh mostly like financial support.

And when I say financial support, it's like financial literacy on the implications of taxes over here or you know things like running an accounting system as a business.

Sometimes you're really good at the domain that you operate in.

So if you're a plumber, you're amazing plumber, but that doesn't mean you're an accountant, right?

So that type of technical support, I know that uh we've navigated through now, it took us a few bumps, but uh probably every business that we speak with, other entrepreneurs that we know, uh, financial accounting literacy support is very, very important.

Um so I think that that would probably be uh probably be top of chart.

Otherwise, I mean we probably you know we we did pretty well with proposal development and looking for uh opportunities and the matchmaking.

Uh the green book, we were in a green book two years ago, things like that.

DSLBD has done amazing at, I mean, absolutely amazing.

Uh thank you, Moses, and thank you to each of the panelists.

Um so that concludes our public witness portion of today's hearing.

Now, before we transition, is there anyone else in this room who has signed up to testify and were not called you may come up.

See a hand raised.

Hello.

Um, I wasn't sure if it was my turn, but I'm here um and ready to testify if it is time.

Uh we're going to start with our in-person uh witness first, and then we're going to turn to you, uh, Ms.

Winters.

Thank you.

Ms.

Marsh, whenever you're ready.

Thank you, sir.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Um, I'd like to thank you once again for having an opportunity to express the gratitude and thankfulness to the Department of Local Small Business Development.

My name is Margaret Marsh.

I am obviously a Hammer University Grad in the year of 1985, owner of Healing Hands Physical Therapy Services at uh 3303 Stanton Road, Southeast.

Um Ward 8.

I am a ward five resident.

The business has been incorporated incorporated since 1994, a CDE since 2000, actually 2009, but we had to remove our membership because we had to move out to Prince Georgians County came back as a member uh certification in 2015.

So I stand here before you as a ward eight stakeholder, a certified business enterprise, and most importantly, a health care provider committed to serving a community too often overlooked in access to quality rehabilitated care.

I'm not here to knock down anything about health care other than what the legacy that I believe is important where we are located right now.

I wish just to stick to sustain.

So in 2020, I fulfilled a 20-year vision by relocating my practice in Ward 8.

However, the transition confirmed and exposed a difficult truth.

While high quality clinics are concentrated west of the Anacasia River, residents east of the river are often left with fragmented care and limited options.

Physical therapy, particularly.

Shortly after relocating, I lost nearly my entire professional staff to more resourced areas, leaving me a sole provider.

Then during one of the most critical periods in my business, I faced a health care crisis, cancer.

Praise God, I'm well.

Yet the need never stopped.

We continue, and even as of today, we continue to receive eight to ten calls daily from residents seeking care.

When I faced the possibility of displacement, default, and closure, I reached out to Director Subs and the Department of Local Small Business Development.

Her response was immediate and effective.

She mobilized support through the Congress Heights Training and Development Corporation and worked with my landlord at Skyland Shopping Center to stabilize my tenancy.

I'm almost getting there.

It's just almost done.

Today I'm rebuilding, supported by volunteers and sustained by purpose.

But I am not simply asking to survive.

Ask you to focus and consider our community rehabilitative idea.

In partnership with my colleague, occupational therapist Alicia Enty, therapeutic milestones.

We aim to establish a comprehensive community-based rehabilitation center offering PTOT speech therapy under one roof from pediatric care to elder care.

That's what I'd like to do.

And what I'm asking you to do in this situation is continue to fund DSLBD and the sister development corporations in that area.

Don't let businesses like mine disappear.

I am a silver tsunami person.

Invest in us, partner with us.

And I thank you for this time in support of DSLBD.

Thank you, Ms.

Morris.

Thank you.

Ms.

Winters.

Hello, everyone.

Can everyone hear me?

Wonderful.

Good morning.

My name is Maggie Winters.

I'm a Ward 2 resident and co-founder of this January, a creative agency based on 14th Street in Logan Circle.

I'm here because there are so many vacant storefronts on 14th, and I think they are one of the clearest and most fixable signs that our city is underusing in its own creative and economic.

My goal is to position DC as one of the really makes me feel like we are not living up to our potential.

On corridors like 14th, we have empty ground floor spaces sitting in the dark.

Local makers, food operators, artists, designers, brands, and small retailers to bring new and exciting things to the corridor.

I think a vacant storefront should not be a dead asset, and it should be a stage we should be able to use it in a way that is valuable to the community.

I know DC already has pieces of this solution, like vacant and related property tax classifications, main streets made in DC, and grant programs that support corridor activations and pop-ups, but I think we need to connect these pieces into a more aggressive strategy if we want DC to be our next creative capital city.

So I'd like to suggest that the council fund a vacant storefront activation pilot in the fiscal year 2027 budget, small grants for local operators, a simple short-term lease template, marketing support, permitting health, and a clear pathway for landlords to make space 319.

Small folks test their ideas.

It's about small business development, natural strategy, an economic human scale.

I think DC should be the easiest city in America to idea on an empty storefront.

And I hope that this testimony was able to be heard.

I think my internet is a little bit rough.

Thank you, everyone.

No, thank you, Ms.

And with that, uh, we'll shift to our government witnesses after we take a ten minute recess.

It is six ones that be true.

Thank you for the team for being here in the many of the public states.

Provide to the subcommittee on local business development is the truth, the whole truth.

Yes.

Thank you, Director.

You can proceed with your opening testimony.

Thank you.

Can you hear me okay?

Yes, Rowan Clinton.

Good afternoon, Chairperson Felder, members of the council, colleagues in the local business community and residents of the district.

My name is Rosemary Suggs Evans, and I am the director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development.

It is an honor to appear before you today to present testimony on Mayor Bowser's fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget.

Mayor Bowser's proposed FY27 budget, GROW DC reflects a clear and focused approach to sustaining and strengthening our economy.

It is grounded in three points, three priorities.

Driving growth to fund the services residents rely on, keeping families in the district while attracting new residents, and creating a business environment that brings new investment and good paying jobs to our city.

From youth entrepreneurs to seasoned operators.

We will also continue to invest in commercial corridors across all eight wards, recognizing that strong corridors are essential to job creation, neighborhood vitality, and long-term economic growth.

These efforts are producing measurable results.

DSLBD serves more than 75,000 small and local businesses that are not only economic drivers, but are also anchors of culture, creativity, and neighborhood identity.

One of the clearest examples of this impact is Art All Night.

Last year, more than 250,000 residents and visitors participated in events across 21 main streets, six business improvement districts, and MLK library representing a 43% increase from the prior year.

That level of engagement translates directly into economic activity for our local businesses.

It increases foot traffic, drives sales, and introduces new customers to neighborhood establishments.

That kind of impact does not happen by accident.

It is sustained through intentional on-the-ground investment in our corridors.

In FY27, DSLBD continues to make a strong investment in corridor vitality through more than a $5.5 million in funding for Main Streets program.

Our main streets are the front door to our neighborhoods and the engine behind many of our small business corridors.

Through this program, we support locally driven organizations that provide on-the-ground services, including business recruitment, technical assistance, marketing and corridor activation.

This work strengthens the day-to-day environment for businesses while also expanding the reach of DSLBD programs.

Main Streets serve as a trusted messengers, helping us share resources, connect businesses with funding and certification opportunities, and ensure information reaches entrepreneurs where they are.

The result is a coordinated ecosystem in which corridor level support and citywide programs work together to increase visibility, boost participation, and deepen the overall impact of our small business investments across all eight wards.

And while this work is happening in our corridors every day, we are also focused on making it easier for businesses to find their way and access the support they need across the district.

Supporting businesses at this scale requires a multi-pronged approach.

A key component of our FY27 approach is the continued development of the district enterprise system.

The DES provides a centralized access point where businesses can engage with programs, apply for funding, and receive tailored guidance.

To date, the system has supported over 10,000 users, demonstrating strong adoption across the business community.

Our goal is to reduce barriers, improve efficiency, and make it easier to do business with the district and to access the resources businesses need to grow.

At the same time, we are positioning our businesses to capitalize on future opportunities.

The redevelopment of RFK campus represents a transformational investment, particularly for the ward 7 and surrounding, particularly for ward 7 and the surrounding communities.

This project creates a pathway for businesses to grow and compete while also signaling to new entrepreneurs that this is a place to start, invest, and build.

DSLBD's role is to ensure our businesses are prepared to participate, are contract-ready, capital-ready, and positioned for long-term growth.

We are also intentional about ensuring businesses are connected to opportunity.

In FY25 and FY26, DSLBD hosted 43 matchmaking events connecting small businesses with government agencies, prime contractors, and industry partners.

A total of 687 certified business enterprises have participated, including more than 250 at our District Connect event.

These engagements ensure that businesses are not only informed but actively engaged and positioned to compete.

Additionally, DSLBD's Apex Accelerator plays an important role as businesses navigate changes in the federal contracting landscape.

As federal opportunities shift, Apex helps district businesses adjust, identify new pathways, and remain competitive by connecting them to procurement opportunities at the local, state, and federal levels while strengthening their capacity.

At the same time, access to capital remains critical.

In FY26, DSLBD awarded $500,000 in robust retail grants to nearly 50 businesses across the district.

In speaking directly with business owners, we consistently hear how impactful these grants have been.

The streamline application process and speed of disbursement make a meaningful difference.

These funds have helped businesses meet payroll, cover rent, repair equipment, and remain operational during critical times.

That kind of timely and flexible support allows businesses to stabilize, adapt, and continue serving their communities.

We are also investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The DC Youth Entrepreneurship Program provides young residents with hands-on experience and a structured pathway to starting a business in the district.

This is how we build long-term growth.

When we invest in our young people, we strengthen the future workforce and business community.

And when we raise our children in the district, we must ensure that they have every opportunity to build here, grow here, and choose to stay here.

Funded at $500,000, Dream supports micro businesses and wards 7 and 8 through training, mentorship, and practical business development tools.

It is a program built by DC government for DC residents, helping entrepreneurs plant roots, build generational wealth, and create lasting businesses in their communities.

We are equally proud of the Aspire program, which supports returning citizens as they rebuild their lives through entrepreneurship.

Each year, more than 6,000 individuals return to the district, and for many, entrepreneurship offers a practical and empowering pathway forward.

ASPIRE provides the support, technical assistance, and networks needed to turn that pathway into reality.

We have seen participants become business owners and job creators, demonstrating the impact of investing in people and expanding access to opportunity.

DSLBD will also continue to invest in innovation and sustainability.

In FY26, the CBE Green Grants Program awarded 400,000 to help businesses modernize operations, reduce costs, and strengthen competitiveness.

These targeted investments support both immediate business needs and long-term economic resilience.

We are also focused on the conditions that allow businesses to thrive day to day.

With the proposed $7.3 million investment in FY27, clean teams play an essential role in maintaining clean, safe, and welcoming commercial corridors.

These efforts enhance the experience for residents and visitors while also creating jobs.

For many participants, this work provides a steady income and serves as a pathway to future entrepreneurship.

The FY27 budget reflects a continued commitment to small business growth while also encouraging a more intentional and strategic approach to investment.

As outlined in Mayor Bowser's Grow DC budget, the focus remains on driving growth, retaining residents, and attracting new investment.

At DSLBD, we are meeting this moment with innovation, partnership, and a clear focus on results.

In closing, I would like to recognize the dedicated team at DSLBD whose commitment and professionalism drive this work forward every day.

I also extend my gratitude to Mayor Bowser for her leadership and for her continued focus on building an economy that includes and uplifts our small and local businesses.

At DSLBD, we understand that this work is ultimately about the people.

It is about the entrepreneurs who take a chance, the families who depend on them, and the communities they help sustain.

We are proud to stand with them and continue advancing a strong and resilient small business ecosystem across the district.

Thank you, Councilmember Felder for the opportunity to testify.

I look forward to your questions and continuing this work together in support of a strong and resilient small business community across the district.

Thank you, Director for your testimony, and again, thank you for being here.

I'll jump right in.

Now, Director, for neighbors who may be tuning in for the first time to your budget hearing, could you describe the mission and core function of DSLBD?

Absolutely.

I love talking about my agency.

So we are focused on the growth and development and retainment of small businesses in the district.

And we do that through our seven divisions.

We have a division for certification, and then certification focuses on making sure that those businesses that are interested in contracting with the district have the ability to do so through a certification program and getting certified.

Not only within the district, but also and not only with district agencies, but also with private companies and other entities organizations within the district.

We also have our APAX accelerator division that focuses on part of that division is funded through the federal government.

In our commercial revitalization division, we run our main street and clean team program, and that is focusing on making sure that our commercial corridors and the businesses located within the commercial corridors are vibrant and have the resources that they need.

Everyone except for the office of the director.

Oh, how could I forget my NOED?

NOED, Innovation Equitable Development Division, which runs our dream program, our Aspire program, our Made in DC program, our youth entrepreneurship program, innovation and equitable development is exactly what the division is termed.

We are trying to be innovative, and when there are opportunities to support a particular community, business community that may not be thought about, that's where that comes out of that division.

And then our office of the director, which contains our comms division, our legal division, and we support our IT, our budget division, and we uh support the day-to-day uh operations running the day-to-day operations of the agency as a whole.

Uh thank you, Director.

It seems like a lot is happening across the SLBD.

Uh and although you highlighted your core functions, you gotta have priorities.

Could you share what are your uh budget priorities for uh FY 2027?

So as you said, I highlighted a lot of our divisions.

Um, our priorities uh are to support our small and local businesses uh within the district, and those businesses uh fall across the entire spectrum of the divisions that we have.

I think the agency is set up in a way to address uh the business, the types of businesses that we see in the district, um, and each division supports um those particular businesses that they are focused on.

And so when we are looking at our uh business opportunities division, business opportunities highlight and focuses on identifying those opportunities for our certified business enterprise program, but that is no less important than our innovation and equitable development program, which highlights and focuses on creating opportunities for our youth entrepreneurs or our returning citizens or our businesses that are um based in Ward 7 and 8.

So it is we have 75,000 local small businesses, uh small local businesses in the district, and so we have to make sure that we are looking at all of those particular um industries and that we are addressing them to the best of our ability.

Thank you for that.

Uh now within your written testimony, you mentioned that the mayor's uh theme for this year's budget is grow DC.

Uh could you speak to and what way does your agency's budget align with that, and how are you running through the tape?

Yeah.

So it aligns the budget aligns uh with it because we have uh been able to uh thanks uh to the mayor being again as she always is very intentional, um, maintain those programs that address growth in DC.

Um, you know, uh we have uh baseline uh funding for our dream program, our aspire program, our um Main Streets and Clean Teams program.

Um and so that funding is still there, and that shows the importance of making sure that those businesses have the needs and the resources that we can provide them.

Um our main streets program receive a lot of technical assistance from our um executive directors, as you heard.

Um our uh other programs within the division, such as again, I'll go back to our aspire program, our youth entrepreneurs, our CBEs, also receive that technical assistance from our staff internally, and so ensuring that those programs uh continue to function, not only demonstrate the importance of the program, but the budget uh aligns with the work that we do aligns with ensuring that those programs and those residents can and businesses can continue to be successful.

Now you mentioned your agency's core mission, its functions, uh your priorities for FY 2027.

Could you share what are you most proud about?

Um I'm most proud about that.

This budget is um was done in a very intentional way, um strategically understanding we do not have just overall, you know, resources are limited.

And so when anyone's trying to decide um where money is should go, needs to go, there are legitimate and worthy other programs out there at other agencies.

There's never, I don't know that there's ever gonna be enough money to cover all the needs that are out there, but the budget for 27 demonstrates that the importance of our small business community, the impact of our small business community, even in a tough budget cycle.

Um and so that's what I think I'm I'm most proud of is that we are able to continue to support our small business owners through uh uh really intentional and I think valuable uh work that we have shown that we have done in the past and can continue to do through this budget.

You mentioned limited budget limitations due to budget constraints.

Uh could you share what concerns you the most about your proposed budget?

I actually I I don't have uh concerns about our proposed budget.

I think as I said, our budget, when I talk about constraints, I'm just talking about budgets overall, right?

When you have not as much tax revenue comes in, there's going to be you know constraints on a budget.

I think our budget, uh, the pro's budget allows us to continue really impactful programs that year over year we see there still is a need that people are asking for that people folks are participating in, and so I am very pleased with the budget that we uh have for FY27.

I know you said nothing concerns you.

It's a different question.

If there was a specific line item in your budget that you could give additional funds to, what would that be?

You can put two.

I mean, I think again, you know, I don't want to I I think that's a that's a it's a very good question, but I I don't want to if I say one particular program, I don't want there to be an um expectation that another program is not as valuable.

The work that we do in supporting our small business, small businesses, and supporting our entrepreneurs and creatives is all very important work, and I I could not uh choose one over the other.

I think the giving us you know level funding again demonstrates that the work is important and it says I need you to continue the work that you all are doing at this agency.

Now that doesn't mean that we are not going to be um continue to try and be innovative and see how being being able to get this level funding, how can we you know get a little more out of it?

That's what we do.

We talk and try and figure that out.

But I think we work with so many different types of small business owners and entrepreneurs, all of them contribute to the district.

All of the work that they do is important, and I would not want to, you know, say okay, if I had more money, I'm gonna give it to this program versus this program.

Uh thank you for that.

Now I would like to turn my attention to some budget trends that I've noticed over the last several years.

Umce FY 2024, uh your agency has seen a gradual decrease in its budget.

Uh how has that impacted your agency's ability to fulfill its mission, if any?

Well, I think what we have been able to do are the things that we speak to and we ask of our business owners is to be innovative and figure out you know how to best you know utilize uh the funds that you have.

Um, and so I think you know there have been some changes in the to what you're saying um it since 2024, but we have been able to uh continue to support businesses through the programs that we have.

We haven't seen a a decline in um participation.

Um we haven't seen a decline um in the need that's out there.

So I think what we've been able to do is be innovative with the funds that we have to support um the most businesses that we can through our programming.

Now I will say, although I noticed uh a steady, a gradual decrease in your overall budget.

I was happy to see some additional uh funding uh within certain areas of your budget that really stood out to me in the proposed budget.

Uh for example, I noticed that both the FY 2027 and in FY2028, there is a 750,000 dollar allotment towards the district's enterprise act system.

Uh could you explain how important this funding is to your agency?

Yes, I'm gonna uh uh start and then I'm gonna pass it over to the DES expert setting uh to my right.

But what DES has allowed us to do as an agency is go from uh a very manual process to an automated process.

And what that allows is for more uh efficiency and accuracy in the work that we do.

Um it also has allowed us to uh do more through not having to use a very manual paper-driven process.

Um I think not only from our staff uh seeing a difference, but even our uh external partners, whether it's our CBE community, whether it's our grant recipients are able to see it and ease of doing business with our agency through the DES process.

Before you turn it over, could you explain what the DES system?

You know, in government we use a lot of acronyms, but neighbors tuning in uh don't know what that means.

It's the uh district enterprise system is the name, and we refer to it as DES.

And then I turn it over to Sarah to give you a few pointers on it.

Sure.

Thank you so much, Councilman.

Like my director alluded to, and you mentioned earlier in your opening state remarks.

This is the system is designed and created, of course, to make it easier for individuals to work and operate with for the district.

Uh in FY27 and 28, you did see those funding increases.

Why that's important, and I can give you a clear example.

We recently launched our solicitations portal on say March 23rd.

As of March 23rd, we were able to send out a hundred and fifty solicitations to the CBE community.

Of those hundred and fifty solicitations, third I want to say 1400 CBEs received solicitation information.

The day we launched that portal and that functionality, we received an email from a CBE stating, this is awesome.

I didn't have to go searching for the solicitation.

We thank you so much for this opportunity.

These are the types of development and ways we want to make it easier to do business with the district moving forward in FY27 and 28.

No, I appreciate that, Saraj.

And I remember uh during our performance oversight hearing, we asked some questions as it relates to like upgrades and improvements.

So I'm glad to see that uh those have been made.

Uh just a follow-up question to that.

What metrics are being used to evaluate the success of those new enhancements and upgrades?

Sure.

What some of the things we're looking at is the certification time.

We've just again released some certification enhancements that look at and send out or close applications that are deficient.

Um key metric we've noticed is in our compliance division, because of the enhancements that were made in the DES system, our oversight and compliance has gotten a lot better.

We've been able to communicate with vendors who are non-compliant currently to kind of resolve those issues.

Um so those are some of the things we've been able to see as a result of the enhancements made to the DES.

Uh thank you for that.

I'm sorry, $657,000 in the proposed budget for FY 2027, including one additional FTE.

With what in the agency work requires an additional legal staff.

Oh, so as you know, um legal takes a look at everything that comes through the agency, whether we are working on um uh CBE agreements for our uh public private development projects, um, whether we are uh uh looking at waivers uh that are coming through, that's part that everything goes through our general counsel's office, whether we are uh attempting uh or made a decision that we need to revoke a certification, it all goes through our general counsel's office.

So we have um uh a general counsel, a deputy general counsel, and uh a staff attorney as well as uh a um grants administrator that we felt it was best for the grants administrator to be uh located in the general counsel's office because general counsel also ref reviews all grant agreements and so that's where um the staff is.

This is staff of four.

So to be so to be clear, you wouldn't say that your agency is at any uh or you wouldn't say that your legal risk for your agency has changed.

No.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um I noticed a small increase in federal grant funds.

Uh could you speak to what those additional uh funds went towards?

So I'll I'll let Sarah uh speak to that specifically.

Sure.

So as the director mentioned, it's just an increase to the federal grant award we receive.

I want to say it increased upwards of 61, I'm sorry, 26,000 to be exact.

Uh I also noticed the 42.6 percent increase in the purchase of equipment and machinery.

Can you speak to uh um what this what those funds went towards sorry about that?

Shure, that was just a small increase um for equipment uh and which was kind of offset by our fleet services because our fleet services went down, so uh service purchases and equipment went up.

Uh thank you for that.

Uh now I'm going to shift to some of the uh reductions that I've noticed in your proposed budget.

Uh the proposed budget indicates a reduction of a little over $38,000 and grant subsidies.

Uh can you describe why those reductions were made?

Well, some of the um reductions, I think one of them has to do with uh uh grant program that we have uh going on now for um H Street.

Um and we've had uh over the course of the last two fiscal years a grant program that was for A Street and I think this year uh for 27 our office of uh planning is performing um uh a study, a land and uh market uh study for H Street.

And so when you're talking about being strategic about how you're going to utilize those dollars, uh we think it's important for that study to go through to really then get the results of that and understand where best to um if needed future dollars uh for that particular uh grant program, does that need to continue?

Does it need to be modified?

So that's where some of those decreases in grants that you were referring to.

Uh thank you for that.

I also noticed that there was an elimination of 136,000 dollars uh that went towards the sports wagering grant.

Could you could you discuss that?

Yes.

So uh as you know, um with sports, you know, initially uh when uh we had our class A's and Class B's licensees, um there were a lot of opportunities for our CBEs because when you have these brick and mortar kind of businesses where you're doing sports betting, there's a lot of opportunities, whether it's janitorial services, security services, providing paper and that sort of thing.

Um as the uh industry has evolved and uh has gone to more of online platforms, it's become extremely the the ability for CBEs to participate in a real meaningful way has has changed.

Um and so what we want to do is work with those uh class C's to find opportunities for CBEs, um, but it really the the funding uh didn't align with really what the opportunity was given that most of um most of the uh sports betting industry is going to online platforms and those services are many of uh those services are proprietary in nature, and so our focus is to work with CBEs to try and identify from a a regional standpoint how they can continue to grow because there were some CBEs that were able to uh get their foot in the door um when we had brick and mortar, while also trying to figure out as those opportunities have shrunk, where can we find uh uh CBE spend opportunities, but it's it's it's very very limited.

And so we felt that those funds would be best to be used somewhere else.

Yeah.

Uh thank you for that.

Uh Director, you were here earlier and you heard the many public witnesses uh talk about the importance of main streets and fully funding main streets.

I was a little disappointed to see that the Capitol Hill Main Streets or reduction or rather an elimination of about 171,000 dollars.

Could you speak to that?

It's not a main street, that's a grant that was uh issued in FY25 and so that grant and the uh uh functions of that grant in FY25 and FY26, we have an H Street Market Grant.

So it wasn't a it was not a main street that we no longer have.

It was a grant to support businesses within the Capitol Hill area.

Thank you for that clarification.

Sure.

Uh and FRA 2024, your agency allotted a grant and the amount of $357,000 that went towards art learning and outreach.

Could you speak to or rather could you describe that program?

Can you repeat repeat it again, Councilmember?

Yes.

And FY 2024, your agency allocated a grant in the amount of $357,000 that went towards art learning and outreach.

Um I'd have to get back to you on that.

I'm not sure if that is if it has to do with art all night, but let can we get back to you on that for the okay.

All right.

I'm gonna shift to CDEs.

Sure.

So Director, as you are aware, my office and your office have been collaborating to extend the CVE rules uh and ensure that local and small businesses get their fair share of district procurement opportunities.

Uh I want to shift my questions to the CDE program.

Sure.

All right.

Uh CBE certification unit which registers eligible businesses in the program, it shows that there's a proposed reduction of about $95,000 and one fewer FTE.

The do you expect to still be able to process all CBE applications in a timely manner with this reduction?

Um yes, we have been again part of what we are trying to, you know uh utilize again is our um district enterprise system um and the ability to not only you know automate a lot of those those uh requirements.

So I I have all the confidence that we will continue to be able to be um responsive and timely uh as we're processing uh CBE applications.

Uh thank you for that.

Now, Director, I'm pretty sure you share this concern and you've heard the many stories about how large firms uh take advantage of the loopholes within our CDE program.

And uh so for me, I think it's critically important for the agency to to monitor the compliance within the CBE laws.

Uh could you talk about the work your agency is doing to monitor CBE compliance?

Absolutely.

Um as you know, we've been talking about um the uh legislation as it relates to ensuring um that our uh entry into the program um uh independently owned and operated as part of the uh local business enterprise definition.

Um so when you're looking at you know entry into the certification program, um that is absolutely the first step is making sure that those businesses that are applying are actually uh independently owned and operated.

Um as it relates to uh and let me just go a little bit further.

When you are applying and going through our certification division for that application, there's also um you heard someone mention how you know sometimes they appreciate the rigorous nature of that application process, and that is why it is so rigorous because we want to make sure that the business is truly DC based and is adhering to you know the full intent of the law.

Um but in addition to the application and making sure that they you know that the answers are responsive, we also do a site visit during that application process before determination is made.

Um in addition to that, our compliance division, um every uh so I think this is the third year right before uh your certification is for three years.

Right before you're able to get recertified, there's going to be a spot check.

And uh that comes out of our compliance division, and we have a team of staff that will show up.

They you're not aware of when they're going to show up, but they will show up to make sure that that business is still there, that the um uh highest level managers are working there, um, and so that's another component to making sure that we are adhering and that those businesses that you know have the uh fortunate to become CBE are really truly CBE.

In addition to that, there is a desk review that is done, which is also done before they're able to get re-certified, and that desk review makes sure that there hasn't been any changes, material changes, you know, the um ownership is still the ownership, uh folks haven't moved away.

So there's uh there are processes that complement each other and they are processes that back up each other to ensure that uh our CBEs are truly CBEs.

Uh I appreciate you highlighting all the work that you guys are doing to monitor CBE compliance.

Could you share how that is reflected in this year's proposed budget?

Well, I would say that the fact that we you know our programs um and our staffing levels are uh intact, which is going to allow us to continue to do uh take-in applications, um, DES allows us to in you know uh IT system is gonna, you know, as we ITs, IT information systems continue to evolve, it will allow us to do things quicker and faster, but mu uh but most importantly uh more accurately.

Um and I think uh as same with our our compliance staff, I mean we have uh 57 staff in FY26, and we have 57 staff in FY27.

Uh thank you.

Now, since FY 2024, this unit has faced a graduate reduction in its budget.

Could you speak to what's driving this decrease?

Uh you the agency since 24?

Oh, they know it's a compliance unit.

In its budget, or are you talking about staffing?

Staff.

Yeah, so what we have done is as we continue to identify needs of the agency, um, there are uh and as we continue as the uh DES system continues to evolve, we initially look internally to see how we can reorganize that will allow us to better uh provide services to district residents, and that's what you have seen that will occur.

So we may have someone that uh was in compliance, but that position may have moved over to our legal division, but they we work uh hand in hand, so it's not that compliance is actually losing someone.

We're enhancing what we do with uh compliance through our general counsel's office.

Thank you.

Uh and FY2027, your compliance unit has a proposed decrease in funding.

Will your agency have adequate personnel to enforce its regulations?

Uh absolutely.

I don't yeah.

And just a follow-up, could you speak to what metrics will be used to determine that?

Curtis.

I mean, I just want to note in compliance that you know the way it looks in the budget from FY26 to FY27 is just a reallocation of FTE.

Right.

So I think it shares the same logic behind what the director was saying.

Thank you.

That's helpful.

Uh so director, I've gotten a lot of calls about CBE opportunities as it relates to uh the largest uh economic development project in in the district history, which is RFK.

Uh so I like to learn a little bit more about how your budget is preparing existing and inspiring CBEs for those opportunities that are going to come uh down the pipeline.

Uh with that, my question, Director, is where in your proposed budget are the opportunity, are there opportunities to support CBEs?

So I would say that what DSLBD does is support small and local businesses, including CBEs, including makers, including uh creatives.

With uh RFK uh redevelopment coming online, that work does not change, it gets enhanced.

And so what we have done, um, and I'd say we started uh probably last year is really take a look not only at our district enterprise system and making sure that that system is uh set up in a way so that we can accurately monitor and ensure compliance with the requirements that RFK has, which may be different than another PPD.

Um the compliance division monitors hundreds of PPDs, but RFK has specific requirements.

So we made sure that the district enterprise system was set up in a way that as we as those uh uh dollars and informations are information is coming in about spend with RFK, it's done in a way that we can easily make sure that what was in the legislation is being reported out.

Um as it relates to the outreach that we do, uh we have part made um uh uh scheduled not only um online webinars uh for our CBEs to ensure that if they are not bonded sufficiently, they need to increase their bonding that we are able to do that.

Um we have partnered and my business opportunities division is working very closely um with uh community-based organizations, the Marshall Heights on making sure that we're doing um the right trainings, whether it's online or in person.

So that's the work that we are doing to one ensure that our CBEs are ready for the opportunities that are to come.

Um but again the work that we do at DSLBD is what we do.

Certain projects we will enhance what we do, but this is what we do every day.

Uh thank you for that.

Now, director, given the uh rising interests in this project, are there any areas that you think could benefit um to see if if an enhancement took place in your budget, your proposed budget.

I think again the what I would say is that there are um a a lot of opportunities that uh our CBEs and um I say I would say aspiring CBEs will uh will be hearing.

Um I think it's important um I would not say so much for us, but I I think it's important to the business community for the business community to make sure that you know they have the capacity that they need.

And what I what I mean to say about that, I I heard uh when I came in this afternoon, one of the public witnesses, uh, and I had to smile because they were saying, you know, the thing that they do, and this is the phrase I use, you know, our small business owners, whatever is that thing that they do, do it exceptionally.

But there are things like back office that or marketing or and those are the things that our our small business owners attempt to do, but it's okay to say, you know what, I need to get some assistance with that.

And so that's what we have been trying to do is take a look at what the needs of the businesses are that out there, and then providing that resource to the business.

And I just would encourage um business owners, if they if you haven't reached out to DSLBD, please do, because there's a number of resources out there that can help businesses with all the other you know things other than the thing that they do.

Backoff support, marketing, whatever those things are that they would need to make sure that it's a full rounded business that's able to that's ready for those opportunities that are coming on RFK, not just the stadium, but all the other things that are coming on there.

Thank you for that.

As you were uh providing a response, I was I was reminded of the public witness that testified earlier, Elijah Moses.

Uh-huh.

And uh my question is based on the way you describe uh ramping up uh support to prepare existing and or inspiring CDEs to take advantage of opportunities at RFK.

Do you think that more funding is needed around technical support within your proposed budget?

Well, I think that um we have the funding that we have we have been able to use in a very strategic way, and I think you know sometimes people uh think that if I you know just give us you know more money, and and I come from an ilk of how do we use the money in a way that can benefit the most people?

And if I can't do that, I shouldn't be asking for more money.

I need to be able to use maximize the funds that we have and use it in a way that we can benefit the most small businesses for whatever that need is, and that's what our focus is.

Uh so earlier, Director, you heard a lot of um from our public witnesses a lot of comments pertaining to Main Streets.

Uh could you describe from your perspective what a main street is and how they support our local economy?

Uh yes, absolutely.

Um our main streets are um uh in our main street executive directors are entities or organizations or people that really have a focus on ensuring that and I don't even want to say that just that commercial corridor because many of them work outside of the commercial corridor, but making sure that those businesses on that commercial corridor and within that neighborhood have the resources that they need and have that connection to um the the government and the resources of the government.

Oftentimes our main street executive directors are that conduit because our main streets are uh working with I believe it's the numbers 4,000, 5,000 small businesses within the corridors.

But not only that, they also are working with um property owners and and doing negotiations to help those small businesses um stay within the commercial corridor.

They are the folks who you know try to get out to as many and do as many corridor walks as possible, but when there is a need for a business or there's a need for support, um we they they are our boots on the ground, and that's where we hear about it.

But in addition to that, when we're talking about um it's not just retail businesses, they support all those businesses on that commercial corridor, and again, sometimes outside of the corridor, but also when it comes to um you hear a lot about the art all night um event, and it is a phenomenal event that continues to grow year over year, but it's our main streets and our main street executive directors that are the foundation of that uh event, which we'll be celebrating 15 years this year.

Um they're working again not only with vendors to support with the small businesses, but uh of the entertainers in providing them opportunities to work to showcase the work that they do.

So I I can't speak any more highly of our our main streets.

Uh thank you for that.

Now, within your proposed budget, um the main streets program is funded at 5.5 million dollars.

Do you think that that grows DC?

Does it grow DC?

Yes, at that funding level.

Uh yes, absolutely.

And I notice that the proposed budget for FY 2027 shows the same average amount as FY 2026 uh for each main street.

Do you believe these funds are sufficient?

I do.

Okay.

Now, Director, how are you assessing our return on investment for our main street programs?

Through the work that our main streets in the bus hearing from our business owners and knowing that we overall when we take a look at the main streets across the board, um, there has been particularly from last year to this year, there have been a net increase in small businesses that have been opened.

Um there has been uh net increases in jobs that have been created.

Um there's always going to be um things that uh I don't you we don't have control over, and so there, you know, you may see closings uh or vacant spaces, but overall, when you look at the program overall, there's a net increase in businesses uh on our main streets, and there's a net increase in jobs created across all of our main streets, and that um is just one way I can see that the program is is successful and um supported by the the residents.

Now you mentioned that increases.

Is there any way in which our agency can capture that information uh share a better story of some of the good work that is happening uh along Main Streets because of your investments?

Or have you given that any thought?

Oh um, I always think you know, can I tell the story better?

I always can.

Um, but I think that um absolutely the we capture uh that data and we capture that data from um main streets are do uh reporting and their work plan, so we capture that information on an annual basis.

So yeah, can we do a better uh communicate that better?

Uh I'm always open to that challenge.

Telling the story is important, trust me, I know.

Now uh director, as you are aware, main streets vary from population from size, uh and all across the district.

Yeah, I noticed that the same proposed that each had the same proposed budget of 167,000 dollars.

Could you explain the main street uh funding formula?

So uh for the main streets, um funding is uh I would say there's not a formula per se for funding.

Um Main Streets are you know determined by uh the council or the council member, and then uh funding is uh determined through what the council member proposes.

Um based on our experience, especially if you are a uh new uh main street, um when we're talking about having you know limited funds, you know, the hundred and fifty and I think the sixty-seven came from an enhancement that was I don't know if it was made permanent or not, but it was an enhancement um uh of seventeen an additional seventeen thousand dollars.

But when you look at uh the budget typically is broken down into subgrants into salaries for the executive director, into um uh marketing and event and and placemaking, um, we feel that that is uh reasonable um and uh very doable.

In addition, I would say that the district um has one of the largest budgets of uh for main streets across the whole main street national organization.

Do you think it should be a variation in the funding?

As far as b uh how each of the the allocation of I I think it's it's there are number of you know I can argue it a number of ways, right?

I can say um a main street that has more businesses should get more money, but a main street that maybe um has had a lack of attention um year over year, maybe that justifies more money.

I think what the way that we have it set out and the funding that we have, I think is um very appropriate and very reasonable.

I think we have main streets that um do very well in leveraging those dollars to get um additional dollars.

We're in a different, you know, maybe you know, four years ago uh there was a lot more uh funding out there for people to leverage and get more money associated uh for the main street, but I still still think that that's there's an opportunity to do uh to leverage the dollars that they get from the district to increase or budget that way.

And you know, as you continue to as we continue rather to have these conversations, I'm all for fairness, but I'm also uh all about equitable distributions, and my biggest concern is that main streets that don't have uh equal capacity as others might not you know see the same type of attention, if that makes sense.

Yeah.

Um so just a follow-up though.

Is there a cap in the amount that a main street can spend on administrative funding?

Yes, there is it's 50 percent.

Okay, thank you.

Uh I see that there are 12 Main Street programs in ward two and three.

There are four in ward seven and eight.

Ward seven and eight gets around six hundred and seventy thousand um dollars allocated.

Could you speak to why is there a significant difference in the funding provided uh to each ward?

In the funding provided to the main streets, there may be there may have been some one-time uh funds allocated to uh particular main street, um, and that's where you would see the difference.

Uh okay.

You were talking just about the funding, right, council member?

Yes.

Okay.

Could you speak to the process of adding a new main street?

Uh that typically relies uh uh relies in uh what a particular council member is looking to do in uh their particular ward.

So main streets uh come from uh the council member that determines they may want a main street um somewhere in their ward.

We however would encourage and what we've done most recently is you know having those discussions uh with the council member and also doing a study to make sure that a main street is the right um uh thing, uh the right entity, the right uh uh use of those dollars for that particular area.

Uh thank you.

Uh now we're gonna shift to clean teams.

Okay.

Uh similar to uh my other questions pertaining to your key programs.

Could you describe what a clean team is and how do they work?

Sure.

A clean team um is also um uh an entity that uh it's been determined by a council member um that a clean team is needed in a certain area of um uh commercial, a certain commercial area.

Um clean teams um and their employees uh do outstanding work uh seven days a week, regardless of what the weather is, to ensure that the commercial corridors are kept clean, attractive, welcoming.

Um and so uh many of our uh clean team staffers are returning citizens, it's their oftentimes their first job uh when they come home, um and they just as you've heard from some of the public testimony.

I mean, they do outstanding work in supporting um the commercial corridor itself, but those small business owners in that commercial corridor.

Uh so director, as you were speaking, I heard um I heard I'm hearing clean teams areas only first thing that popped in my head was revitalization, and I go back to my main street question.

I forgot one question that I want to follow up on.

So from from what I gather, council members determine the allotment that goes to their specific main streets.

So my question to you is there is no process that DSLBD uses to determine if a main street will be helpful uh for revitalizing uh overlooked or underserved community.

I don't want to say there's no.

We don't initiate that.

Okay.

So a council member may say, hey, uh, yeah, we're looking into creating a main street.

What we would do is first, you know, advise let's let's do a study.

Years ago, um, sometimes they would just get created, get created, but as you know funding, you know, you all, and you know this better, certainly than me, as you're trying to, you know, um uh parse out funding for all legitimate programs, uh, you want to make sure that there is a main street, um uh the businesses would benefit from a main street, and so that's why we are encouraged uh and uh have encouraged and most recently before the main street is you know funded, let's make sure that there's a study that's done to see is that the best way for these funds to be allocated, or are there main streets, are there businesses within a particular commercial corridor that could benefit uh from uh existing main street?

Are they close enough?

Because we even as an existing main street, uh the existing main street can work about uh up to a half a mile, I guess either way, to support businesses if they're not supported.

So there's a lot of um opportunities to support businesses that may not have a main street attached to it.

Thank you, uh Director.

So I'm going somewhere with these uh questions as you are aware uh when a fluent communities um across the district, catch a code, black and brown historically overlooked and underserved communities catch a flu.

And we want to make sure that we're intentional uh with the allocation of resources.

Um I appreciate you answering that question about the process to establish a main street on uh on another vein uh but connected to the same tree.

Could you speak to what process does DSLBD use to determine where a clean team is needed?

Do you guys look at 311 data?

Like how does that how is that normally determined?

So we work uh we don't make that determination similar to the main street, that is a determination that's made by council.

So a council member will uh state that uh they would like or believe a clean team should be in a in a particular area, and we work with them on that, but that is not a determination that is initiated by DSLBD.

Uh thank you.

I w what I'll focus and uh how that I look forward to the partnership is seeing more collaboration between OP and DIMPED to make sure you know we're intentional about main the implementation of Main Streets and equitably distributing clean teams.

Yeah, just give you an example.

Our uh most recent main street uh foggy bottom west end was there was an initial um request to have a main street, but then it's like let's make sure that the main street is what actually would be benefit beneficial and what's needed.

And so we did a study before that was implemented.

The study returned the the information that was returned so that a main street would be best, and this is where it would be best.

So that's why I think um, you know, we'd be happy to talk to you about that process.

Thank you.

Uh do you get do you have a sense of how the funding for clean teams is used?

Um it's to uh maintain their operations to pay uh salary to buy equipment to do training for some of the staff for the staff.

And do you know the hourly rate of per staff?

Uh I believe it's 1850.

Okay.

Uh do you think it's fair?

Uh I I I think it's uh uh appropriate and it's um the minimum wage, I believe.

Okay.

And do you believe that they have the funds uh when I say they like DS uh clean teams, the program in its totality?

Do you think that um they have the funds needed to compete uh or I'm sorry to complete their work?

I I do.

Okay.

Has there been any new conversations about how DPW could better coordinate with different uh clean teams across the various wards that you have participated in?

like DS uh clean teams the program in its totality do you think that um they have the funds needed to compete uh or I'm sorry to complete their work I I do okay has there been any um new conversations about how DPW could better coordinate with different uh clean teams across the various wards that you have participated in uh yes there have been uh conversations about how again when we're talking about um being efficient in the efficient use not only because it ultimately is all district dollars how can the work that DPW does in keeping the streets clean and stuff like that overlap with the work or making sure we're not overlapping with the work that our clean teams are doing so we are having and continue to have those conversations we participate I think it's either monthly or there's a DPW call that goes on weekly um and our clean teams and are part of that.

Thank you.

And now uh director could you speak to how your proposed budget supports uh professional development opportunities for individuals uh who are members of clean teams so the uh budget that we have the proposed budget uh we I'd say in FY2 uh five we um did a um a pilot program and we talked about that during performance oversight I think uh the funding that we have uh for our clean teams there is training that is uh allocated within that funding so our clean team operators provide training uh through the funds that are issued uh they receive from DSLBD and uh director I know I you kind of alluded to this but it will be helpful for me to get a better sense of the funding that's allocated to uh various clean teams how much of that goes towards staff and compare to materials and or supplies we can get that to you thank you.

Now director how do you see the clean teams program evolving over time?

So I I I see it and I smiled at that I I see it as again an opportunity for district residents the majority of whom are returning citizens not only to get their foot in the door as a uh their first job but also to build and grow their skills and to have the opportunity to say I want to stay here and grow in this position or you know what I want to go somewhere else I want to get my CDL I want to go work for Wamada because through this program and partnerships I'm able to grow um uh professionally ultimately this program is going to it has not is has been and will continue to allow um uh residents uh to be able to provide for their families and that's that's the goal uh thank you for that and Director unlike Main Streets uh clean teams funds vary I've seen some clean teams receive an allocation of over a hundred thousand going all the way to four hundred thousand uh could you discuss how do you determine the funding for each clean team uh that would be determined by the council member we don't determine the funding thank you for that now looking ahead for future looking ahead uh based on what's coming down the pipeline with future development I'll use Ward 7 for example we talked about RFK if you live in Ward 7 you also know that there's a lot of uh future development happening around Fletcher Johnson Hill East Capitol Gateway Minnesota Avenue Benro et cetera my question to you is with these future developments do you believe that additional funding should be allocated for more clean teams so I don't I I I could not answer that question I think again there are things that we are doing with the clean teams or and just overall with with businesses I would not say that it it it's prudent to say this needs more money or that needs more money I think we have to see how are we being efficient in in strategic in using the funds that we have an example it could be you know maybe you know I clean teams will be purchasing you know more um green uh sustainable equipment that allows you to do you know um street sweeping faster um have we looked into those sorts of things first before we say we're gonna need more money are there tools out there that will allow us to do the work faster and easier and cover more ground like those are the questions I think uh we need to have and people should have before it's uh you know given the constraints of budget before we just say okay we

Um have we looked into those sorts of things first before we say we're going to need more money.

Are there tools out there that will allow us to do the work faster and easier and cover more ground.

Like those are the questions I think uh we need to have and people should have before it's uh you know given the constraints of budget before we just say okay well this sh should get additional funding no that's a good response I guess a follow-up to my to that question would be well how are you tracking the return on your investment with these clean teams with our clean teams uh a lot of that is through what we hear from our um our business owners and within the uh commercial quarters and I think that you have um there there are metrics that we have as far as the amount of um trash that has been picked up the amount of you know graffiti that's been removed but ultimately it's what we and what I think you've heard today about how uh not only from uh main streets uh but also from the ANC commissioners about how important the work is that they do and how they're great at what they do uh you mentioned metrics uh within your metrics evaluation are you looking at the number of 311 requests are you personally as a director driving across the city looking to see if uh corridors are cleaner because of the main street like what other tools are you I'm sorry a clean team has been administered what other tools are you taking into consideration as a part of your metrics evaluation so we certainly look at the metrics that they provide um we certainly look at what we hear from um our main street executive directors um when I'm doing commercial corridor walks I'm I take note of that when I'm driving uh down Georgia Avenue where I drive through three clean team areas I am taking a look uh and I think our uh clean team operators would be very happy to let you know if I if I see something I pick up the phone and call um but uh and not just if I see trash that I think should be picked up but if it's looking good I pick up the phone and call so um those are the things that uh we are doing to make sure that um uh the clean team operators and their staff are doing that the work they didn't do this is not this is not an easy job um there are times when you see and I've seen it uh you know we see a staffer you know doing what they need to do going up a commercial corridor and someone behind them may throw something you know on the street and it looks like they haven't gone through there but they are I mean so um uh we hear it from the business owners we've not gotten not one complaint about that particular person or persons that have been assigned to a clean team area copy uh so just a couple follow-ups so there are rolling clean teams and four wards yeah ward seven has the lowest proposed funding of those four at about two hundred and ninety eight thousand dollars where Ward one has uh funding allotment of four hundred and fifteen thousand dollars could you discuss why the significant difference between the two wards I could not tell you why a council member chose to fund the roving at one amount versus another um that is not a a a function of what we do what I can do is get you information on you know what uh the grant agreement states and what are the things that each roving clean team uh the services that they provide uh and director how long have you been in this role two three years four I've been in this role since um October of twenty three have you ever based on the metrics that you received from the different clean teams have you ever called a council member and or uh my predecessor uh well not technically my predecessor but uh he tier economic uh business and economic development and say hey I noticed that there's a difference in allotment based on what I'm seeing based on the metrics we put forward or just driving across the city we might need to reshift or reallocate our funds to a different priority area.

I have not done that.

The council member uh I the council member makes a determination and has made a determination based on what he or she feels is needed within their ward that uh they uh probably and I'm not gonna assume they spend more time in their ward than I do so I have not uh done that there is a determination um that was made um sure based on what uh they believe the need is for that particular area based on what they see now I know you said repeatedly that DSLBD does not determine uh the funding that is distributed could you speak to if any the role that you play in determining the equitable distribution of the funds so the funds are and we're talking still about clean teams?

Yes.

So the funds I mean we make sure that the operators receive the funds that the council member has appropriated for that particular clean team.

So we make sure that all of our clean team operators are doing the reporting necessary to continue to get those funds that have been appropriated and we do that and make sure you know documents and all of those things have been submitted so they can get funding for the next year.

And and do you believe that there needs to be the funds need to be equitable distributed.

Or you So if are you referring about the amounts they are distributed timely if the if you're referring to uh whether you know uh clean team A should get 400 versus clean team B to get 200 again I don't I don't want to presuppose what that uh council member was thinking or what their thoughts were when making that determination of what the budget should be for the clean team.

I think thank you.

Well I'll only ask that question because I'm under the belief that when you look at clean team allocations it should be distributed based on the need of a specific area versus a council member's advocacy for their respected clean well I think I think I believe that the clean team uh being determined or identify is based on a need that they see I it's I don't think it's for me to question that need um that's based on what they see for their ward and how they're trying to improve their ward.

Now what I believe our role is is to is to ensure that those funds are spent appropriately those uh district dollars are used for the purposes of what was intended um but I don't think it's for me to to question you know why they determined it should be a hundred thousand versus two hundred thousand uh and I don't know how far I'd get if I questioned it anyway I I appreciate your honesty uh okay I won't spend uh no more time on this uh I want to shift to business development opportunities so given our shift in the economy we see a lot of small business owners looking for business uh opportunities um I want to talk a little bit about how DSLBD is helping small businesses uh could you share what programs and services DSLBD has helped businesses tap into um around opportunities and or access to capital sure um we have helped businesses tap into contracting opportunities uh through the green book and through our matchmaking uh events that we hold and through our district connect we have helped our uh maker community tap into uh enhance retail sales through our partnership uh with the downtown bid and um the holiday market um in addition to funding um additional pop-up markets for our maker businesses um we uh set up a uh vendor portal and a um artist portal for um uh district um uh vendors and district artists to uh have their information um uploaded into so that our main street executive directors um could see what uh uh see who is interested in participating in art all night uh for those services um

Now I now I noticed that your budget specifically around business opportunities and access to capital division uh shows a one thousand, I'm sorry, uh 147,000 uh reduction in funds and yet the same number of FTEs uh could you speak to the reduction in the division?

I believe that sports wagering, but I'm gonna let Sarah take that question.

Yes, that's part of the 136,000 for sports wagering as well as tuition uh employee tuition that was reduced from FY25 to FY26.

And when you say uh employee tuition, if the the remaining was four seventeen thousand was for employee training like internal operations.

So programmatically for business opportunities, there isn't too much of a shift.

Thank you for that.

Uh in the proposed budget, 500,000 was allocated for the robust retail grant program, which you noted went to nearly 50 businesses across the district.

Uh how do you determine whether a 10,000 dollar allocation is the right amount for a business regardless of its size?

So we know that businesses uh have are having increased costs.

Um I think robust retail when initially started, I if I'm trying to remember correctly, it may have been $7500, and that was some years ago.

Um and so knowing that uh those costs associated with doing business have gone up, um, you know, we have uh identified that $10,000 would be make sense to again support um as many businesses as we possibly can, but that that money would have a real impact on the work and the services that they are providing.

And could you share uh could you provide a breakdown of um out of the different wards uh that receive the grant?

I can submit that to you, but it should be uh evenly spread across all eight wards.

Okay.

And how do you measure the effectiveness and or the uh ROI of this program?

The beauty of the robust retail is that again it continues, we continue to have uh increase applications year over year.

Um it is a reimbursable grant, so in submitting the application um they uh the applicants also have to prove or submit documentation of what is being reimbursed.

So I think the fact that there are uh applications, the application pool continues to grow year over year.

We consistently hear how this is one of the easiest, if not the easiest applications that they've had to do.

Um, but not only that, they get the money from time of being notified and submitting the requisite documentation extremely quickly, which allows them to so it's like you know, you spent 10,000 dollars, but you're getting that ten thousand dollars back that's gonna allow you to maybe cover additional payroll, maybe buy that piece of equipment that you need.

And so those are we can certainly let you know some of what the past years and um this year's recipients uh intended uh how they intended to use those dollars that they were getting back.

Uh now director, I wrote the mayor early this year and I asked uh her if she uh I asked her if she could maintain funding uh for DSLBBs Inspire and Dream Pitch programs, which aids uh historically underserved communities with greater opportunity for growth and development.

So I was glad to see that you mentioned this in your uh opening remarks.

Uh but could you for folks tuning in, could you describe both of these programs uh to individuals who may not be familiar with them?

Absolutely.

So our our Dream uh program is a program that is focused on supporting um uh business small business owners in wards uh seven and eight.

Um and it is a uh eight to ten week program because some years it's changed um as far as the length, but there is uh technical assistance, it's um uh one-on-one assistance provided to those and then group uh programming that are provided to um ensure that those businesses can continue to grow and expand.

Um there's not a um every member of the cohort may have a different type of business, but we want to make sure that the programming um addresses some very basic and core needs of those businesses.

Um and so we want to make sure at the end of the day that the business has a uh reasonable business plan and can ultimately um promote their own business, and it concludes um and it's usually in September uh with a uh pitch competition where um businesses in Ward 7 and businesses in Ward 8 compete against each other um to become I think this past year was Ward 8, I think was the winner.

I I get that information for you.

Um our Aspire to Entrepreneurship Program is a program that is um focused on returning sys returning citizens and those uh uh residents that may have been uh involved in uh the justice system in one way or another, but it was it's a program that again gives uh our residents a real opportunity.

Maybe not everybody is it's not easy for everybody to go and interview and have your resume and um uh go to a traditional uh job, if you will, um or career, but the Aspire program allows for um uh this um group of city residents to take a look at what it is that you're good at or what it is that you really want to do, and we are gonna help you uh maintain your business, grow your business, or start your business so you can you know kind of be um in charge of your own destiny.

And so that's what feels like.

Now I know you now I know you probably had the opportunity to talk to talk to some of the recipients of both programs.

Could you talk about how they may have said shared how these programs impacted their businesses?

Uh yeah, we have uh uh many of you know the and I'm gonna go across both programs, whether it is um businesses that were um interested in um obtaining opportunities within district government to provide services.

We've been able to um create that type of opportunity.

We've had uh businesses that have gone through the program and then began to partner um uh with other uh entities um other organizations.

We've had businesses that uh a business owner that went through the Aspire program and left the Aspire program, but working with our business opportunities division is able to do contracting within uh district government.

So even though the program itself is um comes out of one specific division, uh all the divisions are um tied to that program and committed to ensuring that those business owners coming out of it, whether it is it's a business owner looking to provide services, they're connected with our business opportunities division.

If it's a business owner that's looking for access to capital, they're um contacted with another person within innovation and equitable development to get that access to capital.

Now, director, I know you've said on multiple occasions you have everything you need to be successful in your proposed budget.

But in what way would additional funds supporting uh these programs uh better help with uh enhancing uh greater outcomes.

So what I will say is that I need to make sure that we are leveraging and using the funds that we currently have to the maximum ability.

And I have no doubt that uh we will continue to do that.

But I am uh folks that know me know I'm um I'm not going to say I need more money for something that I can't tell you what we need more money for.

So the funding that we have right now, we are going to make sure that we are maximizing those funds and ensuring that we are supporting the most amount of small businesses, and then when it gets to a point to say that we can't support everyone that we should be able to, then I'm sure and I know uh for certain that the mayor uh will ensure that there's funding.

I appreciate your spread of fiscal responsiveness.

Um director, I heard a lot of great things uh from witnesses about the agency's effort to prepare and support businesses to access federal or district based opportunities.

So I like to turn my attention to how the agency's budget is furthering uh that great work.

My question is could you speak to what areas in the budget supports uh your work around providing technical assistance and training to existing or inspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses?

Uh so I would say uh the areas of funding, you know, and this is a uh difficult because all of our divisions support small businesses, um so the funding of and the funding that we are receiving it supports small businesses where they are, whether it's our innovation equitable development division, business opportunities divisions, our marketing division, our general counsel's division.

I mean, we the work that we do in providing um uh let me give an example of you know, we're at MLK Library on a every Wednesday to provide one-on-one assistance.

That's our innovation and equitable development division and our business opportunities division, our Apex Accelerator is there.

Um in addition to being at MLK, we're moving uh to libraries uh across all eight wards.

Um those are the ways that we uh support um and provide to that technical assistance uh to small businesses.

That does not negate uh if someone comes to the office and has a question, if someone calls and has a question.

Um so the team um is very committed to supporting small businesses, being responsive to businesses, um, whether it's at a scheduled up uh whether they have a scheduled appointment time or someone shows up in the office.

Uh thank you for that.

Now in FY 2027, it looks like there is a modest increase in the budget um around CB no, you know what?

I'm going to skip that question.

Um Director, could do you know how many uh businesses are in the district?

Uh there's approximately 75,000 that we service small business.

And now out of those 75,000, do you know how many of them are registered CBEs?

Well, we have uh just under 1959, 1960 CBEs.

Okay.

Do you think $838,000 is sufficient for the city to provide technical assistance support to our businesses andor inspiring uh entrepreneurs based on your portfolio?

Where is the 860?

Okay, so that's for that's the Apex Accelerator grant.

So that's just one division of within DSLBD, and that $800,000 also consists of salaries that are part of that and training that's part of that.

Um but Apex Accelerator not only uh works with our CBEs but other uh district-based businesses that are interested in again um uh opportunities within the federal government and federal government contracts.

Thank you.

Thank you for that clarification.

Okay.

The proposed budget approves 500,000 for art or night.

Could you speak to uh what is this program and what is the or what is the intent of the program?

So our art all night, as I uh talked about before, is a program um that we are uh uh celebrating our 15th year this year.

Um it is a program that is um supported uh through our main streets.

Um I think last year we had 21 main streets that uh participated in it.

I mentioned six bids.

Um it is a event that celebrates and highlights our creative uh uh our creatives, our creative economy, but also in doing so supporting um our uh small businesses not only within the commercial corridors but across the district.

So it's an event that um aims to celebrate uh small business owners, entrepreneurs, uh creatives, you name it.

No, uh does any of uh does any of that funding go towards funding public safety initiatives and or do you guys collaborate with MPD?

Uh we collaborate with MPD, the mayor's special events task force about the um uh some of the events that are planned because some of them uh require have street closure requirements, so we um have to go uh and present and get approval from the special events task force.

Now within the mayor's uh well rather the mayor has proposed the BSA subtitle related to the Art O'Night program, which would allow your agency to enter into a private sponsorships uh for Art O Knight.

Uh could you speak to um could you speak to this and why do you think it's necessary?

Um I think it's in important because again, there Art All Knight has uh continued to grow year over year.

People look forward uh to the event.

Um and so when we're talking about you know being uh creative and innovative, um, understanding there are their limitations within the budget, but there are uh entities and organizations that see the importance and see um uh the activity that is around art all night.

We want to make sure that we are able when we have uh businesses, larger businesses and organizations that want to be a part of it and support it, that we have uh the ability to receive that.

And so that's why I think it is uh important.

And how do we measure the effectiveness and or return on investment for art or night?

Um we uh measure it through we have an application called Placer that tracks the um number of uh uh individuals or residents or people that are in specific corridors, um, the length of time that they are there, we can look at it year over year and see that the impact of art all night that you have people in specific corridors for much longer time than they would that same week the previous year.

Um not only that, it's hearing from again our business owners, and if you participate, I'm sure you have in art all night or the activities.

I mean, you hear it directly from the business owners.

Last year we uh kicked it off uh on Friday in Petworth, and there were lines out the door, and the business owners were saying this is the best Friday we've had in months.

So that's how we are able to tell that you know there's real impact uh not only for our business owners, but also as impact for our creatives that are you know maybe get to perform or be seen or their work be seen where it may not have been seen before.

Thank you, Director.

I'm gonna shift gears to business improvement districts.

So, Director, as you are aware the FY2027 uh budget uh proposes 13 bids across the district.

Uh yeah, Ward 7 uh still does not have a bid.

Uh could you discuss the value of bids to the districts uh overall economy?

I mean I think the value uh the they're they're very valuable.

They support uh small businesses in a very unique way through the property owners and that additional tax, those additional the minor tax that is uh that brings in revenue to that particular community.

budget uh proposes 13 bids across the district uh yeah ward seven uh still does not have a bid uh could you discuss the value of bids to the district's uh overall economy i mean i think the value uh the they're they're very valuable they support uh small businesses in a very unique way um through the property owners and that additional tax those additional the the minor tax that is uh that brings in revenue to that particular community um so it is uh essential I think especially uh for our city and I think that it um that bids uh we all kind of complement uh the work in order to support small businesses um in one way or another the bid supports those small businesses within um their bid area sometimes there are main streets that are closely tied um to that area or within that area and then our bids and main streets can those that are kind of within the same um boundaries work very well together and then those that are uh aligned with a main street or you know uh closely tied to a main street can support a larger uh swath of businesses um in the district and can you share what the process is for establishing a bid uh typically that happens with um and I don't want to say if it's a a business owner but an entity uh it may be a number of business owners that work within um a particular uh community um to uh determine whether or not it's uh an option for that particular business community and then getting uh property owners on board to uh support uh a bid being in that particular boundary area it is something that doesn't happen quickly um it for some it takes uh many many years last uh week we celebrated I think it was last week uh uh Soul of the city bid and uh I think Monica Ray will uh let you know that that wasn't a process that happened overnight but it was a process because there was not only commitment among um the businesses and property owners but a commitment uh from uh all aspects of the government not only the mayor's office but the council and um and and private entities to make sure that that happened and um rector could you speak to if any resources from DSLBD is needed to support registering and technical assistance uh for each bid I'm sorry to a bid I can repeat that if you need me yeah so we I would not know if there is funding that's needed for the bid the bid receives their funding you know through the taxes that that additional tax that's appropriated with them we make sure that um if a bid needs to be recertified that they are recertified or if there's a creation an establishment of a bid that's kind of where our role is we don't get into the operations of the bid okay uh so to wrap up this hearing I'd like to know on a scale one to ten would you say that you have the funding needed to deliver the core functions of your agency on a scale of one to ten yes eleven well uh thank you director for your testimony today and for your continued leadership and partnership in supporting the district's small and local business community and I appreciate your perspective on the agency's funding needs and I also want to lift up what we've heard from many of our witnesses uh here today their testimony reflects a strong demand for services and support which I think presents an opportunity for us to take a closer look together at how we ensure DSLBD is fully positioned to meet the need this conversation is not only about the level of funding but also about how we are distributing resources it is important to me that we are doing so in a manner that is equitably and responsibly to communities and businesses that need support the most I also see a real opportunity to further evaluate the SLBD's role in helping to inform and guide these decisions.