This public hearing of the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Council Chair Phil Mendelson, was held on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 10:34 AM in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. The hearing considered the Mayor's proposed FY2027 budget for four agencies: the Department of Buildings (DOB), the Commission on Arts and Humanities (CAH), the Office of Zoning (OZ), and the Office of Planning (OP). Nearly 90 witnesses were scheduled to testify. The hearing also covered the FY26 revised budget and the Budget Support Act (BSA).
I am calling to order this hearing. This is a public hearing of the committee of the whole of the council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee of the All. Today is Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The time is 10 34 in the morning. We actually had a hearing before this. And did I say today is May 6th? The time is 10 34 in the morning. We are in room 412, the Johnny Wilson Building. This hearing is being recorded and will be available on the council's website, www.dccouncil.gov. The subject of this hearing today is consideration of the mayor's proposed budget for the Department of Buildings, the Commission on Arts and Humanities, the Office of Zoning, and the Office of Planning. And we'll hear testimony in that order. I think we have something close to 90 witnesses total between the four agencies. I believe this is the sixth hearing that the committee of the whole has had on the mayor's proposed budget. We will have a hearing tomorrow on the Office of State Superintendent for Education, and we will have a hearing next week, May 13th, on all of the legislation that the mayor submitted for the council's consideration related to the budget. So on April 14th, the mayor submitted the proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. Accompanying that legislation was also a proposed revised budget for the current fiscal year, FY26, also a budget support act, also a federal portion budget request act. So all of those measures, plus I think there's an emergency version of one of them. It will be the subject of next Wednesday, May 13th hearing. There'll be a lot of witnesses, it will be an all-day affair. But today, as I said, we will begin first with the Department of Buildings. The um council is required under the Home Rule Act to vote within 70 days on the budget. So first reading will be 56 days, which I believe is June 9th, and the second vote will be two weeks later. The Budget Support Act will get first reading on June 9th. Second reading will be sometime after, but probably not the 23rd of June. Because we have so many witnesses, I ask that uh witnesses be mindful of the clock, and there are clocks everywhere. If you're testifying online, there's a clock on the screen. If you're in the in route this room 412, there are a few clocks that you can see. So please uh stay to the time. Uh Susanna Lumier, senior staff attorney at legal aid. Uh Valerie Jablo, who's just listed as a public witness. Liz Devaros, who's president and CEO of the DC Building Industry Association. Chuck Elkins, who's an ANC commissioner, I believe ANC3D. Martin Holmes. Uh David Meloff. Bianca P. Michael Arias, who's a member of the public policy committee of the DC Association of Realtors. Patrick Cothern, who's a policy attorney with Children's Law Center. Andrea Chatman, who's community organizer with Empower DC. And if this person is virtual, Damiana Dendi. Otherwise, well, then I'll call you at the next panel. So I did not take careful notes. Let's see. Um is it Lumier? Please proceed. Good morning, Chairman Mendelssohn. My name is Susanna Lumier. I'm a senior staff attorney in the housing unit at Legal Aid DC and a DC resident. Legal AIDS DC housing unit represents low-income renters against eviction and in securing health and safe healthy and safe housing. We often see landlords allowing housing to fall into disrepair, then failing to correct housing code violations even after the Department of Buildings has done an inspection and cited them.