Yeah, yeah, but didn't he said I could go if I said you can go on and the recording start?

I'll start the recording as soon as you can.

Recording in progress.

Good morning, everyone.

I am Matt Freuman, Ward Three Council Member and Chair of the Committee on Human Services.

Today is May twenty first, twenty twenty six.

We are meeting in person in room five hundred of the John A.

Wilson building and virtually via Zoom.

Today we have a quorum comprised of uh Ward Five Councilmember Zachary Parker joining us virtually, at large council person uh Christina Henderson and Ward Seven Council Member Wendell Felder, um, joining us here in the hearing room.

Today's agenda is limited to the committee's report and recommendations on the fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget.

This committee oversees the agencies that provide some of the district's most essential government services, the Department of Human Services, also known as DHS, administers the district's homeless services system and maintains the district's public benefits programs.

The Office of Cable Television, Film Music, and Entertainment, or Aquami helps us sustain the district's thriving creative economy.

We're now also joined by at-large council member Robert White, and I will, in the interest of courtesy, note that my remarks will run on for seventeen double space pages.

So just as a heads up.

And the Office of Lottery and Gaming, or OLG, which regulates and overseas licensed gaming in the district.

When the council received the mayor's proposed budget only five weeks ago, we were given a Herculean task.

This committee alone had to contend with $130 million in reductions from FY26.

The rationale given for imposing these cuts rather than finding savings elsewhere or raising revenue was the social services do not grow the economy, create new jobs, or keep families in the district.

The committee agrees that government investment in economic growth must be a key driver of the district's recovery, that growth is essential to preserve access to services, and that maintaining the basics must take priority over funding new programs and program expansions.

However, the basics must include fundamental human services like access to shelter, legal counsel, and subsistence cash benefits.

An economy in which child poverty and homelessness are increasing is neither stable nor flourishing.

The collaboration and dedication I have seen from my colleagues since we received the budget represents the council at its best.

We came to address to address shared priorities and focused on the biggest challenges confronting district residents.

What we achieved at the committee level, we achieved together.

And I can say with confidence that the committee budget we are voting on today represents our best work, and in that I really need to, and I will multiple times tip my hat to uh my team, which I think has done incredible work on this budget.

This year, doing our best work meant having the discipline to prioritize restoring existing programs over pursuing new opportunities.

It meant shoring up rather than expanding our agencies, and it meant finding new creative ways to grow our economy.

In drafting our recommendations, the committee was guided by three principles.

First, the district must find new ways to expand its economy and generate revenue.

Now more than ever, the district must attract and retain new employers, and in some cases, entire new industries to reserve reverse the contraction caused by the disinvestment of the federal government.

Still, government incentives must also be deployed responsibly.

The district must scale investments to demand and deploy mechanisms for recovering investments that do not advance district policy.

Second, preserving the existing social safety net is not optional.

While the district should implement efficiencies and realize reasonable savings, it is an imperative to protect the core safety on which our residents core safety net on which our residents rely.

A resilient safety net is also a prerequisite to growth.

Finally, accessible, beautiful libraries are irreplaceable public goods.

There are no other publicly supported spaces that are open year-round to all, let alone public spaces that facilitate lifelong learning and career training.

A thriving neighborhood library system is a must-have, not a nice to have.

Our investments began with homeless with the homeless services system.

The 2026 point-in-time count of residents experiencing homelessness found youth and single adult homelessness to be flat relative to 2025.

Family homelessness, however, increased significantly by nearly 16%.

The mayor's proposed budget, however, reduced funding to the homelessness continuum, cutting millions of dollars in grants and decreasing the number of available shelter beds.

It also funded no new vouchers, depriving DHS of its most important, most powerful tool to end homelessness and underfunded existing vouchers by over $26.9 million.

With the exception of the $26.9 million gap, the committee reduced every significant reduction in the homeless services area and added single system capacity.

First, with the support of the Committee on Public Works and Operations, the committee invested $1.56 million to fund up to 90 new bridge housing beds in the existing district-owned space at the Aston.

The committee also preserved $25 million in capital funding and $3.4 million in outyears operating funding to open a hundred-bed bridge housing site that deploys PHS, PSH plus, a PSH plus model of care.

This new site will serve unhoused residents with the most profound needs, helping them to stabilize and transition to permanent housing.

These investments prevent a reduction in the capacity of homeless services in the capacity of the homeless services system, turning a projected net loss over time of 23 beds into a projected net gain of up to 67 beds.

The committee also partnered with the Committee on Housing to create a pipeline to housing stability out of the family rehousing stabilization program, or FRSP.

In FY25, 75 families returned to shelter after participating in FRSP, the family rapid rehousing program.

The committee moves a BSA subtitle to disrupt this cycle of family homelessness, requiring DHS to refer 38 families to the District of Columbia Housing Authority to be matched with new vouchers funded by the Committee on Housing.

The Committee also reinstates funding for youth services providers, fully restoring a $1.5 million cut to extend transitional housing that would have required 6% reductions at all youth providers.

Additionally, the committee reversed a $500,000 reduction in domestic violence services grants, restored nearly $200,000 in funding for the interagency council on homeless staff, and made several targeted investments in individual providers.

Specifically, the committee restored funding for drop-in centers operated by Everyone Home and the Sasha Bruce Youth Work while sending $250,000 to Friendship Place to support its AIM Hire program.

The AIM Hire Jobs Placement Initiative has successfully transitioned hundreds of unhoused residents into sustainable employment and will be essential as thousands of district residents stand to lose public benefits in coming months due to work requirements.

Elsewhere in DHS, the committee preserved funding for the truancy reduction pilot program.

The committee extends the pilot for one year to allow the full council to decide whether to make the program permanent after learning more about the program's efficacy.

The committee also restored $3.5 million in civil legal services funding cut by the mayor by mistake when she eliminated the CLEAR program.

This reinvestment will prevent hundreds of district residents from having to face the legal system alone.

Some of the committee's deepest investments were to preserve public benefits.

A new BSH subtitle, the Child Support Improvement Act of 2026, limits the amount of child support payments withheld by the government from families receiving temporary assistance for needy families, TANF.

Last year, the committee allowed the maximum permissible amount of current child support to pass through to the children who need it.

This year, the committee funds passing through past due payments.

This update requires a $200,000 investment in FY 27 and a recurring investment of $800,000 in the out years at the Office of the Attorney General.

The committee funds this subtitle with $162,500 in FY27 and a $650,000 recurring transfer out to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, and that committee funds the remainder of the cost.

The committee also invested $3.75 million to fund the Public Benefit Security Act.

This legislation requires DHS to restore stolen public benefits and issue more secure microchip cards for storing benefits.

It will prevent thousands of district residents from having their benefits stolen and keep millions of dollars in district families' pockets over time.

The committee also advanced a subtitle to ensure all families on TANF can access child care, employment, education, transportation, and behavioral health services.

This title expands eligibility for supportive services to participants in power, a TANF subprogram for families who cannot comply with work requirements due to domestic violence, being a teen parent, or mental health or physical disability.

This change expands opportunity for some of our most vulnerable TANF participants.

The committee also expands eligibility for TANF benefits to single people in their second rather than third trimester of pregnancy.

The second trimester is a critical time for child development and lays the foundation for future child and maternal health.

This targeted investment in district families, funded by a hundred and twenty thousand nine hundred and sixty dollar recurring enhancement to DHS can make a real difference in families' lives.

Turning to libraries, the committee restores more than three million in cuts at DCPL.

That includes $1 million to purchase books and return the circulation budget to FY26 levels, $106,000 to preserve youth summer reading, the youth summer reading program, and $143,000 for basic custodial services.

It also includes the restoration of a $1.25 million in adult education services funding through a federal grant secured after the budget was formulated, and $527,000 from the Committee on Transportation and the Environment to support the reopening of the Southeast Library.

The committee is glad to make these targeted investments in preserving DCPL's basic functions and to leave our libraries in a much stronger place than it found them five weeks ago.

In support of the district's creative economy, the committee preserved critical investments at OCFAMI while making every dollar go further.

First, the committee preserves full funding for the GOGO fund and the film rebate fund while ensuring those funds have the greatest possible impacts.

The committee moves a BSA title to require the GOGO fund to be governed by fair, transparent rules that allow all district musicians and other stakeholders equitably to compete for support.

It also advances a subtitle to clarify the amounts of production companies can receive when applying for the film rebate fund, which should attract greater investment in the district.

Finally, the committee funds a new position at OCFAME.

You know, sometimes when you say finally you think, oh, it's almost over.

It actually isn't quite there.

The committee funds a new position at OCMI to resolve concerns with errant cable wires across the district.

Earlier this year, the committee added a cable wire service request to 311, and this additional staffing will better meet the demand that has come from that change.

Investing in the creative economy was just the start of the committee's work to ensure inclusive, responsible economic growth.

The committee sought to balance investments in the continued revitalization of downtown with making key investments in small businesses and neighborhoods across the district.

First, the committee expanded the Office to Anything Tax Abatement Program to include conversion of non-residential buildings to any non-residential use and made other improvements to the program rules to align the program with what the market needs to revitalize downtown.

We also authorized the mayor to approve property tax exemptions for certain properties disposed by the federal government after January 1 of this year, facilitating the transformation of former federal buildings into community assets.

Similarly, the committee authorized DemPed to issue grants for key targeted investments in our economy, including by supporting children's national hospitals' efforts to secure a new campus and retain thousands of district jobs.

The committee made its own investments as well, directing a combined $1 million in retail grants to support Rhode Island Avenue Northeast, 12th and Monroe Streets Northeast and the Lower Georgia Avenue corridors.

The committee also supported businesses impacted by construction along Pennsylvania Avenue with a new round of funding and funded two important studies: a planning study for the Mount Vernon Triangle Central Improvement District and a feasibility study for a potential 8th Street Northeast Business Improvement District.

Further, the committee supported the evolution of the Friendship Heights by directing 100,000 in recurring funds to retail activation, urban design, and pedestrian improvement efforts.

The committee also sent 50,000 in recurring funds to improve service of the Connecticut Avenue Clean Team to enhance clean and safe services across four business districts.

Finally, the committee made two important investments at Denpeb, restoring $1 million in recurring funds to Nourish DC and $200,000 to the DC Community Anchor Partnership, or DCAP.

Nurse DC supports the district's food economy by expanding food access in underserved areas of the district.

Through district investments, Nourish DC has provided grants to 86 food businesses and technical assistance to more than 1,600 food businesses while supporting 870 jobs primarily in wards 5, 7, and 8.

DCAP, meanwhile, is a collaborative of hospitals, universities, utilities, and other large institutions that utilize their collective purchasing power to increase procurement with district-based businesses.

Since 2017, DCAP has directed more than $940 million in spending to district businesses and connected more than 440 local businesses to procurement opportunities.

To preserve this important program that supports local business growth and expands local job opportunities, the committee maintains funding at FY26 levels.

Lastly, the committee lays the foundation for strict regulation of internet gaming or iGaming.

To be clear, the intent is not to establish an online gaming market where one does not already exist, nor to increase the size of the market.

The intent is to protect district residents who are already participated in an unregulated market and wager an estimated $700 million annually.

$700 million annually.

It does, however, introduce a subtitle that establishes a fund into which revenue from the passage of that legislation would flow.

The committee intends to move a permanent version of the IGaming bill outside of the budget process.

The subtitle enables the council to recognize and allocate potential revenue from the regulation of I gaming while maintaining the full legislative process for the larger bill.

Otherwise, we leave it to the mayor to decide how to spend 20 million dollars in revenue that could be realized in FY27.

If a standalone permanent bill were to be passed, the fund would receive more than $74.6 million in revenue over the four-year financial plan, including $20.3 million in FY27, allowing the district to make transformational investments and reverse some of the damage to our social safety net the committee was unable to repair.

The committee worked with other committees to make important investments that align the committee's priorities that align with the committee's priorities but fall outside of its purview.

The committee supported seniors with two transfers to the committee on the executive and labor, one for 210,000 to sustain FY26 funding levels for the senior villages across the city, and another of 110,000 to pay for hotline attorney at the legal counsel for the elderly.

The committee also worked on, worked with the committee on facilities to advance a ward 3 senior wellness center.

The committee also sent two important transfers to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

The first sent a total of 250,000 in FY27 and 380,000 a year in the out years to protect sacred spaces through the safe and secure DC Nonprofit Fund.

The second preserved funding to ensure kids can safely travel to school by maintaining 511,000 for the safe passages program in Tenley Towns starting in FY28.

Despite all the committee's investments, there are still two significant gaps the council must address.

It will cost at least $26.9 million to support the continued use of existing vouchers at DHS, including $22.5 million for rent for current participants and the balance to continue turnover vouchers to new households when participants leave the program.

It will also cost $20.5 million in FY27 to delay changes in TANF imposed by the mayor that will end subsistence benefits for thousands of district children and or reduce.

Councilmember Henderson, facing deep embracing cuts within her committee, found $250,000 to fund domestic violence grants.

Councilmember Parker supported key investments in Ward 5 in the Rhode Island Avenue and 12th and Monroe Street Corridors.

And Councilmember Allen in a year where his committee was hit by some of the mayor's deepest reductions, supported the preservation of Shirley's Place, the reopening of the Southeast Library, and several Ward 6 economic development issues initiatives.

I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues for their spirit of collaboration and their care for our most vulnerable neighbors.

I am confident that spirit will guide the full council as it works to restore TANF and housing vouchers in the coming weeks.

I will move now.

Is there any discussion or opening statements that anyone would like to make?

Okay, I'm gonna go in the order of arrival.

I don't see Zachary's hand up.

So oh, there it is.

All right, Zachary, then Christina, then Wendell, and then Robert.

Thank you, Chairperson uh Fruman and uh to your team on the Committee on Human Services.

As you acknowledge the committee as well as the entire council faced an especially challenging task to meet the needs of our residents with a budget that was almost 130 million dollars less than fiscal year 2026.

I want to also thank uh your team for your work uh you put into right sizing some of the cuts that affect our most vulnerable neighbors.

Uh, as chair of the council's committee on youth affairs, much of my focus is on our youth and how our decisions affect their ability to lead healthy, fulfilled uh productive lives.

I want to commend the committee uh for their restoration of over a million dollars for transitional housing for homeless youth, as well as their investment in the Sasha Bruce Drop-in center.

Uh programs like the Wanda Austin Foundation and SMILE are supported by the extended transitional housing funds, uh, without which we would face uh very real uh challenges uh with even fewer uh bids for our uh young people.

I'm especially grateful for the committee's decision to retain funding for the truancy reduction pilot program, which I believe is showing modest reductions in truancy among participants year over year.

Uh, we know that the status quo is not working, and the pilot feels a gap in our current school system.

Uh, targeting youth with high levels of truancy and providing essential services to bring those levels down.

I do have a question about that.

I'm not sure if now is the time for questions or just a statement, but uh as a former teacher, I would just say I recognize the importance of uplifting literacy and investing in our libraries.

Uh, the committee recognized this as well restoring funding for adult education services as well as the library summer reading program and early education initiatives, which are popular.

I remain concerned about the pending step-down measures for TANF recipients who have been in the program for over 60 months and the increase of the failure to work sanction.

Uh, I have not made any secret that I'm less persuaded by the need to reverse uh the cuts to the COLA, although, you know, in ideal world, we would be able to extend that.

Uh, while we know there is more work to do here, uh, as we continue to address our budget gaps, I applaud the committee on taking steps to make TANF more expansive by uh extending TANF benefits to single people in their second trimester of pregnancy, giving individuals in power access to TANF supportive services and limiting the amount of child support payments that can be withheld from families receiving TANF benefits.

All of that uh will produce very tangible benefits for our families.

I'm almost done here.

Uh finally, I am thankful for the committee's partnership and investment in two ward five retail corridors that are top priorities for me.

Uh, the committee's extension of retail support grants for Rhode Island Avenue will provide needed resources so that our neighborhood businesses can continue to thrive.

That investment is paired with funds for a grant to a main street or a civic association to advance recommendations from the Office of Planning's 2025 Rhode Island Avenue study.

On 12th Street, I am grateful for the work of the Brooklyn Neighborhood Civic Association, which engaged directly with my team and informed our partnership uh with your committee chairperson uh Furman.

So let me know if now is the time for questions, or you would just prefer statements.

If it's all right with everyone, I think I would like to give Councilmember Parker the opportunity to ask some questions.

I just have two.

Um, and uh the first is around the truancy pilot.

I know uh you had questions, I'll put it that way.

Uh so if can you speak to the committee's plan for evaluating the progress of the truancy pilot over the next year?

Uh, how members of the committee can support in that, and is there a plan to expand the number of schools included in the pilot over the next term?

All right, in terms of uh, there is in the ordinary course there will be another report on progress that will have captured two full school years of activity, and so that becomes a key document in evaluating the efficacy of the program.

We also will go to DHS in the interim uh with our comments about the the report that they did this time to make sure that the that we fully understand the numbers that they're putting forward.

For example, the 71% figure that there was a figure that uh 71% of the folks who had participated in the previous year did not turn up in the second year, but you need to unpack that.

How many of them were 12th graders in the first year?

Where was it along the line in the year that it's 71% that didn't turn up in the program?

It could be that a smaller percent turned up in the program in February, but then there's a big bump in kids achieving true hitting the truancy mark, and so that percentage of not turning up would go down.

So we want to make sure we get the numbers right and that we get a full set of numbers for two years.

In terms of um, I don't know about I think the DME would like to see this move to cover all 9th and 10th graders inward seven and eight.

So to the extent that there's an expansion, it would be a targeted expansion in that sort of way.

I hope that answers your question.

Yeah, it does.

I I welcome the opportunity to work with you.

I just would remind folk uh that the status quo is not working because CFSA screens out the vast majority of referrals they are receiving.

Uh my second and last question is do you have a timeline for when that 90 uh the 90 bridge housing bids will be available at the Aston?

And is there a timeline for new planned bridge housing uh for a future site?

So the I think the status of the building is that the Aston could in theory have a hundred and sixty-one people pretty quickly, that the rooms are ready for that, something like that.

But it doesn't happen that way.

It would happen over time.

We're seeing referrals on the order of 10 a month into these kinds of facilities.

So it would take us through the year before we got to full capacity.

And I do want to stress that full capacity might end up being 90, 190, but it might end up being lower than that.

The way we structured this is we leave a lot of discretion to the operator, and we provide guidance that any referrals need to be consistent with clinical directions so that you have some instances where a clinician is saying this person should be in a single room, not share a room with someone else.

Then that could keep the number lower.

There's also certain space that's not been prepared to be rooms and is being used as common space or offices by the provider.

We leave it to their judgment about how much of that space they need.

But the short answer is on the Aston, I think you could expect an increase of about 10 a month in occupancy at the Aston, and where it peaked, I don't know.

I don't think it will peak at 190, but it could, in theory, if a clinical decision was made that yes, this is the best use of that space.

In terms of future bridge housing, there was 25 million dollars put into the budget for future bridge housing.

We left it there.

The executive is looking for a site.

They don't have a site, but they're looking for a site where they could have a hundred bed additional uh bridge housing facility.

Um they're talking about it as a PSH plus, so permanent supportive housing plus, with thicker kind of services than you ordinarily get in the permanent supportive housing setting.

We left the operating dollars in the out years in for that site.

So there is the capital, and there is the operating dollars for a third bridge housing site, and the operating dollars kick in.

It wouldn't open under no circumstances would it open in FY27.

It hasn't been identified, but dollars are there should it be able to open in FY28.

Okay, for the sake of time, I'll leave it there, but thank you for your work and your team's thoughtfulness with uh many of these pressing issues.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember Henderson.

Um, thank you so much, Councilmember Freeman.

Um I want to thank you for your leadership and collaboration on this year's budget.

Um, like you, our committee also had to take on some um new agencies midway through, and I want to commend your staff for learning those agencies very quickly, but also ensuring that uh adjustments were being made where they were necessary based on um feedback from the community advocates, organizations, and others who work on these projects.

Um, I first want to start with the libraries who love me, some public libraries.

Um, and I want to express my appreciation to you and your team for restoring the one million um for the library's collection budget.

Um anyone who pays attention to uh anything in literature these days knows that books are getting more expensive, in particular ebooks are getting more expensive.

Um, and this enhancement restores the ability of the library um to access new and classical physical books and ebooks while increasing the passion for literature throughout the district.

Um I also want to thank Councilmember Allen for transferring a total of 527,788 dollars and FY27 and then 1.6 million over the financial plan to cover the operating costs associated with the summer 2026 opening for the South East Southeast Library.

Um I don't know how that got left off, especially since we know that from a renovation and modernization schedule, the Southeast Library is nearing completion, but we just forgot to put back in the money to operate that library.

Um, and I think this will be great in terms of expanding the space in the teen and children area, more work and study spaces, just across the board across the city.

People are using the libraries more, not less.

Um, and so making sure that that funding is there, making sure that we put back in the custodial and maintenance budget, which I feel like gets cut every year, as though nobody goes to the bathroom at the library.

Um, nor do we want to maintain these beautiful structures that are getting some great use.

Um I also want to put point to your work in some of one of our smaller offices that doesn't get a lot a lot of shine, the Office of Cable Television Music and Entertainment.

Um, your subtitle Maximizing Our Value and Entertainment, I guess the Movie Amendment Act.

Uh yay to your staff on the acronym there, um, which revises the payment structure for the rebut rebate fund.

Um hopefully the subtitle will allow producers to get some clarity around what they need in order to commit to making films within the district and ensuring that the district remains a has a strong creative um economy.

I know for a lot of people I always hate when we're watching a movie about the district, and it's very clear that they did not film it in the district.

Um so hopefully that this works for that uh I think in performance and budget oversight hearings.

There were lots of people who testified about this about the application process being opaque.

Um, and hopefully this, you know, will help add some necess needed clarity.

Um I also appreciate your subtitle, Establishing some rules and guardrails around the go-go uh support fund um to ensure that Go-Go musicians are given a fair chance to receive district support and are actually scored on the talent and the merit of the application, not just who you know.

Um, I want to turn to the investments that the committee was able to make in the Department of Human Services.

Um, the budget that was provided to the council made some deep cuts to the safety net programs.

Um, and I just recall from the budget hearing with you, um, it is no small thing to hear a director admit at the top that they will be starting fiscal year 27 with a budget pressure.

Like she was like, nope, there'll be a budget pressure.

And I think that it, I'm not entirely sure how the CFO certified that when it was sent to us, but I think that there's some work there that we're we were able to do in committee that I hope for the larger council.

So I want to thank you for accepting the 250,000 dollar transfer to the committee, or excuse me, from the committee on health to the domestic violence grants programs.

So we were able to fully restore that cut.

You know, we all sat through a briefing with CJCC, which is our criminal justice uh coordinating council, and domestic violence in the city is not going down, it's going up.

Um, and in fact, it's accounting for a lot more of our homicides than others, and so this is definitely needed to provide some life-saving work at this time.

Um, thank you for transferring uh funding to restore an FTE at the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Um, the mayor's proposed budget cut seven FTEs and left the director to fight homelessness on her own and meet those federal requirements for the agency.

So two people are not sufficient, but I'm glad that we were able to work together on that.

I also want to acknowledge the work to restore two youth serving programs, the Sasha Broof's drop-in center and permanent supportive housing for young people.

Um, it is important for us to maintain these partnerships and supports uh with community organizations, and then also I want to highlight your committee's work to improve the TANF program through some of the new subtitles, in particular, some of the changes to the power program, which we heard a lot of feedback from from TANF beneficiaries, where um its current structure just wasn't working and and was set up in such a way that people who might have needed the services or sorry, needed the power program, didn't want to do it because it was so limiting in terms of what they um uh could could get to.

Sorry, there's a lot going on in your committee, so I apologize for going on, but um uh I Councilmember Parker already talks a little bit about our the cautious approach to the truancy pilot program.

Um, you know, I agree that the program hasn't necessarily proven itself yet, um, and that we need some robust data and deeper analysis before we go further in expanding this.

And I am disappointed that DHS feels it's beyond its capacity to intervene earlier for middle schoolers because what we know is truancy is a pattern, it's not something that you just wake up in ninth grade and decide you don't want to go to school.

There's probably a likelihood that this has been something that has been going on for quite some time, and earlier intervention might help turn it around sooner.

Um turning to your newest agencies, um, some of the changes to support local businesses and the former housing and downtown program.

I think reflects some thoughtful consideration about some of the pain points and reflect us hearing from those developers and others who are interested in investing.

But the way that the program was designed didn't really allow for those projects to get over the finish line.

Um so I want to thank you for accepting one million from the uh uh committee on public works to fund the Nourished DC program.

Uh we've collaborated a lot on food access programs in the district, and I think that this is one that's a little bit different, but it access is not just about a grocery store.

It's not just about a farmer's market, but it's also about uh restaurants and other things that make a positive impact into community.

Um, because I wasn't gonna get away with not saying anything about this.

I want to acknowledge your decision to refrain from actually um moving permanent legislation that would lease legalize internet uh gaming.

Um, I talked about this uh with colleagues earlier this week, and I made it clear that I don't agree with us filling budget gaps on the backs of someone's addiction.

Um putting a casino in a resident's pocket would in some ways be doing exactly that.

Um, and I strongly believe that council members and residents alike should have the full opportunity to participate in a deliberative process about whether or not we move forward on this as opposed to um sliding it into the budget.

Um, so I want to ask just a clarifying question, just so that everybody's clear on the record.

Um, uh council member, um, the subtitle that is included is not a guarantee that the complete package will pass.

Um, is that accurate?

That's accurate.

I mean, the it if it passes, it gives direction.

If it doesn't pass, then it doesn't give direction.

Okay, all right.

Um, well, I look forward to continuing to uh talk about all of these issues.

Again, I want to thank commend you and your team for your persistent oversight of these agencies in your committee's purview.

I think you all have made some smart targeted investments.

Um, and there's more work to be done, but thank you.

Thank you very much, and thank you for your partnership on all of these issues.

Um, I think councilmember Felder.

Uh thank you, Chairperson Fulman.

Um, for your leadership.

Uh, just looking at there's been significant cuts uh across the government and the programs that were are within your committee.

Uh a lot of residents for allow no safety nets, and then um having DEMPIT uh in your committee, which it's supposed to support the growth of the district.

Looking at your uh markup, I love how you struck a balance between growing, continue to make investments that grow the district's economy, but at the same time make sure that we are restoring programs that ultimately allow a lot of our most vulnerable residents depend on.

So I was very um excited to see investments in TANF, bridge housing, uh permanent supporting housing, youth homelessness.

I know a lot of these uh programs, ward seven families rely on uh consistently.

So kudos to you.

I know it was an arduous task, uh, but I was very pleased to see those um restoration and funding for those programs.

Uh I was also excited to see that you maintain uh economic development funding for a number of programs, uh projects rather than Ward 7.

Uh you know, we've had extensive conversations offline about the importance of continue to move Ward 7 forward and continuing to invest in those projects.

So I appreciate you for that.

And then uh lastly, um I'm grateful to see that there was a subtitle to establish uh the IGA gaming revenue fund.

I know that it's a sensitive topic for a lot of our colleagues, and I appreciate your meticulousness to approach the discussion and should we move forward collectively as a council.

Um I love how this fund will ensure that we're putting the safeguards in place to combat possible gambling addictions that may come along with uh passing this legislation.

So I commend you and uh thank you for that.

Also, look forward to uh getting a full committee in January in the next year around this time I can make proper investments in in the committee so we could compliment one another.

So thank you, sir.

Thank you, Councilmember Felder.

Uh Councilmember uh White.

Uh thank you, Chairperson Fruman.

I I want to sincerely recognize you and your staff for the work you've done under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

This budget season has made one thing painfully clear is that when we cut the budget by cutting from the bottom, people fall hard, and your committee worked very hard to soften that blow.

The mayor chose not to invest in homeless services and to scale back supports that people rely on to stay afloat.

At the same time, uh increase the budget for police and youth incarceration.

Sadly, I know how that story ends.

Um, it will cost the city a lot of money and a lot of pain.

The changes you your team made will make a real difference in people's lives.

Keeping the Aston open at a higher capacity means many people will sleep in beds instead of on the sidewalk.

Protecting youth housing means young people in crisis will have a place to land, and allowing TANA families to keep a portion of their child support payments means parents will finally see some of the money intended for their children actually reach their household.

And you work with my committee to create a pathway to a permanent voucher for 38 families exiting rapid rehousing, those are lifelines.

So I want to acknowledge that work.

I also want to acknowledge that your committee was left with gaps so large that you simply could not fill them within your committee.

We still do not have enough funding to maintain the housing vouchers that keep thousands of residents stable.

We still face reductions in homeless services that will mean fewer beds and fewer supports.

And families who have relied on TANF long term still face the threat of losing their only steady source of income in the years ahead.

None of that is the committee's failure.

It is predictable outcome of a budget that relies on, I think uh unfortunately so trickle-down economics.

That is short-sighted and will not account for the long-term consequences.

So I want to thank the committee for doing everything within its power to reduce harm.

You've made responsible, compassionate choices that will make a difference in our city's landscape.

Now it's on the full council to fill in these gaps.

If we don't, people will lose their housing, refrigerators will go empty, and kids will go to school without the basics they need to get through the day.

So I look forward to working with you in the full council to restore the crucial resources that keep people with a bed, food on the table, and the stability that every family deserves.

And again, I want to thank you and your team for just a significant amount of work in this budget.

Thank you.

So everyone went through once, and to the extent they had questions, they were able to ask them.

But is there anybody who has anything further that they want to say or ask?

Uh hearing none, uh I move the committee's I'm sorry.

I just uh have a quick question.

We talked about this in our council roundup, but I think it's good for the record, just to see if there is any update from the executive about the commitment we heard from the DHS director that there will be funding provided from somewhere, not sure where, uh, to maintain existing housing vouchers.

Uh, like is that your understanding?

Is that still your understanding?

Has there been any updates or movements?

Um, because I think that is a big concern.

Uh, the unknown in the future.

So there is no update on that.

And for the others, um, at the hearing where we talked about the cost pressures, the director said we're gonna take care of it.

But it's gonna be a new administration, and if it's gonna be taken care of, it's gonna be money taken from someplace else.

And to the extent that they've identified any sources of money and they have not identified remotely as enough money to fill the gap.

It's from other places in the homeless continuum.

So, it's an easy thing to say.

We will pay for it, but frankly, it's the next mayor.

So it's the passing the baton, they're passing a gap on to the next mayor in this critical area, and to the extent it gets filled, it would be filled by creating gaps in other places.

I still think it falls to us to solve this issue.

I said thank you.

All right.

Anything else?

All right, hearing none, yeah, Chairman.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh, Councilmember Train White, I didn't see you there.

Apologies.

Yes, thank you, Chairman.

I want to thank you and your team for your diligence, don't it?

Uh, trying to be nice, but I want to say terrible budget.

Uh, one of the worst budget I've seen has been on the council.

Especially for those who need the city the most that are dependent on government to govern.

Um, and I think that you have done a heroic job.

You're a team trying to restore, even though I know you can't do everything through this particular budget.

Um, I think that you were left with a heavy, heavy task.

Um, a few things uh I want to thank you for uh putting funding back into our library.

I think that's critical.

As coming out of the pandemic, there are a lot of people who and especially our youth who had some gaps in learning, and we need to be intentional about making sure they have what they need, and we are seeing an increase in participation in our libraries.

We know that housing is not something that people want.

That's something that we need, and you restored uh some of the pathways to storing up securing housing in the district, and I think it's a come upon us as uh as members to make sure as we go to come out of this committee to the larger committee of the whole that we found more money to make sure residents can stay in the city because they can't stay here, they can't live here, they can't go to our schools, they can't go to our libraries, they can't do what they can, but they won't be our citizens anymore.

And we noticed in that uh a lot of especially African American residents, uh leaving uh the district in numbers.

Um I think you funded up to new twenty ninety new bridge housing base at Ashton.

Um you funded a family homelessness, create pathways to homelessness, um, fully restoring the 3.5 million for the Clear Legal Services Program.

Uh youth homelessness is rising in the district.

Um, restored about, I think I saw about 1.5 million um for housing, 250,000 sauces.

Bruce was still, we need more.

Um, and we also want to help people to get jobs and careers where they can take care of themselves.

Um we know that domestic domestic violence has been skyrocketing the district.

Um, and we've seen more and more of those cases.

So restoring the 500,000 domestic balances goes a long way.

Um, TANR'su support um proposed to change so Tanner families can see more uh money owed to them.

I think that's critical.

Um and I think we have a uh a long way to go.

Uh and I think that when it's the city thrives, we gotta think about those working class families that take care of the city every day.

They take care of our children that go to the daycare, that's in the restaurants, it's in the stores, the working class people of the district.

And if we don't count them in and we count our sales out, because those are the people who supported and spoke for us and keep the city thriving each and every day.

So I want to thank you and the committee for your hard work and look forward to supporting uh even deeper measures to support some of these uh things that uh social service needs that we have in the district.

Uh thank you, Chairman.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Treyon White.

Okay, I mean, uh I'm gonna move the report and then take the vote, but I don't want people to rush out to the exits because then there'll be I won't take up too much time on thank yous, but there are some necessary thank yous.

So I move the committee's fiscal year 2027 local budget act recommendations, the committee's fiscal year 2027 budget support active 2026 recommendations, the committee's budget report and the ledger of committees act committee actions on block with leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes.

All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye.

I all those opposed, please indicate by saying no.

In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the motion passes.

But as I said, before gambling out, I want to thank the staff who have worked on our budget report.

Um I think many, many people will be thanking Jen Boodoff, but also in our case particularly, Ann Phelps for the work that she's done.

Thank you very much, and for all of the support that you provided.

Budget analyst Kyra Smith, uh fiscal analyst Jamie Lantinen, assistant General counsel, Renako all SOP, all worked around the clock to make our committee's investments possible.

Really grateful to all of you for your work and the spirit which you brought to the work and working with our team.

Absolutely could not have gotten there without you.

I also have to acknowledge our incredible team, including uh legislative assistants, Ella Roth, and some of the things that you see in the public benefit space reflect a lot of creativity about places we can leverage small amounts of money to make a real difference.

Elias Benda is in the room who served in this sort of role last year and did some of the similar kinds of things.

And it is the way in which we are able to use a few dollars to make a real difference in the lives of others, that I think we have lots of reasons to be proud, and it would not have happened without Ella.

Emily Shaney, who's done an incredible job and pushes me at every turn.

Some of the things that you see in the library space, in the uh Ochamy space, these are really Emily's initiatives.

And on the um uh ebook legislation that we did.

We provided more fun funding in order to allow for more purchases of of books and ebooks, but we also are pursuing a legislative agenda that Emily has been a real driver on that to make a very big difference in that space.

Um there was the observation we took on a couple of big agencies in the middle of this process, and my chief of staff, Lee Catherine Miles, who's done an amazing job in that role, then moved into doing double duty, focusing on Dem Ped and the Office of Lottery and Gaming, very complicated, big issues, very complicated issues, and she did a magnificent job of navigating through that.

And you know, I I I hear in my head there's that song, don't advertise your man, where it's the woman saying, Don't talk about your man because somebody's gonna come take them from you.

Uh every time I think about Dan Passen, that's how I think about it.

Just an unbelievable job.

All of these complicated things, and a pretty indecisive boss who postpones making decisions and carried us through this process to where we are today, really, really grateful for everything that all of the members of our team have done, and all of the support folks in the office of the general counsel and in the budget office.

With that, the business before this committee is concluded.

The time is now 1203 p.m.

and this meeting is adjourned.