Committee of the Whole Hearing on Real Property Taxation Bills – July 10, 2026
Committee of the Whole Hearing on Real Property Taxation Bills – July 10, 2026
The Committee of the Whole, chaired by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, held a public hearing on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 10:22 AM in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. The hearing considered ten bills related to real property taxation, covering exemptions for seniors, disabled veterans, non-profit organizations, and religious institutions, as well as reforms to the property tax assessment and appeals process. Witnesses included representatives from non-profits, veterans, senior advocacy groups, real estate industry, the Archdiocese of Washington, developers, and government officials from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission (RIPTAC). The record will remain open until 5:00 PM on Friday, July 24, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Food and Friends (B26-564): CEO Carrie Stoltzfoos testified in support of a permanent 100% property tax exemption for the organization's property at 219 Riggs Road NE. She explained that a former billboard lease had led to 3% of the property being taxable; the billboard was removed in 2023. The current temporary exemption (97%) expires September 25, 2026. The 2026 annual tax of $247,511.94 would fund approximately 27,810 meals. She requested the permanent bill also be enacted on emergency and temporary basis to ensure continuity.
- Archdiocese of Washington Parishes (B26-641): Mary Rhodes (Senior Counsel), Jeff Gelman (attorney), and two pastors testified in support. They argued that parishes are the true beneficial owners of properties purchased with parishioner funds and held in the archbishop's name due to historical legal restrictions. They requested the ability to record supplemental confirmatory deeds to retitle properties to parish corporations without recordation or transfer taxes. They stated OTR rejected recording despite emergency/temporary legislation, causing administrative burdens and tax bills. Gelman distinguished the Columbia Realty case as inapplicable.
- Reservoir District (B26-700): Emily Alexander and Ruth Hong (Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners) testified in support, urging passage as written to align rent assumptions with HUD multifamily tax subsidy project income limits rather than inclusionary zoning rates. They said a $14–$126 per unit rent gap would make the project economically infeasible. They opposed adding affordability covenant requirements, stating the tax abatement is already codified. Robert Vinson Branham (DC Federation of Civic Associations) supported the bill.
- Senior Tax Aggregation (B26-360): Deborah Cuevas Hill (Legal Counsel for the Elderly) and Nikitia Burko (Legal Aid DC) testified in support. Hill provided the example of the Johnson family, where two senior sisters inherited 25% each and faced $15,000 in taxes and foreclosure; aggregation of their interests would allow the senior tax deduction. Burko also supported the disabled veterans exemption and requested removing the 50% ownership threshold entirely.
- Disabled Veterans (B26-476): Gary Kelts (100% disabled veteran) and Benjamin Fallon (permanent and total disabled veteran) testified in support. Kelts said he lived in Maryland due to lack of exemption in DC. Fallon purchased a home in DC and asked the District to honor veterans. Robert Vinson Branham recommended extending the exemption to all service-connected disabled veterans regardless of disability percentage. The Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors (Tony Mancuso) supported.
- Assessment/Appeals Bills (B26-252 and B26-484): Multiple witnesses opposed B26-252, including Scott Kreider (Wilkes Artis), Tanya Castro (Castro Haas), Joe Riley (property manager), Grant Steinhauser (Ryan LLC), Eric Jones (AOBA), and Rassan Bernard (WC Smith). They argued the bill compresses timelines, does not address root problems (inaccurate valuations, overreliance on CAMA, lack of transparency), and would overwhelm RIPTAC. They recommended reforms such as access to worksheets, use of independent appraisals, and consolidation of multi-year appeals. Support was mixed for B26-484; many favored its provisions (multi-year LOAs, electronic delivery, elimination of 5% rule) but RIPTAC and OCFO raised concerns about increased caseload and code citation errors.
Discussion Items
- B26-360 – Senior Tax Aggregation: OCFO (Basil Fashina) testified that as drafted, the bill could allow a senior with a tiny ownership share to qualify, and suggested language to require aggregate ownership of seniors to be at least 50%. Chair Mendelson noted the intent is to allow aggregation to meet the 50% requirement.
- B26-476 – Disabled Veterans: OCFO (Robert McKeon) provided suggested language to clarify the exemption for surviving spouses. No policy objection.
- B26-564 – Food and Friends: OCFO noted the property does not qualify for administrative exemption because less than half of clients are DC residents, but the bill is acceptable as a policy matter.
- B26-641 – Archdiocese: OCFO (Basil Fashina) stated that transfers from the archbishop corporation sole to parish corporations are not supplemental deeds under tax law, citing a recent Court of Appeals decision. He offered suggested language to deem the deeds as supplemental for tax exemption purposes, but cautioned against using tax concepts for non-tax purposes. Chair Mendelson acknowledged the parishes' desire for recognition of unchanged ownership and noted the OCFO's alternative language.
- B26-686 – Alpha Omega: OCFO noted property already denied exemption by OTR and Superior Court; the bill would provide a specific exemption and retroactive tax forgiveness (including before foundation ownership). OCFO did not object to form but flagged the retroactive provision.
- B26-700 – Reservoir District: OCFO (Basil Fashina) testified the bill amends affordable housing requirements for the existing tax abatement, specifying use of HUD multifamily tax subsidy project income limits.
- B26-252 – Assessment Schedule Revision: OCFO supported, stating it would allow OTR to use the most recent income/expense data. Industry witnesses countered that the bill does not fix systemic assessment errors and would compress already strained timelines. RIPTAC Vice Chair Robert Cooper noted that compressing timelines without more resources would worsen delays; only 59% of decisions were issued by February 1 deadline.
- B26-484 – Fairness and Accuracy: OCFO raised concerns about the code citation for LOAs (should amend Title 47, not Uniform Power of Attorney Act) and the elimination of the 5% rule, which RIPTAC said could increase frivolous appeals. RIPTAC also worried about changing the decision deadline to March 1 and electronic submission strain. Many private witnesses supported the bill's provisions, with the suggestion to limit 5% rule elimination to commercial properties.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; this was a public hearing to receive testimony.
- Record open until July 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM for additional written comments.
- Chair Mendelson expressed interest in working with the Archdiocese on supplemental deed language and with OCFO on clarifying senior aggregation, disabled veterans, and other bills.
- Councilmember Bonds raised issues about senior property tax burdens, the need for meaningful assessment reforms, and requested further discussions with RIPTAC and OCFO.
- RIPTAC Vice Chair Cooper highlighted that 93% of appeals are sustained, but the commission is understaffed (6 full-time commissioners, 2 administrative staff) and needs additional resources to meet deadlines.
- OCFO offered suggested amendments for B26-360, B26-476, B26-641, and B26-484 to address drafting concerns.
- Next steps: The Committee will review testimony and proposed amendments before marking up the bills for consideration by the full Council.
Meeting Transcript
I'm 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 Whole. Today is Friday, July 10th, 2026. The time is 1022 in the morning. We're in room 412 of the Johnny Wilson building. This hearing is being recorded and will be available on the council's website, which is www.dccouncil.gov. The subject of this hearing is, if I'm counting correctly, 10 bills related to real property taxation. The bills are, and I'm going to take a few minutes to describe all this, Bill 26-252, the real property assessment and appeals schedule revision act of 2025. It was introduced last year. In fact, it was introduced on May 19th of 2025 by Council, then Councilmember Kenyon McDuffie. The stated purpose of this bill is to amend Title 47 of the DC Code to provide extended assessment notice and first-level appeal dates for large valued real properties, to revise which real properties are required to file income and expense information with the Office of Tax and Revenue, to require large-valued real property owners to file electronically when directed to by the Office of Tax and Revenue, and to allow the Office of Tax and Revenue to send electronic appeal responses to the property owner. The second bill is Bill 26-360 entitled The Senior Tax Aggregation Amendment Act of 2025. This bill was introduced on September 22nd last year by Councilmembers Janice Lewis George, Anita Bonds, Robert White, Charles Allen, Matt Freuman, and Brooke Pinto. The stated purpose of this bill is to amend again Title 47 to allow for the aggregation of the ownership interests of two or more individuals over the age of 65 to meet the 50% ownership requirement to qualify for the reduced property tax liability program. The third bill is Bill 26-476 entitled Disabled Veterans Complete Property Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2025. This bill was introduced last November 14th by Councilmembers Brooke Pinto and Janice Lewis George. The stated purpose of this bill is to amend Title 47 to exempt 100% of the taxation of real property for owners who are veterans classified as having a total and permanent disability or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. The next bill is Bill 26-484 entitled The Fairness and Accuracy in Real Property Tax Assessments Amendment Act of 2025. This bill was introduced on November 17th, 2025 by Councilmember Brooke Pinto, and its purpose is to amend DC Official Code Title 21 to extend the applicability of letters of authorization for purposes of tax appeals and also to amend title 47 to eliminate the 5% rule limiting assessment relief. The next bill is Bill 26-641 entitled The Archdiocese of Washington Parish Real Property Deed Recordation and Transfer Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2026. The purpose of this bill is the stated purpose is to amend again Title 47. That should not be a surprise with these bills, to provide real property, deed recordation and deed transfer tax exemptions for properties held under the ownership of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington and his successors in office, a corporation Seoul, or the respective parishes of the Archdiocese of Washington. The next bill is Bill 26-686, entitled the Alpha Omega Social Action and Scholarship Foundation Real Property Tax Exemption Act of 2026, which was introduced on May 6th of this year by myself. And the stated purpose of this bill is to amend Title 47 to exempt from real property taxation, the Alpha Omega Social Action and Scholarship Foundation property located at 1231 Harvard Street Northwest. And possibly the last bill on this list is Bill 26-700 entitled the Reservoir District Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2026. This was introduced on June 3rd of 2026, so a little over a month ago by Councilmember Zachary Parker. And the stated purpose of this bill is to amend Title 47 to designate the property. It doesn't say what property in the hearing notice over with the former McMillan Reservoir site, Sand Filtration Site location to designate the properties affordable housing for which fair market rents, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development apply. So those are all the bills. The witness list is in slightly different order than those bills, and it's our practice that government witnesses, and there are three from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who will be at the end of the list, and that's where we will find out issues that we may have to deal with with these bills. The record in this matter will be open for two weeks. That is, the record will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24th. What does that mean? We're a political body. If somebody comments, sends us comments in August, we'll look at them and consider them. But if you want them in the record, they have to be filed within two weeks. That is by 5 p.m. Friday, July 24th. So I'm going to proceed with witnesses. I'm never quite sure how to pronounce your last name. Stoltzfoos. You did great. Yeah, I know I didn't, but thank you. It doesn't rhyme with anything, so I can't help you. Good morning, Chair Mendelssohn. I'm Carrie Stoltzfuse, CEO of Food and Friends, an organization that provides medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling to individuals diagnosed with serious health issues and their caregivers' independence across the Metro region. In FY25, we provided nearly 1,055,000 meals to 3,039 district residents, all of whom were facing diagnoses of cancer, heart and kidney failure, HIV AIDS, and many other illnesses.
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