Committee of the Whole Public Oversight Roundtable on Budget Formulation, Execution, and Agency Overspending - October 29, 2026

On Thursday, October 29, 2026, from 10:26 a.m. to 12:56 p.m., the Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole, chaired by Phil Mendelson, held a public oversight roundtable in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. The roundtable examined three issues: agency spending above amounts appropriated in annual budgets; executive and OCFO enforcement of council-approved budgets; and OCFO budget formulation rules for the fiscal year 2028 budget. The hearing was limited to invited witnesses, and the executive branch declined to send witnesses. Written testimony may be submitted until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

Invited Witness Testimony

• D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson testified virtually from Massachusetts. She said the council's roundtables a year ago offered hope for better cooperation on spending, but she remained concerned about large post-fiscal-year reprogrammings. She highlighted Reprogramming 26-175 transferring $4.2 million from the Office of the Chief Technology Officer to the OCFO, primarily for personal services; Reprogramming 26-162 transferring just under $2 million from the Department of Buildings because of unfilled inspector and plan reviewer positions; two October reprogrammings moving more than $8 million to the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department for overtime, in part because costs could not be covered through Medicaid reimbursements; and Reprogramming 26-172 providing $3 million to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development for the Fletcher Johnson capital project, with no explanation of what costs were not suitable for bond funding.
• Patterson argued the District's budget is not structurally balanced, quoting the Government Finance Officers Association on the difference between statutory balance and structural sustainability. She said the current budget uses one-time resources for parts of the uniform per-student funding formula, and the multi-year plan assumes a $552 million local fund gap between FY27 and FY28, including a 35% cut to the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, a 50% cut to the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, a $95 million cut to DC Public Schools, a $78 million cut to DC public charter schools, and almost $40 million cut from the Department of Energy and Environment. She called this a steep fiscal cliff.
• Patterson recommended bringing budget and finance functions back under the elected chief executive, arguing that the independent CFO's usefulness has outlived itself and that taxpayers pay for two separate budget execution operations that do not communicate effectively. She also said her office found both the executive and the CFO responsible for anti-deficiency violations and improper reserve use.
• CFO Glenn Lee testified that OCFO has refined budget formulation so known and reasonably predictable expenses are included in appropriations, implemented new budgeting systems, and reviews quarterly financial review process reports. He said the District faces fiscal stress driven by a sharp decline in federal employment and spending and post-pandemic office worker patterns, and the approved FY28 general fund budget is 4.5% below FY27.

Discussion Items

• In response to Councilmember Felder's questions, Patterson said overspending results from failures of budget deliberation and execution, with some agencies overspending year after year. She noted that MPD, DHS, and DHCD have recurring patterns. On federal events, she said the District should carefully track costs and bill the federal government for overtime, and that Medicaid reimbursement remains a record-keeping challenge.
• Chair Mendelson disagreed with Patterson's proposal to eliminate the independent CFO, recalling pre-control-board finance directors who overstated revenues, the fifth-quarter accounting device, and the role of the independent CFO and Office of Revenue Analysis in pushing back on agency cost estimates. Patterson responded that ORA sometimes accepts agency claims and that council budget staff have improved by pushing back.
• Mendelson raised the example of $100,000 appropriated for a unified juvenile justice study by the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice that was never spent. CFO Lee said OCFO cannot force agencies to spend money, but can block reprogramming of council-designated funds. Deputy CFO Eric Kennedy said OCFO denies such reprogrammings and coordinates with the council budget office. Lee and Kennedy agreed to provide a written explanation of why the SNAP benefits contingency language compelled spending while the juvenile justice study language did not.
• Mendelson asked for the total amount of FY26 agency overspending before year-end reprogrammings. Lee said the final reprogrammings before the council total approximately $21 million, about 0.2% of the budget, and that with reprogrammings there would be no overspending relative to final appropriations. He identified MPD as receiving the largest year-end reprogramming at $13.3 million and DYRS at roughly $6.7 million. Kennedy offered a detailed written summary.
• Mendelson cited third-quarter FRPs showing unresolved spending pressures: DPW projected $6.4 million in personal services pressure and proposed gap-closing measures covering only $1.3 million, leaving $5.15 million unresolved; DHS had about $4.4 million unaddressed; settlements and judgments forecast a $3.4 million gap with no closing plan; OSSE said $1.5 million would be resolved through cluster-wide year-end reprogramming; and DYRS did not address $6.46 million in overtime and direct services pressures. Kennedy acknowledged this was not okay and said OCFO is making improvements.
• On DPW, Mendelson noted one snowstorm cost $50.5 million and questioned spending controls. Lee and Kennedy said specific operational decisions during emergencies are executive discretion, while accountability questions belong with DPW.
• On MPD overtime, Lee said $22 million in additional overtime was tied to the Safe and Beautiful Act Task Force and was ultimately chargeable to the federal government.
• On budget formulation, Lee said the growth rate in the financial plan is aligned with the Office of Revenue Analysis's CPI projection, currently about 2.6%, and is not tailored by agency. Kennedy said new rules include putting non-union COLA funding in agency budgets and exploring a set-aside for charter school enrollment changes. Mendelson suggested using workforce investment funds as a contingency, which Kennedy said would be considered.
• Lee discussed restrictions on pushing fund balance through the financial plan, saying the District will have no accumulated surpluses and that using one-time fund balance in out-years to support ongoing expenses undermines a structurally balanced plan. On the capital improvement plan, Lee said borrowing costs have climbed, and OCFO estimates the District would exceed the 12% debt cap in FY29 unless the CIP is reduced by roughly $350 million to $400 million. He also agreed to provide capital spending accomplishment rates for the last five years.

Key Outcomes

• No votes or formal decisions were taken; the roundtable was an oversight hearing.
• The executive branch did not appear, declining the committee's invitation to send agency directors and representatives.
• The record remains open until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, for written testimony.
• OCFO committed to provide written follow-ups on year-end reprogramming details, the legal difference between the SNAP contingency and the juvenile justice study appropriation, the Fletcher Johnson reprogramming costs, and capital spending accomplishment rates.