In his September revenue forecast, Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee revealed that DC has an unexpected surplus of funds to the tune of $200 million. According to language within the FY 2026 budget signed into law by Mayor Bowser, CFO Lee was legally required to certify funding for a ‘Contingency List’ that provides one-time funding (just over $50 million) to programs cut from the FY 2026 budget by Friday, November 15 if adequate funding was found – which it was.

However, the CFO failed to certify the funds by that date. Additionally, no announcement was made about what he intends to do regarding certification. If the CFO is required by law to fund the Contingency List passed by Council as part of the FY 2026 budget now that surplus revenue was found, why hasn’t his office certified the funds yet?

It is cruel to delay certification of the funds with no explanation when certification could mean immediate material impact on countless DC residents feeling the impacts of recent budget cuts.

Upon certification, funding should immediately enter the accounts of the related programs listed.

The people deserve an explanation, and they deserve action.

The Ask:

Send a letter to Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee urging him to ensure the Contingency List is fully funded before the Thanksgiving holiday to ensure accountability to the people of DC that he serves and to the Council policymaking that he implements.

Background Reading:

With the total cost of funding the Contingency List being nearly $50 million and the revenue surplus estimated to be $200 million – as well as the recent vote to decouple from Federal law protecting nearly $600 million of that surplus from being lost from Federal tax breaks for the wealthy – CFO Lee should not have had any issues certifying it, including the FBC priorities on the list:

• $5,500,000 of one-time funds to be allocated to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to be spent on the Childcare Subsidy Program in FY 26
• $1,500,000 of one-time funds to be allocated to the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund at the Office of the State Superintendent in FY 26
• $10,000,000 of one-time funds to be allocated to the Housing Production Trust Fund to be spent on housing preservation in FY 26
• $2,950,715 of one-time funds shall be allocated to DHS to be spent on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in FY 26
• $21,538,938 of funds to be allocated to the Department of Health Care Finance for the DC Healthcare Alliance program to delay the October 1, 2026 effective date to limit types of service provided by the program to enrollees aged 21 or older