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Ward 3 Update: The Final Budget
Dear Neighbors,
The District's FY22 budget passed its second and final reading today after receiving a unanimous vote by the Council. As with any budget, funding tweaks are made between the first and second vote, but this year the Council made some significant modifications (what I consider to be great improvements) to the budget—especially in terms of our investments in public safety.
The Mayor submitted a revised budget proposal to the Council yesterday, allocating additional funding to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for hiring/personnel purposes. Instead of accepting the supplemental budget as proposed, the Council reallocated the funding to strike a balance between our efforts to address the determinants of violence at the source, while also being prepared to respond to crime or gun violence when it occurs. To do this, the Council approved a number of proactive safety enhancements, including $3.2 million to expand Attorney General Racine's Cure the Streets program, $1.9 million for additional violence interrupter contracts (to read more on what that work looks like, please click: here), and $1 million for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement's Leadership Academy. To support MPD's essential work, an additional $5 million was provided to enable the hiring of an additional 60 officers and to meet the agency's resource needs. It is my hope that these additional resources will be used to increase the ranks of detectives, alleviate some of the need for overtime (which burns out officers), and put more officers on the streets, particularly on bicycle patrols. It is vitally important that people are safe and also that they feel safe, I think these additional resources will advance both goals.
I was also happy to support an amendment that ensures funding for a full-time librarian at every public school, additional compensation for those residents who waited more than 2 months for unemployment insurance compensation, and additional funding for excluded workers. These funds build upon the substantial financial enhancements made at the budget's first reading that support our most vulnerable residents—including millions of dollars for housing support, rent relief, food access programs, and aid for our hotel, restaurant, and small business community—and the many other programs that will prove critical as we recover from the pandemic.
Regards,
Mary
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A Second Community Letter on the Two New Schools Proposed for Ward 3 |
New Info & Further Clarity - Councilmember Cheh has shared a second community letter on the two new schools proposed for Ward 3. One school is proposed to be located in the Foxhall Village neighborhood and the second is proposed for the Georgetown Day School’s former lower campus site at 4530 MacArthur Blvd NW.
The letter shares new information and seeks to answer some of the community's most commonly asked questions about the two sites.
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To read Councilmember Cheh's second community letter, click: Here
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To read the Councilmember's recent correspondence with Chancellor Ferebee, please click: Here
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To read the first community letter on the new schools, click: Here
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School Readiness Tours Have Begun! - Councilmember Cheh's annual readiness tours/preparedness inspection of every Ward 3 school began this week with a walk-through of Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. |
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Hardy Park has Officially Reopened! |
Hardy Park Modernization - After months of construction, Ward 3's Hardy Park has reopened with brand-new and improved amenities for the community!
Stop by the park to enjoy the new splash pad, playground, dog park, and canopy pavilion. The field is expected to reopen next month.
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An Update from Congresswoman Norton:
House Victory in FY22 DC Appropriations Bill
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Fiscal Year 2022 DC Appropriations - Last week, the House passed the fiscal year 2022 District of Columbia Appropriations bill that includes many victories for the District secured by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. The bill provides $40 million for the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG) and, importantly, increases the DCTAG annual and lifetime awards; prohibits the president from federalizing the D.C. police department; and, in other important steps, removes the two enacted fiscal year 2021 riders, which prohibit D.C. from spending its local funds on abortion services for low-income women and on recreational marijuana commercialization, which more than a dozen states have done.
Norton secured the following victories:
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The bill provides $40 million for DCTAG, an increase in the annual DCTAG award from $10,000 to $15,000, and an increase in the lifetime DCTAG award from $50,000 to $75,000. The bill also repeals the provision that reduced the family income eligibility limit from $750,000 to $500,000. DCTAG makes up the difference for D.C. residents between in-state and out-of-state tuition at public institutions of higher education in the United States.
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The bill has no anti-home-rule riders.
- The bill provides an extra $5 million to combat HIV/AIDS in D.C.
- The bill exempts D.C. from federal government shutdowns in fiscal year 2023.
- The bill provides $8 million for DC Water for ongoing work to control flooding in the District and to clean up the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Rock Creek, increasingly important in light of climate change.
- The bill provides $600,000 for the Major General David F. Wherley, Jr. District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Program.
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Councilmembers Cheh & Henderson Lead Road/Sidewalk Safety Walk |
From WUSA9 - Local leaders ‘walk in their shoes' to learn what Ward 7 kids have to navigate to get to school, closest library
Some D.C. leaders got a chance to walk a mile in someone else's shoes in the Northeast neighborhood of Deanwood. The goal of the walk was to showcase the need to rebuild the I-295 pedestrian overpass and improve overall conditions, after six people were left injured when a bridge collapsed in Northeast, D.C. on June 23...
Councilmember Mary Cheh and At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson joined Ward 7 leaders in a walk across 295, which demonstrated in real-time the conditions children have to navigate to get to school, the library, or the closest pool on a hot summer day. The group trekked over highway traffic, through smog and fumes.
Read the Full Story
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Department of Defense Study May Help Alleviate Helicopter Noise |
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From Washingtonian - The Pentagon Might Finally Do Something About Helicopter Noise Around DC
In a new report on a longstanding local complaint, the Department of Defense says it will study the possibility of allowing military helicopters to fly at higher altitudes as part of an effort to reduce helicopter noise in the Washington region...
All told, the Army, Marine Corps, and the Air Force reported nearly 22,000 helicopter operations in the Washington region in 2020, according to the report. And on account of the large number of commercial passenger jets that also travel in and out of the DC area, the Federal Aviation Administration requires helicopters to fly at lower elevations in the region’s airspace. These altitude limits can be quite low; over the Potomac River, for example, helicopters can fly no higher than 200 feet above sea level.
Read the Full Story
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Ending this Update on a Happy Note:
Gearing Up for the Girls on the Run-DC Fall Season
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Celebrate Limitless Potential - Girls on the Run-DC (GOTR-DC) is an after school program designed to inspire girls of all abilities to recognize and embrace their inner strength through the sport of running. Lessons emphasize developing life skills and the important connection between physical, social, and emotional health.
GOTR-DC is gearing up for their fall season and is hosting a series of virtual open houses for prospective volunteer Site Liaisons and Coaches as well as to brief parents and guardians on the upcoming season.
Join GOTR-DC at any of the following virtual open house events:
Site Liaisons & Coaches:
- Wednesday, August 4th from 5:30PM - 6:15PM
- Thursday, August 19th from 5:30PM - 6:15PM
Parents & Guardians:
- Wednesday, August 25th from 5:30PM - 6:15PM
- Tuesday, August 31st from 5:30PM - 6:15PM
Fill out the interest form HERE if you are interested in attending or learning more.
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Our Office is Open!
Connect with our staff - While Councilmember Cheh's physical office is closed during the public health emergency, she and her staff are teleworking and will remain accessible for residents.
You may continue to reach us via phone through our main line at (202) 724-8062 with legislative ideas, budget requests, and constituent services requests.
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