DC’s mayor proposes suspension of city government pay raises due to coronavirus budget woes

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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that due to the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the city will enforce a hiring and spending freeze, while suspending pay raises for existing city employees.

The cost-of-living pay increases will be suspended for four years under the latest budget proposal, which needs to be approved by the D.C. Council. No layoffs are expected, Fox 5 D.C. reported.

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"We know that in addition to the public health emergency, the pandemic has quickly created a second emergency and that’s a national economic crisis," Bowser said at a Monday press conference.

The mayor said the effect of the crisis on D.C. has been "significant," and that they have already facing approximately $700 million in losses for fiscal year 2020 and also for fiscal year 2021 which begins this October.

According to the budget's executive summary, the 2021 gross operating budget proposal comes in at $16.7 billion, up $1.3 billion from the previous year. The document says that the greatest portion of the increase is due to funds going towards unemployment insurance and paid leave, with other significant areas of the budget tied to federal payments and grants related to COVID-19.

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Bowser is expected to present the budget to the council on Tuesday, with a vote to come during the summer and a new budget taking effect in October.