The DC Council’s annual oversight hearings on DC agencies are under way. You, too, can weigh in.

Screencap of a January 2023 performance oversight hearing

by Marlene Berlin

The DC Council has started a yearly process that provides us an opportunity to provide feedback on DC government agencies, and shape legislative, policy and budget priorities in the months and years to come. These are the performance oversight hearings.

At today's @OANC_DC performance oversight hearing, I welcomed new director @KentBoeseDC and thanked our ANC Commissioners for their service.

As a former 3-term Commissioner, I know it's vital to give OANC the resources it needs to effectively support ANC operations and training. pic.twitter.com/BuSIr1YYSO

— Councilmember Matt Frumin (@CMFrumin) January 31, 2023

Anyone, from ANC commissioners to residents to business owners to students, can provide testimony for these hearings about what particular agencies do well, and what they can do better.

Thank you to everyone for their thoughtful testimony. I especially want to give a shout out to the students from Jackson-Reed, CHEC, Basis, Banneker, Bard, Dunbar, Walls, Chavez, and Woodson who wrapped up the day!

— Christina Henderson (@chenderson) February 2, 2023

And whether you participate or observe, the hearings can provide a wealth of information about the accomplishments and deficits of DC agencies, and better context for issues the District faces.

DC agencies with projects and responsibilities in our corner of the District include:

• DC Water and the Department of Energy and Environment (Soapstone sewer rehabilitation project)
• DC Department of Transportation (Connecticut Avenue Safety, Operations and Bike Lane Project and funding to complete the Van Ness Streetscape Project)
• MPD, DC Housing Authority, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Behavioral Health Services, Office of the Attorney General (the health, safety and security of apartment residents)
• Department of Small and Local Business Development (funding and other support for Van Ness Main Street, which provides grants and support to small businesses from Van Ness Street to Nebraska Avenue)
• UDC (activation of retail space it controls at Van Ness)

It’s not an exhaustive list, but with the above agencies and issues in mind, here are some of the oversight hearings that may be of interest:

February 8, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Department of Small and Local Business Development (includes Main Streets)
Committee on Business and Economic Development – Kenyan McDuffie, Chair

Thursday, February 9, 2 to 6 p.m.
Department of Behavioral Health (government witnesses only)
Committee on Health – Christina Henderson, Chair

Thursday, February 16, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Committee on Health – Christina Henderson, Chair

Thursday, February 16, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Department of Energy and Environment
Committee on Transportation and the Environment – Charles Allen, Chair

Friday, February 17, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WMATA
Committee on Transportation and the Environment – Charles Allen, Chair

Thursday, February 23, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
MPD
Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety – Brooke Pinto, Chair

Wednesday February 22, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Office of the Attorney General
Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety – Brooke Pinto, Chair

Monday, February 27, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Department of Transportation
Committee on Transportation and the Environment – Charles Allen, Chair

Monday, February 27, 2 to 6 p.m.
UDC
Committee of the Whole – Phil Mendelson, Chair

Tuesday, February 28, 2 to 6 p.m.
DC Water
Committee on Transportation and the Environment – Charles Allen, Chair

The performance oversight hearings got under way on January 23rd and will wrap up on March 3rd. The full schedule for the performance oversight hearings includes instructions on how to view the live hearings. Past hearings are recorded and archived on the DC Council website and at Entertainment.DC.gov.

This document has instructions on how to provide testimony live, on the phone and in writing. The details can vary from committee to committee. If presenting testimony to the Committees on Health Equity, Transportation and the Environment, Housing, and Facilities and Family Services, you can email a copy to Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin at [email protected]. He is a member of each of these committees.

A few weeks after this round of Council hearings wraps up, another will begin, on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposals. Bowser, currently forming those spending plans and priorities, is seeking public feedback this week during three budget engagement forums. The Council’s budget hearings, scheduled from March 27th through April 13th, will provide another opportunity for the public to be heard.