DC Government

“We definitely didn’t *all* forget to pay our DC taxes those years!”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

This weekend I received a bizarre notice from DC OTR saying that they have no record of my 2015 tax filings — and that I need to reply within 30 days with proof of my 2015 filing or face penalties, fines, and assessments.

It seems that quite a few of our neighbors got a similar letter/notice from the DC OTR stating that OTR has no record of their DC tax return or payment from 2014 or 2015, that they should share their return and a canceled check with them as proof that of filing, and that there will be assessments and penalties if they don’t do this within 30 days. (more…)

Check Out the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Proposal

By Prince Of Petworth

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser presented her Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) Budget and Financial Plan to the Council of the District of Columbia as part of the District’s annual budget process. The $15.5 billion budget proposal includes investments in affordable housing, education, families, transportation, public safety, seniors, protecting DC values, and more.

“This budget is about ensuring that everyone living and doing business in the District is giving and getting their fair share,” said Mayor Bowser. “This is a budget that advances our DC values and addresses our city’s most pressing challenges – a budget that recognizes that these are very good times for Washington, DC, and asks our commercial property owners to share some of the upside so that we can invest more in keeping DC affordable for Washingtonians across the income spectrum.”

Investments in the budget reflect feedback gathered from residents during the Mayor’s annual budget engagement forums as well as senior and DC Government employee telephone town halls, agency budget recommendations, and mayoral programmatic recommendations. The FY2020 Budget marks the District’s 24th consecutive balanced budget.

Below are highlights of new investments and initiatives in Mayor Bowser’s FY2020 budget proposal. (more…)

“Abandoned City-Owned Pavers. Help!”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

During the renovation of MacFarland Middle School last summer, construction crews removed pavers from the parking lanes on Iowa Ave to put in new water pipes and other infrastructure. The pavers were left on a pallet in the 4400 block.

Construction ended and the school was opened in August, but the pallet of pavers remained. There was still work going on in the general area, but by December it was clear the pavers had been forgotten. (more…)

“See attached video there is more water leaking today. This is terrible – how can we address ASAP? I can’t believe this has continued to happen over a month.”

By Prince Of Petworth


alley behind the 1600 block of L Street, NE

A reader shares the correspondence trying to get this flow of water addressed:

From DC Water:

“So as I understand it, an inspector went to the site and believes that the leak is coming from the building, so he could not access it. He thinks the building may not be occupied. Does that sound right?”

OP shares developer address/info and:

“See attached video there is more water leaking today. This is terrible – how can we address ASAP? I can’t believe this has continued to happen over a month. The water is flowing into Blandesburg road and has flooded the empty lot.”

“Did anyone else have this issue with the marathon?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Haleigh Hoffman

“Dear PoPville,

I parked my car on Columbia east of Ontario Place on Friday night in a zoned resident spot (I’m a resident). Knowing that there were a ton of emergency no parking signs up in the neighborhood for the rock n roll marathon course, my companion and I checked carefully, saw no signs, and left celebrating that I had found a spot that would be good for a while. Fast forward to Sunday, I find my car was towed Saturday at 1:52 am, with $150 in tickets, with the offense stating that no parking signs were posted.

I’m 100% certain there were no signs within a block, but of course it’s impossible to prove the absence of a sign two days later. Did anyone else have this issue with the marathon? Any success fighting these tickets?”

“TONIGHT: Rally Together to End Domestic Violence in the District”

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

“On Thursday, March 7th at 5:00pm, at Freedom Plaza–1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW–the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in collaboration with Asian/Pacific Island Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP), DC SAFE, District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), DV Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP) and House of Ruth, will host Balance for Better: A DC Free from Domestic Violence rally in honor of International Women’s Day. The theme of International Women’s Day 2019 is Balance For Better, but we know it is impossible to have a balanced society when such a large portion of our community experiences domestic violence. Now is the time for action; we are calling on District leadership to make ending domestic violence in DC a priority. (more…)

“So, if people’s tax returns are being corrected from the amount due from the tax table, that’s the story I received.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville,

So, I got a correction to my DC individual tax return for 2018, which included a one dollar adjustment (in DC’s favor) to my total tax. I wanted to know what was up with that.

Reviewing my calculations & the tax table, I saw that I did not make a mistake. I used the correct figure. Their “correction” appeared to be incorrect based on the tax table in the instructions booklet. I was like, hey, no, don’t do that–it’s not the amount, it’s the “don’t make stuff up,” ye Tax Department, principle. (more…)

“The historic 35-day federal government shutdown reduced FY 2019 revenue by an estimated $47.4 million”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today [Thursday], the DC Government released the revised revenue estimates for the FY 2019-2023 District of Columbia Budget and Financial Plan. The historic 35-day federal government shutdown reduced FY 2019 revenue by an estimated $47.4 million. Due to the impact of the shutdown, the forecast for local fund revenues is revised downward in FY 2019 by $41.4 million; the forecast is revised upward by $25 million in FY 2020. In response to the new estimates, Mayor Bowser released the following statement: (more…)

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