D.C. fiscal year ends with $200M budget surplus

District of Columbia ended the last fiscal year with a surplus of more than $200 million. According to the city’s annual financial report, a large majority of that surplus can be credited to city agencies spending less than their assigned budgets. The surplus will go directly into the city’s rainy-day funds as required by law. This will be the fourth consecutive year the District has enjoyed a surplus and the 18th consecutive balanced budget. D.C. has uncompromising financial controls that were established after the local government was commandeered by Congress in the mid-1990s. In spite of the surplus, Mayor Muriel Bowser stated that she will still have to close a significant $250 million gap between projected revenues and future spending. The total spending budget for the city is more than $12 billion.