Thanks in part to the advocacy efforts of LEDC participants and staff, the DC Council has voted to restore $25 million of proposed cuts to government programs that foster thriving businesses and promote stable housing in the District.

Under the leadership of DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown, the Council voted to restore $1.8 million from the Department of Housing and Community Development's Small Business Technical Assistance Program and $18 million from the local Housing Production Trust Fund, a key funding source to help DC residents tackle the city's growing affordable housing crisis through purchase of their apartment buildings.

The Council also voted to restore $2.5 million to the DC Home Purchase Assistance Program, a key government program that has helped many low- to moderate-income homeowners buy their first home. An additional $2.9 million for the HPAP program has been identified in future revenue should additional revenue materialize in the next four quarterly revenue projections from the District's Chief Financial Officer.

LEDC worked closely with partners including the Fair Budget Coalition and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development to advocate on behalf of these programs. Many participants met with Council members and shared their stories on why stable housing and thriving businesses are important to them. LEDC salutes the DC Council and residents and small business owners who worked together to fund important government programs.

After more than 18 months of advocacy, the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton has won the support of the Montgomery County Council for the execution of vital planning studies related to parking and jobs as well as further discussions on local job sourcing and small business protections before the County can sign a redevelopment agreement with a private developer for the redevelopment of downtown Wheaton.

On April 10, the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to adopt language recommended by the Coalition as part of its $66 million straw vote appropriation of public taxpayer money for the project. The language requires the completion of a comprehensive parking study to understand the impact of construction and loss of parking on small businesses. The Council also called for additional studies on the best way to create local jobs from the project and additionally requires the County Executive to brief the Council on any planning or negotiations regarding small business protections and job opportunities and training before the County Executive can resume and finalize negotiations on a General Development Agreement with a private developer.

The Wheaton Coalition is composed of more than 1,000 supporters including Montgomery County residents, Wheaton small businesses, patients receiving services within the Mid-County Regional Services Center, and nonprofits including LEDC, CASA de Maryland, Impact Silver Spring, and Proyecto Salud. Visit http://astrongerwheaton.org/ to learn more about the Coalition.