D.C. would plan and rank police and fire station upgrades

A planning office would prepare the plans and publish yearly updates. The work would cover all D.C. police, fire, and emergency medical services buildings. The Council would hold at least one public hearing before voting on a plan. Ten-year plans would be due December 15, 2026, and every 10 years thereafter. A five-year plan and the first yearly public update would be due December 15, 2027.

Agencies would score buildings based on their condition, service demand, and community need, then publish the scores. Yearly spending plans would cover major upgrades and construction. Available money and urgent safety risks would also shape priorities. Scores would be due by September 30, 2027, and every five years thereafter.

Agencies would complete cost estimates and public design and feasibility studies before adding facility projects to yearly spending plans. Yearly plans would cover police, fire and emergency medical services building upgrades and construction. Projects in the first three years of a plan would need full cost estimates; later projects could use rough estimates. Yearly spending plans would start in fiscal year 2027.

D.C. would publish a list of buildings it considers no longer needed. This would cover D.C. police, fire, and emergency medical services buildings. Officials could avoid the automatic label by publishing a written explanation of future operating needs when the property list comes out. The list would be due within 30 days after each yearly plan update.

The planning office would transfer money to help other agencies plan building projects. Up to $4.5 million would go to the deputy mayor’s public safety office; police and fire services would each get $100,000. The transfers would come from building funds set aside for the planning office. The transfers would use fiscal year 2027 funds.