When the D.C. Council was set to vote on a bill legalizing sports betting late last year, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) added a sweetener to ensure its passage: the majority of the tax revenue taken in by the city would be evenly split between early childhood education and violence prevention programs.

But that windfall may not come to pass if Mayor Muriel Bowser gets her way. As part of her budget unveiled last week, Bowser is trying to pull the sports betting money away from those two programs and instead put it directly into the city’s general fund, the big pot of money D.C. officials use to pay for government programs and expenditures.

The only dedicated funding that would remain would be $200,000 annually to address problem gambling. But the overall change could cost early childhood education and violence prevention programs $7 million over the next four years, according to an estimate from the D.C. Chief Financial Officer.

D.C. officials say the proposed change reflects a preferred choice in paying for city programs—in effect, it’s better to pay for them out of the general budget instead of having the money locked away in dedicated funds.

“We have looked at the dedication of resources for specific purposes and we think the better way to approach this from a policy perspective is to allow those resources to flow to the general fund, determine what our policy priorities are, and make those funding decisions accordingly,” said City Administrator Rashad Young during a Council hearing on Friday.

But some lawmakers are concerned that by not explicitly dedicating sports betting revenue to early childhood education and violence prevention, city officials could eventually try to siphon away some of that money for other projects—especially as more revenue starts rolling in from bettors in a few years.

“My mindset was we wanted to see that additional funding [for the two programs],” said Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6).

And it seems likely the Council will mount a fight to Bowser’s attempt to redirect the sports betting revenue.

“I am absolutely committed to restoring this dedication of funds to Birth-to-Three and prevention of youth violence,” said Councilmember Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7).

Proposed tax hike draws opposition

Another portion of the budget that may prompt a fight is Bowser’s proposal for a tax hike on certain commercial real estate deals. She wants to increase the deed and recordation taxes on commercial and mixed-use real estate sales or transfers valued at above $2 million to 2.5 percent from the current 1.45 percent.

The increased revenue from the change—$79 million next year, and growing to beyond $100 million annually for the three years after that—would be directed to her proposed increases in a number of programs to build and preserve affordable housing in the city.

“We know that some in our city have benefitted more than others from the economic growth we’ve experienced over the last many years,” said Bowser on Friday. “In light of that fact, we are asking our commercial property owners to share some of the upside.”

But Bowser’s plan is already getting a cold reception from Chairman Phil Mendelson, who criticized her in a statement for “raising taxes in an environment where our revenues are growing by hundreds of millions of dollars annually anyway.”

But according to some budget-watchers, Bowser’s proposed tax increase may reflect a growing reality: city revenues may not keep growing in years to come the same way they grew in years past. Not only did the federal government shutdown cost D.C. $47 million in lost revenue, but D.C. CFO Jeffrey DeWitt warned the Council last week of possible economic slowdowns that could impact the city over the next two years.

Mendelson was also critical of Bowser for another element of her tax hike: while the increase would recur year to year, her additional investments for affordable housing would only be for the coming year. That, he hinted, raised questions as to what she would use the additional money for in the future.

“We’re taxing businesses to fund this investment, the taxes are recurring but the investment is only one-time,” he commented at Friday’s hearing on the budget.

And this isn’t the only disagreement between the two: while Mendelson and the Council approved a commercial property tax rate break for certain properties last year, Bowser declined to pay for it in her current budget proposal.

This isn’t the first time Bowser has proposed tax increases. In her first budget proposal in 2015, she proposed hiking the sales tax—but was rebuffed by the Council. And last year she successfully pushed through an increase in the sales tax and some commercial property taxes to pay for the city’s contribution to dedicated funding for Metro.

On Bowser’s current proposal for a tax increase on commercial real estate deals, progressive groups like the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute support her—but also want more money directed to certain program they worry are being underfunded.

“Too many D.C. residents are struggling to make ends meet,” said DCFPI director Ed Lazere in a statement. “This is a good first step for increasing D.C.’s resources, but more is needed to truly address D.C.’s affordable housing challenges, improve D.C.’s schools, and ensure that everyone has a chance to succeed in D.C.”

This story originally appeared at WAMU.