Tens of thousands of D.C. government workers could go without cost-of-living pay increases for as long as four years; city agencies have been forced to scour for savings; and a handful of tax loopholes will be closed as part of the pandemic-battered 2021 budget and a revised spending plan for the current year that Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled on Monday.

But despite facing almost $1.5 billion in lost revenue for the current and upcoming fiscal years, city officials say years of economic growth and socking away of money in rainy day funds have somewhat eased the pain from the sudden shutdown of the economy caused by the coronavirus in mid-March. Bowser has not proposed any significant tax increases as part of her budget proposal.

For the current fiscal year, which ends in September, the economy hit of coronavirus left Bowser scrambling to cut $722 million — more than 8% — from the local $8.5 billion budget. And for the 2021 fiscal year, which starts in October, she was forced to deal with almost $800 million in lost revenue, resulting in an $8.5 billion local spending plan she’s sending to the D.C. Council. (The overall budget is $16.7 billion, which includes federal money for programs like Medicaid and special funds to pay for dedicated programs like unemployment benefits.)

“The impact on our revenues has been significant,” said Bowser, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning. “Just as this pandemic has forced our residents and businesses to make difficult spending decisions, D.C. government has been forced to do the same thing.”

The proposed cuts are coming in part from trims to city agencies, amounting to $190 million for the current year and $160 million for 2021. City officials say they’re accomplishing that by imposing an across-the-board spending freeze, which would leave 35,000 city workers — including teachers — without cost-of-living pay adjustments for as long as the next four years. The cuts are also drawn from renegotiating contracts and taking advantage of savings from government buildings being shuttered and some programs being stopped by the pandemic.

The mayor’s team also says they drew upon the city’s full rainy day funds, a recent budget surplus, and federal COVID-19 funding to limit the pain as much as possible. More than $200 million from one of the rainy day funds (there are four in total) will be used to cover revenue shortfalls next year, while a $322 million budget surplus from last year will be used to close holes in this and next year’s budgets.

“We are using as much as we responsibly can and we legally can to address the revenue deficits we’re experiencing,” said City Administrator Rashad Young.

The plan includes a few other changes. One is pushing to reverse a law written by former Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans that sped up the payment of remaining debt on Nationals Park by a year ($105 million in savings). City officials also want to close a small number of tax loopholes, and are using D.C.’s good credit ratings and overall low borrowing rates to refinance some of the city’s outstanding debt to squeeze out some savings ($80 million). They’re also proposing a new tax on electronic games of skill, and a transaction fee for use of a new online marketplace for third-party inspectors at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

As for large-scale construction, city officials say they’re proposing that deadlines on some projects that have yet to start be delayed by a year. But projects already in the works — like school modernizations — will keep their timeline, and marquee projects like a new $365 million hospital and ambulatory care complex at St. Elizabeths would remain in place.

“We are fortunate we came into this emergency in a strong financial standing,” said Bowser. “It was in January that we celebrated we had 60 days of cash reserves, a good government milestone.”

Tradeoffs were inevitable, said city officials. While city workers might not see pay raises for up to four years, no furloughs or firings are expected. “Freezing that pay had the very direct impact of saving jobs,” said one official, speaking on background. And the $322 million budget surplus that was repurposed to cover revenue shortfalls was originally intended to pay for more affordable housing and infrastructure projects.

Still, Bowser said she wanted the budget to reflect important priorities in the city.

“We all agree our public schools should remain a top priority, and that affordable housing is key to an equitable city. We can’t wait for this pandemic to be over to do better,” she added, referring to health disparities exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic.

While D.C. is spending $116 million this year to finance the construction and preservation of affordable housing, Bowser’s budget for 2021 pulls it back to $100 million — a small cut, but still keeping with her administration’s goal to spend at least that much every year. And an initial plan to increase per-pupil school funding by 4% was scaled back by 1 percentage point.

Bowser’s two proposed budgets now head to the D.C. Council, which will debate and consider changes to them before final votes in late July. Due to the pandemic, all hearings and deliberations will be held virtually, with council committees accepting written and voicemail testimony, and some limited virtual testimony from invited speakers and the general public. The mayor will field questions from councilmembers on Tuesday.

Lawmakers are expected to face pressure from some progressive groups pushing for taxes on wealthy residents to be increased and loopholes to be closed, but also from business groups who are asking for significant tax relief to spur a recovery once the city’s stay-at-home order is lifted. Both Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson have said they do not support increasing taxes to close budget gaps.

“We had the tools that we needed,” said Bowser.