Amid an increasingly sour relationship between District Mayor Vincent C. Gray and D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown, a council on Tuesday unanimously rejected Mayor Gray’s plan to spend a budget surplus of $79 million. With the surplus of higher-than-expected revenue this fiscal year for the District, the Democratic mayor proposed using the funds to close mid-year budget gaps in funding for schools, libraries, health care, and economic development. Mayor Gray also recommended repaying city employees a combined $20 million for four furlough days they took last year to help close a projected budget gap.
To deny the mayor’s proposal, Democratic Council Chairman Brown rallied 12 Councilmembers to kill Gray’s proposals. Brown said it was irresponsible to authorize additional funding in what he said was the administration’s response to overspending by some agencies. Before the vote, Brown said, “We pass a budget and the agency simply does not comply with it, and then it comes back to us asking for money? Clearly, it’s the responsibility of agency management to resolve this kind of spending pressure internally.” The council instead approved a budget of $15 million. According to the council, if the mayor wants to spend more, he is required to submit another proposal for consideration.
