Archive: City Finances
UPDATE: Council members will subpoena key figures in parks contracts
Update 4:25 p.m.: Subpoena time! Council members Thomas, Cheh and Barry just said they would issue subpoenas for Glover and Jannarone. Santos said Glover had not returned her call and Jannarone has the day off. During questioning, Santos said she could not remember whether she signed paperwork for Jannarone to...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | November 16, 2009; 03:54 PM ET | Comments (6)
Council seeks votes on contracts administration bypassed it on
Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is demanding that the council get a chance to vote on all past contracts exceeding $1 million that were created by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration without council approval. Gray's demand stretches beyond the controversial construction contracts routed through the D.C. Housing Authority. It is...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | November 13, 2009; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (7)
Finance chief for D.C. schools is out, source says
DCPS chief financial officer Noah Wepman, excoriated by the D.C. Council last month for sitting on news about mounting budget pressures in the school system, submitted his resignation Monday, according to a top District source. WTOP, citing sources, reported late Monday afternoon that he'd been fired. Whether he was thrown...
By Steve Reiss | November 9, 2009; 07:32 PM ET | Comments (15)
Thomas issues subpoena for Hartsock
Council member Harry Thomas Jr. is issuing a subpoena for interim parks and recreation director Ximena Hartsock to testify Nov. 16 on the controversial construction contracts. In dramatic fashion, Thomas called Hartsock's name several times. She was on the witness list for Thursday's hearing on the matter. He said "for...
By Anne Bartlett | November 5, 2009; 01:28 PM ET | Comments (3)
Thomas bills would set new limits on Fenty administration
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer would be prohibited from transferring any funds to the D.C. Housing Authority and its subsidiaries for 90 days, under emergency legislation that Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) plans to introduce Tuesday. The Department of Parks and Recreation would also have to...
By Anne Bartlett | November 2, 2009; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (6)
Gray: More questions about contract awards
Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said Monday that the council's questions about contracts have expanded beyond those awarded by the D.C. Housing Authority. The council is now looking at whether the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has bypassed the legislative body in other ways -- from awarding option...
By Anne Bartlett | November 2, 2009; 12:23 PM ET | Comments (4)
Mayor Says Police, Fire Retirement Benefits Preserved
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin appeared together at a press conference this morning to announce that they had restored cuts to retirement health benefits of police and fire employees. The issue of retirement health care cuts to public safety...
By Theola Labbé-DeBose | October 6, 2009; 03:22 PM ET | Comments (3)
Moten, Gray Meet on Budget Cuts
Ronald Moten, a co-founder of Peaceaholics, is continuing his campaign to get the D.C. Council to restore earmarks for some social services and anti-crime organizations. Moten has showed up, often accompanied by high school students, at the John A. Wilson Building for three consecutive weeks demanding to speak to council...
By Anne Bartlett | September 30, 2009; 06:52 PM ET | Comments (5)
Youths Protest D.C. Funding Cuts
Peaceoholics co-founder Ron Moten led hundreds of youths in a protest in front of the John A. Wilson Building Wednesday afternoon to bring attention to the D.C. Council's cuts in funding to nonprofits. The council eliminated earmarks when re-working the budget. Moten wore overalls and bandages covered with fake blood....
By Anne Bartlett | September 23, 2009; 05:03 PM ET | Comments (13)
District Delays Carefirst Decision
The District Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking will delay making a decision on whether Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield, the region's largest health care insurer, has to give a portion of its $687 million surplus to the city. Gennet Purcell, acting DISB commissioner, had announced that the agency would issue a...
By Anne Bartlett | September 23, 2009; 04:09 PM ET | Comments (0)
Cuts Mean Fewer Library Hours, No Bookmobile
The bookmobile will be parked and hours at all D.C. libraries will be reduced starting in October because of budget cuts. The fiscal 2010 budget slashed the library budget by $4.8 million, and residents will feel the impact next month. All libraries will continue to be open every day but...
By Gene Fynes | September 17, 2009; 11:22 AM ET | Comments (3)
D.C. Calls Off Tax Sale Following Legal Challenge
The District Office of Tax and Revenue called off its annual three-day sale of delinquent property taxes Wednesday after Chicago-based Aeon Financial LLC sued because the office only intended to auction off properties with tax bills greater than $1,200. A judge granted the company an injunction Tuesday, but the tax...
By Anne Bartlett | September 9, 2009; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
Hearing Set on CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Finances, Giving
D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice says insurance giant CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has a current surplus of well over $300.million, according to a report filed Monday with the city Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. CareFirst's finances and its obligation to the city will be the subject of a...
By Gene Fynes | August 31, 2009; 06:23 PM ET | Comments (1)
Tax Office Misdirecting Refund Checks, Catania Says
While a jail term handed down yesterday addressed one big problem at the District's tax and revenue office, other problems may remain, according to Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large). Catania's partner received an income tax refund for $10. Not much, but Brian Kearney actually owed money. And a...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | July 1, 2009; 10:36 AM ET | Comments (4)
Prosecutors Trying Plea Deal in OCTO Kickback Case
A federal prosecutor disclosed in court today that he and defense lawyers were working on a potential plea deal in the case of Yusuf Acar, 40, a former D.C. government technology manager accused of running an audacious bribery and kickback scheme. Acar, of Northwest Washington, was arrested by the FBI...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | June 25, 2009; 02:21 PM ET | Comments (1)
Kwame Brown: Nats Should Pay for Metro Costs
As Post reporter Lena H. Sun reported today, the District will, in fact, pay to keep the Metro open after midnight on weeknights when the Nationals' games run late. After first telling Metro that it could no longer afford to pay, the city has reversed course and agreed to foot...
By David A Nakamura | April 24, 2009; 11:47 AM ET | Comments (4)
Be Mayor for a Day: Play the D.C. Budget Game
Calling all D.C. activists, gadflies, political wannabes -- here's your chance to prove you really do know better than Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and the D.C. Council when it comes to the city's priorities. Try your hand at balancing the city's fiscal 2010 spending plan by playing The Washington...
By David A Nakamura | April 14, 2009; 02:38 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fenty's Budget Testimony
Mayor Fenty is now testifying before the D.C. Council on his fiscal 2010 budget plan. You can read his full testimony here....
By David A Nakamura | March 23, 2009; 10:39 AM ET | Comments (0)
Gray and Cheh Call for OCTO Briefing
Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Councilmember Mary M. Cheh wrote letters to the executive branch yesterday calling for a briefing on the scandal in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. The FBI arrested a OCTO manager and contractor last week in an alleged kickback scam. A second OCTO employee...
By Marcia Davis | March 20, 2009; 07:32 AM ET | Comments (2)
City to Lay Off Hundreds of Workers
The District government will lay off hundreds of employees over the next several months to balance its budget in the wake of sharply declining revenues, city officials said today. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) is scheduled to release tomorrow his fiscal 2010 budget proposal, which will be lower than the...
By David A Nakamura | March 19, 2009; 03:53 PM ET | Comments (0)
New D.C. Website for Stimulus Money
The Fenty administration announced that it has launched a new website, recovery.dc.gov, to offer resources and info about the federal stimulus bill's impact on the District. The site notes that the stimulus package will provide resources for the city in a number of areas, including education, road construction, health care,...
By Marcia Davis | March 3, 2009; 07:34 AM ET | Comments (0)
D.C. Gets Its First AAA Bond Rating
Standard and Poor's gave CFO Natwar M. Gandhi, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and other city officials a boost yesterday with its issuing of a AAA bond rating for D.C. for the first time, as Nikita Stewart reported in this morning's Washington Post. Last night, a very pleased Fenty issued the...
By Marcia Davis | March 3, 2009; 07:18 AM ET | Comments (2)
2010 Property Assessments: Residential Values Down 3.67 Percent
D.C. home values dropped by an average of 3.67 percent in the D.C. government's fiscal 2010 assessments, officials announced today. The average value of commercial properties increased by 1.38 percent due to new construction. The biggest drops in assessments for residential properties in the city occurred in Michigan Park, Crestwood,...
By David A Nakamura | February 26, 2009; 03:49 PM ET | Comments (0)
Activists Call for D.C. Budget Transparency
A coalition of advocacy groups led by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute is calling on District officials to provide greater transparency as they develop the fiscal 2010 budget. Allowing citizens to understand and participate in creating the budget "is critical to promoting a healthy discussion of budget priorities, enabling the...
By David A Nakamura | February 26, 2009; 11:59 AM ET | Comments (2)
CFO Gandhi: "The Plot ... Sickens"
D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi this morning publicly announced the city's latest revenue shortfall, which was detailed in today's Washington Post. In a breakfast meeting with the D.C. Council, Gandhi had the line of the day when, noting that the budget problems will grow worse next year, he...
By David A Nakamura | February 25, 2009; 12:44 PM ET | Comments (1)
Economic Woes: City Faces Another $500 Million Shortfall
The District government's revenue projections for the next two years have fallen by nearly $500 million during the past three months, which likely will force more cuts to services such as providing affordable housing and paving streets. D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi delivered the bad news this evening...
By David A Nakamura | February 24, 2009; 09:41 PM ET | Comments (0)
D.C. Inauguration Costs: $48.5 million
The District government spent $48.5 million on security and other expenses to prepare for and deal with the presidential inauguration, City Administrator Dan Tangherlini said this morning. That included the following breakdown: $15 million in commodities and goods $15.3 million in overtime fees for D.C. police officers $4.6 million in...
By David A Nakamura | February 12, 2009; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (10)
D.C. Looking to Obama's Stimulus Package to Close Deficit
D.C. government officials said today they expect to use money from Barack Obama's economic stimulus package to help close a $456 million revenue gap next year, by pumping federal money into schools and Medicaid and freeing up local dollars for other needs. After an hour-long meeting with Chief Financial Officer...
By Marcia Davis | February 2, 2009; 03:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
CFO Fires Contract Chief
District Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi fired his contracting chief today, three weeks after the D.C. Council refused to approve a new $120 million lottery contract put forward by Gandhi's office. Eric W. Payne had been running contracts for the agencies that Gandhi oversees since 2005. He was heavily involved...
By Marcia Davis | January 9, 2009; 05:23 PM ET | Comments (3)
Read D.C.'s Fiscal Outlook Letter From Gandhi
Here's the letter and financial outlook that D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi sent today to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray....
By David A Nakamura | December 19, 2008; 06:59 PM ET | Comments (0)
Gandhi: D.C. Unemployment Rate to Reach Highest Level Since 1983
The District's unemployment rate is projected to reach nearly 10 percent by 2010, the highest level in almost three decades, D.C. officials said today. In a briefing of reporters about the city's financial outlook, D.C Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said the city faces a new $127 million budget...
By David A Nakamura | December 19, 2008; 01:03 PM ET | Comments (3)
District Faces New $127 Million Budget Shortfall
D.C. officials will announce Friday they are facing a new budget shortfall of $127 million that could require another round of cuts to a budget that has already been trimmed in affordable housing, health care and transportation, city government sources said tonight D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi briefed...
By David A Nakamura | December 18, 2008; 11:06 PM ET | Comments (0)
Dear, Dr. Gandhi, You're the Best! Love, Harriette
__________________________________________ When you're an employee secretly stealing from the company -- in this case, the District of Columbia government -- you probably learn a few good survival tips. So it was with former tax office manager Harriette Walters, the mastermind of the $48 million embezzlement scheme that rocked the...
By David A Nakamura | December 18, 2008; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
CFO Gandhi to Create New Position: Chief Risk Officer
In the wake of the 122-page Wilmer Hale report released today that examines the Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement scandal, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said he will adopt one of the key recommendations and create a new position on his staff for a "chief risk officer."...
By David A Nakamura | December 15, 2008; 03:27 PM ET | Comments (2)
Appleseed Report Calls on Incoming Obama Administration to Help the District Finances
Despite 11 consecutive balanced budgets and remarkable progress that city officials have made to be fiscally responsible, the District of Columbia still does not have a revenue base for it to become "a truly great city." This is the conclusion of a report that will be released today by the...
By Marcia Davis | December 11, 2008; 08:52 AM ET | Comments (0)
Tax Break for the Shoppers
For all the bargain-hunters out there, the District is offering its sales tax holiday timed with the post-Thanksgiving rush. Starting today through Dec. 7, the District will offer shoppers an exemption from the usual 5.75 percent sales tax for clothing, shoes and accessory items costing $100 or less. The exemption...
By Marcia Davis | November 28, 2008; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Council Approves $46 Million Budget Freeze
The D.C. Council passed its $46 million budget freeze in a heated meeting yesterday that started off with protests outside the John A. Wilson Building. Advocates of low-income residents protested, hoping to delay the vote to give time to find alternatives to the trims, but their efforts were thwarted. The...
By Marcia Davis | November 11, 2008; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Low-Income Advocates Protesting at Wilson Building Over Proposed Budget Cuts
Advocates for low-income residents are planning to protest in front of the John A. Wilson Building at 9 a.m. today in anticipation of the D.C. Council's budget vote set for this afternoon. The advocates say low-income residents would bear a disproportionate burden of the cuts that lawmakers are proposing for...
By Marcia Davis | November 10, 2008; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Council to Cut Another $50 Million from Budget
The D.C. Council is developing a plan to slash the District's budget by an additional $50 million above the $131 million in cuts proposed by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, warning that the city must create a reserve fund to prepare for more bad economic news. The proposal, details of which...
By David A Nakamura | November 7, 2008; 02:48 PM ET | Comments (0)
Peter Nickles: Bank of America Like Disney Land
Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles rarely minces words and it was no different when D.C. Wire caught up with him today to get his take on the $105 million lawsuit the city filed against Bank of America to recoup money lost, along with damages, in the D.C. tax office embezzlment...
By David A Nakamura | October 31, 2008; 03:53 PM ET | Comments (0)
City Files Suit Against Bank of America in Tax Scam Case
The District government filed a $105 million lawsuit against Bank of America today, asking for damages and penalties against the institution that cashed fraudulent checks through accounts controlled by Harriette Walters and others in the D.C. tax scam. Read our story here and the full lawsuit here....
By David A Nakamura | October 31, 2008; 01:55 PM ET | Comments (1)
Catania Conducts Own Budget Analysis
We told you today about council member David Catania's decision to seek a postponement of Healthy DC, the health insurance plan for uninsured residents that he created and convinced colleagues to adopt in the spring. Catania said the city must cut spending to create cash reserves because he's convinced greater...
By David A Nakamura | October 29, 2008; 04:49 PM ET | Comments (1)
Budget Woes: Catania Seeks Delay of Healthy DC
The D.C. Council member who created a plan to provide health care to thousands of uninsured residents said today he wants to delay it to help the District create a $20 million cash reserve in the face of continued economic uncertainty. David A. Catania (I-At Large), who sponsored the Healthy...
By David A Nakamura | October 28, 2008; 11:57 AM ET | Comments (2)
Budget Woes: Are Tax Breaks for D.C. Small Businesses in Jeopardy?
The D.C. Council delayed a vote last week on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's plan to close a $130 million budget gap because Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi said he could give only conditional certification to about $20 million of revenues the mayor hopes to use. Most of that comes from...
By David A Nakamura | October 22, 2008; 01:08 PM ET | Comments (0)
How Much Money Did Your Agency Lose?
As part of his budget reduction package, Mayor Fenty is proposing to trim $60 million from individual agencies. Most of the reductions will come in the form of elimination of vacant jobs, but agency directors will have the option to find cuts in other places if they want to save...
By David A Nakamura | October 6, 2008; 05:05 PM ET | Comments (3)
Fenty Details Budget Cuts
Mayor Fenty briefed the D.C. Council today on his proposal to make up a $131 million budget gap for fiscal 2009, the details of which we brought you in the Post last week. Among the major initiatives is eliminating up to 400 vacant positions, which will save $31 million, and...
By David A Nakamura | October 6, 2008; 10:39 AM ET | Comments (12)
One Bright Spot to Budget Woes
CFO Natwar Gandhi gave the media a briefing this morning about the $131 million budget shortfall the city faces for fiscal 2009. The main culprit in the diminished revenue estimates was income taxes, which took a hit because of capital gains declines in the stock market. However, there was a...
By David A Nakamura | September 24, 2008; 02:29 PM ET | Comments (0)
Gandhi: Gustus Won't Get Job Back
Diane Gustus, who recently had federal fraud charges against her dropped in the D.C. Tax Office embezzlement scandal, has said she wants her job back so she can retire with a pension. Don't count on it, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said today. "We have a lower standard...
By David A Nakamura | September 24, 2008; 11:52 AM ET | Comments (1)
Gandhi: D.C. Facing $131 Million Revenue Shortfall
The District has identified a $131 million revenue shortfall, which will force the city to cut funding for programs in fiscal year 2009, said sources who have been briefed on the matter by D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi. The shortfall is due largely to income taxes, which have...
By David A Nakamura | September 23, 2008; 07:43 PM ET | Comments (4)
City Hits Lottery Firm with $1.4 Million Fine
The District government has assessed a $1.4 million fine to the company that runs the D.C. Lottery for security breaches, a penalty that could rekindle a debate over the future of the city's gaming industry. In a letter dated Wednesday to Lottery Technology Enterprises, D.C. contracting officer Eric W. Payne...
By David A Nakamura | September 18, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (2)
Wall Street Crisis Impacts D.C. Bonds
Post business reporter Zachary A. Goldfarb notes today that interest rates on some District government bonds have doubled as a result of the tightening of the credit market on Wall Street. D.C. Treasurer Lasana Mack tells Goldfarb that the city has budgeted for some of the increase and that he's...
By David A Nakamura | September 18, 2008; 11:24 AM ET | Comments (0)
Harriette Walters: 28 Trips to Vegas, 13 to Atlantic City
Harriette Walters, the mastermind of the D.C. Tax Office embezzlement scandal, pleaded guilty in federal court, reports Post staffer Del Quentin Wilber, to stealing $48.1 million in public money over two decades. She could get between 15 and 18 years in prison under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. In...
By David A Nakamura | September 17, 2008; 07:15 AM ET | Comments (5)
Plea Deal Nears in Tax Office Scandal; Gandhi Reacts
Post staffer Del Quentin Wilber is reporting today that Harriette Walters, the alleged mastermind of the $50 million tax office embezzlement scandal, appears to have worked out a plea deal with federal prosecutors that could be finalized tomorrow. Wilber writes: Federal prosecutors filed a document in court today known as...
By David A Nakamura | September 15, 2008; 02:37 PM ET | Comments (12)
It's Payday for the Summer Jobs Program
It's payroll day for the summer jobs program. That takes on an ominous tone these days, as the program has stumbled its way through a difficult season and getting paid has not been a guarantee. Though the city's own internal investigation, released this week, also shows that some people were...
By Marcia Davis | August 15, 2008; 08:15 AM ET | Comments (0)
DC CFO Gandhi Gets Mention in Slate Column on ... Edwards Scandal?
Say what? As if the D.C. Tax Office embezzlement scandal wasn't enough, how did D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi make it into this column about the John Edwards affair? We guess that with the last name "Gandhi," the fiscal chief has heard a lot of jokes over the years,...
By David A Nakamura | August 12, 2008; 01:10 PM ET | Comments (1)
Alleged Tax Cheat Harriette Walters Speaks: Hear It Here
Seems someone forgot to disconnect an old office number for Harriette Walters, the alleged mastermind of the $50 million D.C. tax office scam. She can still be heard sounding very helpful on a voice message from an old phone extension at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue: 202.442.6762. Call...
By David A Nakamura | July 8, 2008; 03:40 PM ET | Comments (3)
Congress, City Spar over WASA
Council members Carol Schwartz and Jim Graham are fighting back -- or, at least, talking back -- in the wake of the Senate's move Monday to overturn a District law passed last year that would have increased city control over the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. As the Post reported...
By David A Nakamura | June 18, 2008; 04:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
Gandhi Fights Back
Yesterday, we told you that Council member David Catania was attacking CFO Natwar Gandhi's reliance on what seemed to be an overly optimistic consultant's report to support bond financing for the Washington Nationals baseball stadium. Well, Gandhi is fighting back with this letter to Catania's office. Catania pointed out that...
By David A Nakamura | May 29, 2008; 09:42 AM ET | Comments (3)
Catania Attacks Baseball Projections
As the loudest critic of public financing for the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium, D.C. Council member David Catania had more recently seemed to mute his objections. With the stadium build and the team playing there, Catania figured he had fought the good fight and it was time to move on...
By David A Nakamura | May 28, 2008; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
In Case You Missed It:
District Council member Mary M. Cheh decided yesterday to table her energy bill after being pelted with questions from council colleagues and heavy lobbying from utility companies such as Pepco. A big sticking point: aid to the poor to help pay utility bills. Also, auditor Deborah K. Nichols issued a...
By Marcia Davis | May 22, 2008; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Mayor to Withdraw, Then Resubmit Lottery Contract (*Updated)
A day after the D.C. Council tabled a controversial D.C. Lottery contract, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will withdraw it from consideration later today, administration officials said. The move is aimed at ensuring the deal is not declared dead by tomorrow's deadline for the council to vote on the matter under...
By David A Nakamura | May 14, 2008; 03:18 PM ET | Comments (0)
Business Property Tax Cut is $21 Million
So say D.C. Council members and Barbara Lang, head of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. The council will vote tomorrow on the fiscal 2009 budget and one of the most contentious issues has been how much tax relief to provide small businesses. In January, the council approved a bill that...
By David A Nakamura | May 12, 2008; 05:32 PM ET | Comments (0)
Business Tax Cut Still Alive
The big question around the Wilson Building these days: Can the District government absorb an 11th-hour, $35 million revenue shortfall and still give small businesses a property tax cut? The answer, after six hours of private D.C. Council discussions yesterday, appears to be a resounding "yes." Council sources said the...
By David A Nakamura | May 8, 2008; 03:17 PM ET | Comments (0)
The Numbers Are In
You can read the full letter from CFO Gandhi to Mayor Fenty and Council Chairman Gray regarding the city's latest $35 million budget gap here....
By David A Nakamura | May 7, 2008; 01:03 PM ET | Comments (0)
New Gandhi Spokesman
Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi has hired a new spokesman to replace Maryann Young, who departed in January to take over as the director of elections for Lackawanna County, Pa. David Umansky, who began this week, has had a long career in public relations. According to his biography, Umansky began...
By David A Nakamura | April 18, 2008; 11:08 AM ET | Comments (0)
Questions Linger on Lottery Contract
D.C. Council members Jim Graham and Marion Barry had kind words for the mayor when the city pulled the proposed lottery contract to W2I. "I'm very pleased," said Graham, the contract's harshest critic. "The public's interest is being served." Barry, who also said he had "serious" problems with the contract,...
By Yolanda Woodlee | April 10, 2008; 05:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
The CAFR: Read All About It
As we've been reporting this week, the city has received its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from BDO Seidman and the news isn't great. Yes, D.C. scored a "clean" audit, which is critical for its standing on Wall Street. But the auditors, in their "yellow book" addendum, cited the city for...
By David A Nakamura | April 10, 2008; 10:49 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Tax Man and the Coffee Shop
The Office of Tax and Revenue may have its problems holding on to the city's money once it's collected, but officials are serious about getting what it's due from taxpayers on the front end. Yesterday Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi and his tax office director Stephen M. Cordi said...
By Marcia Davis | April 10, 2008; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Breaking News: Lottery Contract Withdrawn
D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi just testified at a D.C. Council hearing moments ago that he and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) have agreed to withdraw a controversial new lottery contract to a nine-month-old company. Some council members raised questions about the proposal and the firm's principals, including...
By David A Nakamura | April 9, 2008; 11:54 AM ET | Comments (4)
Lottery Bids and Battles
Washington Post reporter Yolanda Woodlee writes about the D.C. Council hearing on the city's lottery contract in today's Post. One thing you quickly see about the two companies at the center of the fight over the lottery contract is that they have similar set ups. Both the current contract holder,...
By Marcia Davis | April 8, 2008; 01:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Lot of Lawyers at Lottery Hearing
You know there's a hot issue in the Wilson Building when you see these three: Fred Cooke, Scott Bolden, and a familiar face from the D.C. Council, Kevin Chavous. All three lawyers were at today's hearing before Jack Evans' Committee on Finance and Revenue. The issue: the city's lottery contract....
By Yolanda Woodlee | April 7, 2008; 05:06 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fenty v. Council on Business Tax Relief
Several District Council members, including Chairman Vincent C. Gray, aren't buying Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's tax relief plan for city businesses, a proposal that counter's the council's initiative earlier this year. When the D.C. Council approved a tax relief package for businesses in January, the expectation was that the plan...
By David A Nakamura | April 4, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Whither the CAFR?
Officials on various floors of the John A. Wilson Building have been waiting on pins and needles for the release, probably next week, of the D.C. government's long-delayed Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. And D.C. Wire has gotten word that City Hall is bracing for a critical review by BDO Seidman,...
By David A Nakamura | April 3, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
