Mayor Gray Emphasizes Importance of Balanced Budget at Ward 2 Town Hall

Residents from Ward 2 and beyond gathered at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church near the Convention Center Monday to hear Mayor Vincent Gray's case for his proposed . The constant theme was the necessity of a balanced budget despite tight financial times

Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans was on hand to introduce the mayor. Evans took a moment to also call for fiscal restraint, however he laid out his differences with the mayor over two key issues.

First, Evans said "it's no secret" that he is closely eyeing the mayor's proposed tax hike; he has .

The second item he focused on was law enforcement. Evans called for the police department numbers to remain at their current level of personnel and recognized the importance of a well-staffed force.

Gray took to the podium and set the tone for the rest of his presentation.

"At the end of the day we have an obligation to balance this budget," he said. The FY2012 budget under way is just laying the foundation for the FY2013 budget, he added.

The mayor touted his budget for closing a $322.1 million budget gap, achieved by $187 million in spending cuts and $127.2 million in increased revenue.

His priorities in formulating the budget were fiscal stability, education, jobs and economic development, and public safety.

Gray added an additional $67 million to D.C. Public School and $55.8 million to D.C. Public Charter Schools. He also allocated additional funds to the University of the District of Columbia and the D.C. Community College.

His promise to increase compliance of First Source regulations drew an eager round of applause from the residents in attendance.

Gray also boasted the budget's planned $5 billion in Capital Improvements over the next 5 years. Much of those monies will go to school modernization. Gray said it was his understanding that through Capital Improvement investments every school in Ward 2 will have been upgraded, including the Duke Ellington School.

As for public safety, Gray said his budget maintained funding levels for both MPD and Fire and EMS at FY2011 levels and provides funding for 120 police recruits.

Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi took on the role of the stern numbers man, reminding residents of the District's sad financial past. 

"We were simply a joke on Wall Street," said Ghandi about the District in the mid-1990s.

The budget offered by Gray, he assessed, would allow D.C. to maintain its hard-earned AAA bond rating.

Dan Wedderburn, a Burleith resident, said he was already familiar with the budget and the budget process, but that he, " learned a lot more" at the town hall Monday.

They District Council will take its first vote on an the budget May 25.