DC Government

Photo by PoPville flickr user Sager!!!

From a press release:

Mayor Gray Announces $100 Million Investment in Affordable Housing to Build and Preserve 10,000 Affordable Housing Units

As part of his 2013 State of the District address at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, Mayor Gray announced that he would expand his commitment to affordable housing in D.C. by spending a portion of the District’s “prosperity dividend.”

“Since coming into office, my administration has completed the construction of nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing and broken ground on an additional 1,700 units. Last September, I announced $35 million in financing to create and preserve additional affordable housing. But we have to do more. And that’s why tonight I’m proposing a major affordable-housing initiative that will invest $100 million in building and preserving 10,000 units of affordable housing. This investment, on top of our existing and other planned affordable housing investments, will go a long way towards ensuring we remain the type of compassionate, inclusive city we want to be.”

In his address, Mayor Gray also announced his intent to provide raises to District employees who have gone years without an increase – some as many as seven years – as well as create the One City Fund, a $15 million investment fund that will allow non-profits to compete openly and transparently for one-year grants of up to $100,000 to help advance key city goals. Additionally, the Mayor announced that he will work with his Education Cabinet to articulate a clear education vision for the District while also tackling procurement reform to streamline the way the District buys goods and services.

Read the full text of the Mayor’s speech here.

Photo via DC.gov

From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today thanked Chief Financial Officer Dr. Natwar M. Gandhi for his service in ensuring that the District’s finances experienced a dramatic turnaround over the last dozen years. Earlier today, Dr. Gandhi informed the Mayor that he would be stepping down after serving in the CFO position since 2000. Mayor Gray re-appointed him to a third five-year term last June.

“I want to express my profound gratitude to Dr. Gandhi for being an exemplary steward of the District’s finances for over a decade, and I am sorry to see him go,” Mayor Gray said. “In the time that he has served as our Chief Financial Officer, he has helped take us from the days of the Control Board to our just-announced $417 million Fiscal Year 2012 surplus.”

Mayor Gray continued: “I especially want to thank Dr. Gandhi for being a strong partner in helping me restore our crucial Fund Balance to $1.5 billion. Without his leadership, the District would not have experienced the extraordinary fiscal turnaround that we have seen in the last dozen years. Our city owes him a great debt of gratitude.”

Under Dr. Gandhi’s stewardship, the District has obtained a “clean” audit opinion from independent auditors in the District’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) every year since Fiscal Year 2000, which ended the city’s Control Period and facilitated the return of Home Rule. Under his leadership, the District has secured several rating upgrades for its general-obligation bonds from the major rating agencies, including an “A+” from Standard and Poor’s, a “AA-“ from Fitch Ratings and an “Aa2” rating from Moody’s Investors Service. The District’s Income Tax Secured bond ratings are “AAA” from S&P, “AA” from Fitch and “Aa1” from Moody’s.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From MPD:

The Metropolitan Police Department announced today the deployment of new photo enforced locations beginning on or about Friday, February 1, 2013.

The deployment locations for the Photo Enforcement Units will continue to be at sites with the highest number of crashes and injuries, calls for police service, and high speed volume. MPD also considered recommendations or requests from the Department of Transportation, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and civic or citizen associations.

The thirty-day educational phase will commence on or about February 1, 2013, whereas violators will receive warning citations. On March 4, 2013, MPD will begin issuing live moving citations to violators.

The new vehicle-based photo enforcement locations are as follows:

1D – 1000 block Pennsylvania Ave SE southeastbound – speed limit 30 mph
1D – 1300 block Pennsylvania Ave SE northwestbound – speed limit 30 mph
1D – 700 block Maryland Ave NE southwestbound – speed limit 25 mph
1D – 1200 block Maryland Ave NE northeastbound – speed limit 25 mph
1D – 300 block H St NE eastbound – speed limit 25 mph
4D – 5100 block 13th St NW southbound – speed limit 25 mph
5D – 1800 block Montana Ave NE southeastbound – speed limit 25 mph
5D – 3000 block Rhode Island Ave NE southwestbound – speed limit 30 mph
5D – 1200 block Mt. Olivet Rd NE northwestbound – speed limit 25 mph
6D – 5400 block N H Burroughs Ave NE eastbound – speed limit 30 mph
6D – 5000 block Benning Rd NE northwestbound – speed limit 30 mph
6D – 3600 Jay St NE northeastbound – speed limit 25 mph
6D – 1200 block Branch Ave SE southbound – speed limit 25 mph
7D – 100 block Malcolm X Ave SE westbound – speed limit 30 mph
7D – 2300 block Good Hope Rd SE northwestbound – speed limit 25 mph

The new portable photo enforcement locations are as follows:

1D – 300 block 17th St SE southbound – speed limit 25 mph
2D – 2200 block K St NW eastbound – speed limit 25 mph
4D – 600 blk Missouri Ave NW southeastbound – speed limit 25 mph
4D – 7700 block 16th St NW southbound – speed limit 30 mph
6D – 3900 block Pennsylvania Ave SE northwestbound – speed limit 30 mph
7D – 2500 block Naylor Rd SE southeastbound – speed limit 25 mph

You can see a list of permanent speed camera locations here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user afagen

From the Mayor:

Earlier today I was pleased to announce that the District ended Fiscal Year 2012 with a healthy budget surplus of $417 million. This news is compelling evidence that the District’s finances are among the strongest of any jurisdiction in the nation. The District’s increasingly strong financial outlook, coupled with impressive job growth and a falling unemployment rate, is affirmation that our economic development strategies are working. With 55 construction cranes dotting our skyline, I can truly say that the amount of development in the District right now is unprecedented.

As we start the new year, I also wanted to take a moment to share with you the results of my administration at the end of 2012, my second year in office. As you will note, we’ve made tremendous progress in a short amount of time. On our watch:

· The District’s economy is booming, with more than 28,000 private sector jobs created over the past two years and the unemployment rate falling by nearly three percentage points;

· The District has hit a 50-year low in homicides – with the numbers dropping dramatically each of the last two years and nearly twenty times faster than the national average;

· The District is growing rapidly – adding more than 1,100 people a month – and is now more populous than both Vermont and Wyoming. The District has not had this mean residents since the 1970s;

· Public education enrollment is now at nearly 81,000 students and is growing at a rate not seen in 45 years as families return to the city and to public education; and

· Fiscal responsibility has been restored – the District now spends only what it takes in and the practice of raiding the District’s reserves to balance the budget has been eliminated. In addition, the city’s long-term fiscal health has again been protected by growing our critical rainy-day fund back to $1.5 billion.

I’ve attached a copy of my administration’s Report on Year Two and you can also read it online here.

The District’s increasing economic strength is strong evidence that our city has fully emerged from the country’s worst economic crisis in our lifetime more vibrant and stronger than before. It also means we have an opportunity to make several key strategic investments in affordable housing, our workforce, and public safety for which previously we did not have the necessary funds. I invite you to join me at my 2013 State of the District Address next Tuesday, February 5th at 7:00 PM at the Historic Sixth and I Synagogue where I will outline my plan to make these critical investments.

From Council Member Bowser’s Office:

Councilmember Bowser announced that after over three years of work, and many delays, on January 24th, the Department of Transportation (DDOT) released its Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) report for the reconstruction of Oregon Avenue from Military Road to Western Avenue, NW. The report determines that Alternative (#3) submitted by DDOT will have no significant impact on the environment.

Residents along Oregon Avenue had expressed major concerns about the reconstruction and its impact on their neighborhood. Councilmember Bowser held a number of meetings with the community and DDOT to ensure the DDOT proposals would include options that incorporated their comments. Because of the strong recommendations from the residents along and near Oregon Avenue and the Councilmember, the final plan includes:

Sidewalks, which are required by law, will not necessarily be made with concrete, may have alternative materials such as asphalt or landscaping pavers

Where possible and working with the property owners, retaining walls will be eliminated and the slopes will be laid back and landscaped

There will be no designated bike lanes

Continues after the jump. (more…)