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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010


D.C. police make a pitch for Gray’s fence Montgomery looks to save $300million


partment of Transportation is- sued a series of $300-a-day cita- tions to Gray because he had not completed an application for the fence, which he installed two yearsagowithout proper permits. In July, the committee ordered


Gray to lower ormovea portion of the fence because it found that the council chairman had not provided sufficient justification for exceeding the District’s 31/2


-


foot height limitonfences built in the public right of way. Gray said the decision left him no choice but to take down a section of fencing. At the time, Gray said he was


being singled out and given the runaround by the government bureaucracy. A review of public records showed that since Fenty took office in 2007, Gray was the lone resident fined by DDOT for violating the city’s height limit on fences. City regulators first realized no


permit was on file last year, after reports in theWashington Times raised questions about improve- ment projects at Gray’s home. Gray has said he was unaware that the contractor had not filed the necessary paperwork for the fence.


During the campaign, Fenty


and his supporters, including At- torney General Peter Nickles, used the fence to suggest that Gray thought he was above the law.


Before the newsection of fence Supporting a dream


County Council reviews report that suggests


cuts in staffing, benefits BY MICHAEL LARIS


What happens when elected


officials ask how they could save hundreds of millions of dollars, and their staff gives them clear answers? Montgomery County’s leaders and residents are about to find out. In the first day of a newsession


Tuesday, County Council mem- bers began confronting the reali- ty of thehefty spiral-bound report they had requested from their Office of Legislative Oversight. The analysts took pains not to


MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray at the fence that became so controversial during the campaign.


can be installed, the police de- partment’s application must be reviewed by the Public Space Committee. The panel, designed to protect the character of the city’s neighborhoods in part by encouraging unobstructed views in public spaces, is scheduled to consider the application in late January. By that time, Gray will have taken the oath asmayor and be in position to oversee the committee’s work. The original fence was 5 feet 7


inches tall. The new section of fence would be 5 feet 4 inches. After surveying Gray’s proper-


ty, Durham said police deter- mined that it needed to be com- pletely enclosed by a fence. Dur- ham said the cost would be mini- mal because the department plans to move the guard booth and equipment from Fenty’s Crestwood home to Gray’s prop- erty. Gray initially applied for an exception from the city’s height


limit to replace a shorter chain- link fence primarily for aesthetic reasons. According to DDOT spokesman Karyn LeBlanc, the application filed Nov. 26 says, “the security needs and require- ments will change significantly” at Gray’s address. When asked whether he


thought the Public Space Com- mittee would sign off on plans to rebuild the fence, Durham said, “For themayor’s safety, I hope so.” marimowa@washpost.com


endorse one item over another in their catalogue of possibilities, leaving that up to their elected bosses. But the unforgiving math they outlined speaks volumes about the seriousness of Mont- gomery’s fiscal problems — the county faces a shortfall of more than $300 million — and under- scores how the soaring costs of salaries and benefits for public employees are squeezing services for residents. If adopted, some options could


change the ways one of the na- tion’s wealthiest counties pays its workers and serves its residents — or the report could be given a hearing and pushed aside. Sever- al council members said they would seize on the suggestions, but there was also immediate push-back by influential labor leaders.


Deep staff cuts Imagining how the county


might close just a tenth of its budget gap shows the kind of trade-offs that are on the table. Such an exercise also illustrates the heavy costs of the county’s medical and retirement benefits, which the analysts say have soared more than 120 percent in the past decade. To save $10 million in person-


nel costs, the county would have to get rid of the career firefighters in Gaithersburg Station 28, Silver Spring Station 1 and Kensington Station 18, the equivalent of 89 full-time employees, according to the analysts. Then the county would have to


eliminate the staffs of the follow- ing offices and departments: Eco- nomic Development, Consumer Protection, Human Resources, Management and Budget and Legislative Oversight, as well as the workers in Regional Service Centers. That would be the equiv- alent of 109 more workers, saving another $10 million, the analysts said.


Finally, the county would have


to lose the equivalent of 85 per- cent of its elementary music teachers, saving another $10 mil- lion, they said. Those three ac- tions would bring the savings to $30 million.


MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST


Supporters of the Dream Act, a measure that seeks to provide legal papers for undocumented immigrants who were brought to theUnited States when they were children, pray at First Trinity Lutheran Church inNorthwestWashington.


D.C. Council backs cuts in welfare benefits budget from B1


mayor.Hewill be sworn in Jan. 2. Gray fended off efforts to raise


taxes, and he hadmoney restored for job training, healthy school lunches, early-childhood educa- tion and cleanup crews that serve commercial areas outside down- town. The council canmake addi- tional changes to the budget when itmeets in twoweeks. Gray also showed awillingness


to tackle two areas that inthepast have escaped the budget ax:mon- ey for city schools andthe federal- local Temporary Assistance for Needy Familieswelfare program. Fenty — along with former


schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee — has been fiercely protec- tive of school funding, but Gray persuaded his colleagues to put $31 million of the system’s $758 million annual budget in a re- serve fund until school officials can prove that it’s needed. Gray said his approach is a sign that he wants to “scrub” the school bud- get for potential savings in the coming years. Gray,who headed the city’sDe-


partment of Human Services in the early 1990s, stunned advo- cates for the poor by pushing through a proposal to gradually cut welfare benefits for residents who have been in the TANF pro- gramformore than five years. Following the lead of council


members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Yvette M. Alexander (D- Ward 7), who suggested that the welfare program needed to be reigned in, Fenty proposed inNo-


vember a 20 percent cut in the monthly benefit of anyone in the programformore than five years. About40percentof the17,000city families enrolled in the program have been receiving benefits for more thanfive years.They receive an average of $370 amonth. But Gray slipped an amend-


ment into the budget that would greatly expand the cuts, which could force thousands of resi- dents off the rolls. Under Gray’s plan, starting next year, a recipi- ent in the program five years or longer would lose 40 percent of the monthly benefit, and the cut would growto 60 percent infiscal 2013. Within five years, all benefits


would be eliminated for anyone enrolled formore than five years. Gray proposed half of the savings be diverted to job-training pro- grams. Judith Sandalow, executive di-


rector of the Children’s Law Cen- ter, said Gray’s efforts will “harm this city formany years to come.” “Clearly Mr. Gray knows what


the harmwill be to families,” San- dalow said. “He has a lifetime of experience of working with low- income families, so I don’t under- stand why he felt a need to do this.” Councilmember TommyWells


(D-Ward 6), chairman of the Hu- man Services Committee, called Gray’s proposal “a fairly crude approach.” As part of the welfare reform


act signed into law by then-Presi- dent Bill Clinton in 1996, the fed- eral government placed a five-


year lifetime limit on participa- tion in the TANF program. But states andtheDistrict are allowed to keep recipients on the rolls longer if they use local funds, as theDistrict has done. In an effort to restore up to $41


million for TANF and other social service programs, Wells teamed with councilmembersMichael A. Brown (I-At Large) and Jim Gra- ham(D-Ward 1) to push separate proposals to raise income taxes. Wellswanted to impose a quar-


ter-percent tax increase on resi- dentswhomakebetween$75,000 and $150,000. Residents with higher incomes would pay more. Graham and Brown pushed an initiative that would have im- posed higher taxes on residents who earn $200,000 ormore. The council voted 8 to 5 to


reject both plans, but only after a heateddebateduringwhichsome members accused their col- leagues of not caring about the poor. In addition to TANF cuts, the


measuresapprovedby the council curtail cash assistance for dis- abled residents and for low-in- come grandparents who raise theirgrandchildrenandsubsidies to help poor families pay their rent. “People say this is about soak-


ing the rich, but let’s be clear, the budget before us soaks the poor,” said Graham, who at one point challengedhis colleagues toprove that they are not members of the “tea party.” LynitaLaw,directorofKidsAre US Learning Center Too, a day-


care center in Southeast, brought a half-dozen preschoolers to the council meeting. She said she wanted council members to see who would be hurt by a decision to cut $3 million in child-care subsidies for low-income resi- dents. “If this goes through, their par-


ents who work will have to pay market rates for child care,which they can’t afford,” Lawsaid. But Gray and a majority of


council members said more time was needed to consider potential tax increases. “We will certainly come back


and look at all of these consider- ationswhenwe look at the [2012] budget,”Graysaid. “Andwhenyou look at the [2012] budget, a lot of the stuff that may have gotten replaced here now, would have been vulnerable again.” Still, the cuts were a bitter pill


for social service advocates to swallow, especially as they watchedthe council later approve tax incentives for developers and other corporate interests. “The council has been discuss-


ing a $41million tax break to give it toanational corporation,andin the same breath they are talking about cuttingsocial services,” said Lacy Mackley, after a security guard removed her from the chamber for disrupting the pro- ceedings. “They are hurting peo- ple and children.” As Mackley spoke, one of the


the security guards muttered, “Hmm, that’s sad.” craigt@washpost.com


Pulling back on benefits Anotherinitiative suggestedby


the analysts offers even greater savings. If the county brought the percentage that its employees pay for medical premiums roughly into line with those in private industry, the county would save $35 million in six months of the next fiscal year, the analysts said. That assumes raising the employ- ee share of premiums to 30 per- cent in all county agencies. Such a change would be con-


troversial. Already, public schools employees generally pay a lower percentage in premiums than other government workers, the analysts said. Most public school employees pay 5 percent of pre- miums, and the school system pays 95 percent, according to the report; for most otherMontgom- eryworkers, the government pays 80 percent. Private employers across the board pay 71 percent for family coverage, according to a 2008 federal survey quoted by the analysts. County officials said that pull-


ing back on benefits costs will be an important strategy. “Montgomery County is hem- orrhagingat this point,andBand- Aids are not going to work,” said council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large), who pushed for the study during her just-ended term as council president. Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring),


who was unanimously elected by her colleagues Tuesday to take over as president during the new council’s first year, said that “the private sector started making these kinds of cuts 25 years ago.” County residents have made it


clear that they are concerned about “the unending trending up of health care and pension costs,” Ervin said.


Ervin and labor interests


Ervin’s experience as a labor organizer and school boardmem- ber leaves her well positioned to help lead the county through what promises to be a tough political fight, some council members said. “No one is more qualified . . . in


dealing with those interrelated issues than our colleagueValerie,” said Roger Berliner (D-Bethese- da-Potomac), who nominated Er- vin. Berliner was selected as council vice president, a position he held last year. “As a former union organizer, she has a dem- onstrated passion for and com- mitment to helping working fam- ilies,” he said. But her history of organizing


workers in agriculture and other industries didn’t stop the head of Montgomery’s government em- ployees union, Gino Renne, from slamming Ervin’s first initiative. Lastmonth,Ervinproposedlegis- lation that would change the way county labor negotiations are sometimes resolved. When the county and a union


can’t agree on a contract, a labor arbitrator chooses the package he thinks is best. Under current law, the arbitrator may consider a half-dozen factors, such as what other unions have agreed upon. But Ervin’s bill would require the arbitrator to give priority to the county’s ability to pay. The arbitrator “must first de-


termine the ability of the County to afford any short-term and long-term expenditures” needed, according to an amendment to Ervin’s bill passed by a council committee Tuesday. The arbitra- tor must assume no reduction in current government services and no tax increase. Renne said that such a change


would “stack the deck” in favor of the county over its employees.He said that labor leaders want to believe Ervin is a “friend of labor,” but “friendsdon’t let friends drive off the road.” “My obligation is to my mem-


bers, to protect their interests, and I will do that whether it upsets any of you or not,” Renne said.


larism@washpost.com


Water main breaks start up in area “My water went off this morn-


BY MARTINWEIL It’s December, a time for early


sunsets, sinking temperatures and broken water mains. You could set your calendar by them. At one point Tuesday, the


water utility that serves Mont- gomery and Prince George’s counties listed breaks at 19 loca- tions fromBethesda to Landover. Several occurred in the Dis-


trict as well, including a 20-inch diametermain near theNational Cathedral that affected a 75-unit apartment complex, 10 homes and eight commercial buildings, said Pamela Mooring, a spokes- woman for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. In explaining the breaks, spe-


cialists cite something widely discussed in other contexts this time of year: seasonal stress. In this case, it is the stress on pipes from the rapid change in daily water temperatures. “Pipes are popping all over the


place,” said John C. White, a spokesman for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which supplies the two suburban Maryland counties.


ing,” said Landover resident Marian Bratsis. But repairs were made to a 12-inch main near Belle Haven Drive, and soon her faucet began to run again. “Full force,” she said. Meanwhile, Beverley Kennedy


went dry onWalhonding Road in Bethesda, site of another break. There was water Tuesday morn- ing, but “I don’t have any water right now,” she said that evening. On Wisconsin Avenue NW,


where a break was reported Tuesday evening between Idaho Avenue and Woodley Road, “a couple of faucets”were out at the Cactus Cantina restaurant, said Lori Spahia, amanager there. At the Cafe Deluxe, host Mi-


chelleOrr said the establishment had water — but that while outdoors, some patrons and staff members had been sprayed. Another break Tuesday eve-


ning, this one on C Street NW, affected the Federal Reserve headquarters, Mooring said. She said some breaks reported earli- er in the day had already been repaired.


weilm@washpost.com


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