Local
Officials at D.C. agencies routinely overspend by millions, review finds
By: Bill Myers
Examiner Staff Writer
November 3, 2008
District of Columbia officials routinely violated city spending laws, burning through tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and raising disturbing questions about whether the public’s purse is being carefully watched.
The D.C. Anti-Deficiency Act sets strict limits on agency spending. City officials racked up more than 400 violations of the law between fiscal 2005 and 2007, internal reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show. Agencies exceeded their budgets by at least $1 million nearly 100 times in fiscal 2006 and 2007, the reports of the Anti-Deficiency Act board show.
The worst offenders were the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration, which exceeded its appropriated budget by $18 million in fiscal 2006, and the Department of Mental Health, which went more than $4 million above its budget in fiscal 2005, the board reported.
The budget busting forced the city to scramble for new funds and endangered the city’s bond rating, the board’s reports show.
D.C. went bankrupt in 1995 and was put under congressional control. The Anti-Deficiency board was chartered in 2002 to keep the District from sliding back into receivership.
The board is supposed to have five members — two from the mayor’s office, two from the finance office and one from the inspector general’s office. It’s required to investigate violations within 30 days of hearing about them. The board has broad authority to search records and files and can recommend that city employees be fired for breaking spending laws.
It’s not clear how serious other city bureaucrats take the board. According to the board’s report for fiscal 2006, agency heads routinely ignored inquiries from the Anti-Deficiency board. The “no response” agencies include the city’s 911 office, sports commission, taxicab commission, city jobs office and the University of the District of Columbia.
Board leaders have said in their reports that their efforts are hampered by high turnover. Currently, Gandhi and Mayor Adrian Fenty have allowed two slots on the board to sit vacant, mayoral spokeswoman Mafara Hobson told The Examiner.
This has stalled critical investigations, board leaders have said in their reports. In the board’s report for fiscal 2007, dated in September, board Chairwoman Lucille Dickinson told D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray that probes into the schools’ Central Investment Fund, the mental retardation agency, the city’s multimillion-dollar legal bills over the Nationals’ stadium construction and contracts for ticket processing in the Department of Motor Vehicles had all been stalled.
As first reported by The Examiner, the Central Investment Fund was used by then-school board executive Brenda Belton as a private piggy bank for herself and her friends. She’s now serving three-plus years in federal prison. The money was also used to finance lavish meals for school executives.
The D.C. Anti-Deficiency Act sets strict limits on agency spending. City officials racked up more than 400 violations of the law between fiscal 2005 and 2007, internal reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show. Agencies exceeded their budgets by at least $1 million nearly 100 times in fiscal 2006 and 2007, the reports of the Anti-Deficiency Act board show.
The worst offenders were the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration, which exceeded its appropriated budget by $18 million in fiscal 2006, and the Department of Mental Health, which went more than $4 million above its budget in fiscal 2005, the board reported.
The budget busting forced the city to scramble for new funds and endangered the city’s bond rating, the board’s reports show.
D.C. went bankrupt in 1995 and was put under congressional control. The Anti-Deficiency board was chartered in 2002 to keep the District from sliding back into receivership.
The board is supposed to have five members — two from the mayor’s office, two from the finance office and one from the inspector general’s office. It’s required to investigate violations within 30 days of hearing about them. The board has broad authority to search records and files and can recommend that city employees be fired for breaking spending laws.
It’s not clear how serious other city bureaucrats take the board. According to the board’s report for fiscal 2006, agency heads routinely ignored inquiries from the Anti-Deficiency board. The “no response” agencies include the city’s 911 office, sports commission, taxicab commission, city jobs office and the University of the District of Columbia.
Board leaders have said in their reports that their efforts are hampered by high turnover. Currently, Gandhi and Mayor Adrian Fenty have allowed two slots on the board to sit vacant, mayoral spokeswoman Mafara Hobson told The Examiner.
This has stalled critical investigations, board leaders have said in their reports. In the board’s report for fiscal 2007, dated in September, board Chairwoman Lucille Dickinson told D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray that probes into the schools’ Central Investment Fund, the mental retardation agency, the city’s multimillion-dollar legal bills over the Nationals’ stadium construction and contracts for ticket processing in the Department of Motor Vehicles had all been stalled.
As first reported by The Examiner, the Central Investment Fund was used by then-school board executive Brenda Belton as a private piggy bank for herself and her friends. She’s now serving three-plus years in federal prison. The money was also used to finance lavish meals for school executives.
