Mayor Adrian Fenty is on track to end his first year in office having fallen behind on several of his key priorities.
Fenty laid out his 100 Days and Beyond plan in January, setting dozens of specific goals for year one of his administration in education, human services, public safety, infrastructure and environment, government operations, health care, and economic development. He pledged to match every deadline, but as of Wednesday, with less than a week until the new year, it appeared several major objectives would go unmet.
“No excuses,” the mayor said last week. “We should have had these done in a year.”
Fenty met most of his marks, whether it was instituting customized community policing, installing green roofs on government buildings, bringing the public schools under his control, launching a “Get Fit” campaign, expanding dental care to Medicaid recipients or unveiling a retail action strategy.
So what’s left to do?
The mayor promised to unveil a comprehensive adult illiteracy elimination plan as well as a comprehensive vocational education plan. Neither has been completed.
He pledged to finalize the design for the forensics lab. Fenty’s office said Wednesday the goal would be achieved by the end of the day, but it had not been checked off on the 100 Days Web site as of late afternoon Wednesday.
“Construction was supposed to start in January,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee, of the forensic lab project. “The final design might be ready soon enough, but they’re a year behind the schedule they inherited, and I think it’s shameful.”
Fenty’s plan called for D.C. to break ground on Phase II of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, the 8-mile multiuser path between Silver Spring and Union Station, and for work to begin on a new streetcar maintenance facility. Both have been pushed back.
Other unmet goals include the hiring of a board-certified forensic pathologist as chief medical examiner and implementation of alternatives for reducing so-called “frequent flier” users of emergency medical services.
And he has yet to roll out his strategy to “transform child care, Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs into a coordinated system that assures school readiness by age 5,” though the mayor’s Web site maintains the plan has been developed. Meanwhile, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray introduced his “Pre-K For All” legislation this month.
What was missed
» Expand Fire and Emergency Medical Services safety net of first responders by extending training to other D.C. agencies
» Align agency services to eliminate duplication
» Increase access to walk-in services for STD and substance abuse available at multiple locations
Source: Fenty’s 100 Days and Beyond plan
