The D.C. Council is poised to pass the bulk of Mayor-elect Vince Gray’s proposals to fix a $188 million budget gap, in part, by furloughing city workers for four days and slashing funding to social services.
After a robust debate surrounding measures to raise taxes that eventually failed, all but two council members supported Gray’s budget. Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry and Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells voted against moving the budget out of committee, saying the cuts disproportionally fall on the backs of the city’s poorest residents.
The measures would also set aside funding for specific programs that could save as much as $40 million. Gray believes Mayor Adrian Fenty did not accurately calculate the costs of those programs and worries that they’ll go over budget.
If they do, the funding set aside will be there to offest those programs’ costs. If they don’t go over budget, the cash will be available to off set an expected $440 million budget gap for the next fiscal year.
