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Back to Mayor’s main pageBill 13-161Letter to Chair Linda Cropp on Bill 13-161

Mayor Declares Service “State of Emergency”
March 15, 1999

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GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS ONE JUDICIARY SQUARE
441 FOURTH STREET, N.W.
SUITE 1100
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001
(202) 727-6224
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 15, 1999 CONTACT: VERA A. JACKSON
PEGGY ARMSTRONG
(202) 727-5011
(202) 727-0505 (FAX)

MAYOR DECLARES SERVICE “STATE OF EMERGENCY”

Introduces Bold Legislation to Rapidly Improve Service Delivery

Mayor Anthony A. Williams today declared a "Service State of Emergency" for the District of Columbia and sent legislation to the D.C. Council that would make long overdue changes to improve service delivery for District residents.

The Mayor called on the D.C. Council to do their part in making District government work: "In the November elections the voters sent the message loud and clear: Make District Government Work Now! The 'Service State of Emergency' is undermining our ability to find homes for foster children, repair our schools and infrastructure, and give residents and businesses the services they need to go about their everyday lives. Anything short of a dramatic overhaul of our government is merely playing at the margins. The public's patience with inaction and delay is at an end. I call on the Council to come to the table and help me take decisive steps now to rebuild our government from the ground up."

The legislation, the Service Improvement Act of 1999, does the following:

  • Creates an l8 month waiver of a law that requires Council approval of any contract over $1 million. This oversight requirement, while well intentioned, has enormously strained our ability to improve basic services. The legislation authorizes the Mayor, on behalf of the citizens, to enter into contracts in a timely fashion to deliver critical job training and health care services to our citizens, to issue licenses and permits, and to issue grants for our small, local, and disadvantaged owned business.
  • Grants an 18 month waiver that authorizes the Mayor, on behalf of the citizens, to reorganize agencies to speed up service delivery, including fixing roads, cleaning streets, and delivering critical health care to our residents.
  • Allows agency heads to improve operations and speed delivery of services to residents by granting personnel authority over middle managers.
  • In order to create a more efficient government, the Act authorizes the Mayor to provide financial incentives, such as "early outs" to employees.
  • Enhances economic development in our neighborhoods by removing barriers to a high quality economic development corporation.
  • Substantially cuts taxes to small, local, and disadvantaged owned businesses. The legislation includes small business tax cuts totaling $66.7 million in the first year.
  • Establishes a commission on health care that will make recommendations to the D.C. Council and the Mayor on health care delivery in the district.

This legislation is intended to work together with the Mayor's budget proposal to provide rapid service improvements for residents and businesses. The Mayor has made passage of this legislation a top priority, and would like to see the Council take a first vote on the bill in 30 days.

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