A Reverse Hickenlooper

Dear Raisers:

A couple weeks ago (July 27), I proposed in themail that the mayor, members of the city council, and the highest paid administration employees should all take a voluntary 25 percent pay cut, as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and his top appointees did when Hickenlooper was inaugurated on July 24. I wrote that this pay cut would demonstrate that the financial difficulty of the city government was real and that DC's imposing a commuter tax on Maryland and Virginia citizens who work in the city was necessary. The pay cut, I wrote, would show the dedication of city officials to cutting waste and overspending in our city's government. And I said that I would gladly publish in themail any and all pledges to accept a pay cut that I received from the mayor, councilmembers, or top appointees.

You may have noticed that I haven't printed any pledges. That's because nobody has sent any yet. Maybe they've just been too busy, but maybe, just maybe, none of them agrees with me. If that's the case, here's an alternative plan that I'm sure government officials will like. On Saturday, an article by Washington Times reporter Jim McElhatton (http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030807-112725-8273r.htm) revealed that the salaries of our councilmembers have fallen behind those of Los Angeles. I had written, carelessly, that, “the city council has been the highest paid state or city legislature in the nation for years,” but I had not done any research to confirm that it was still true. McElhatton did the research, and he found that while DC pays its legislators better than all fifty states and all other cities in the nation, Los Angeles now pays more, and DC has fallen to second. Worse than that, McElhatton writes, the last time the council raised its salaries, in 1999, Congress reacted by enacting a federal cap on them. That means that councilmembers are in the perfect position to protest their relative poverty as a result of Congressional oppression and as an insult to home rule.

So here's the plan. The city council passes a law raising its salaries higher than those of its LA counterparts. It's necessary for civic pride, after all, like a mayoral palace that's larger than the White House. Then the council sues congress, claiming that the cap on their salaries is unconstitutional, like the prohibition against DC's levying a commuter tax. And the higher salaries become another argument for the commuter tax, because in order to afford them we have to spread the burden among more taxpayers. And since we can't attract more residents to DC because our taxes are too high already, the only way to get more taxpayers is to tax commuters. Sounds perfectly logical to me, and this time I'm sure that I'll get councilmembers to send in their pledges to accept the pay raise.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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VA and MD Sales Tax on Merchandise Delivered to DC
Ann Carper, jackson73@earthlink.net

I got the following quick responses from the tax departments of both states to my E-mailed queries asking why/when state sales tax is charged for merchandise delivered to DC from companies that do not have stores in DC. Although the conditions in both states differ, it's worth pursuing.

Virginia's response to two separate E-mails: “. . . Based on Title 23 VAC 10-210-780 which states that the sales and use tax does not apply to sales of tangible personal property in interstate or foreign commerce. Exempt interstate commerce includes the sale of tangible personal property delivered to the purchaser outside of the state by an independent trucker or contract carrier hired by the seller. Since the furniture was delivered outside of Virginia, transaction would be exempt from Virginia sales tax. Based on the information you have provided, [the kitchen cabinet company] should also abide by this regulation. . . . You would need to apply directly with the companies involved to request a refund. In turn, those companies would use the taxable sales amount in the form of a deduction/credit against the taxable sales over the next months until the entire amount is used.” (It turns out the Virginia cabinet company owns its own trucks, so we did have to pay sales tax. But the Virginia appliance distributor subcontracts delivery, so we saved $200 there.

Maryland's response: “. . . I will make assumptions based on the facts as that both vendors sell the cabinets but do no installation, and that as a condition of sale the vendors were required to deliver the cabinets to a DC location to complete the sale. If the assumptions made were correct, neither transaction was subject to Maryland's 5 percent sales tax. Possession was taken by the purchaser outside the State of Maryland and if any sales tax would apply it would DC's sales tax. However, unless [the kitchen cabinet company] has nexus with DC they would not be required to collect DC's sales tax. If you have been charged Maryland's sales tax in error you may apply for a refund directly to the Comptroller of Maryland. Sales tax refund applications can be found on our web site.”

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The Cold War, Part 2
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

In the last issue of themail (August 6), I wrote about the serious deterioration in the working relationship between the mayor and the council during the last six months. Mayor Williams has nearly three and a half years left in his second term, and this stalemate could result in a very contentious, difficult period. His legacy as mayor depends on being able to get council approval of his policies and budgetary priorities. But on a positive note, the standoff has resulted in the executive and the legislature becoming two equally strong branches of government for the first time since home rule, and in more effective checks and balances in DC government.

There are five reasons for the stalemate. 1) Williams can no longer turn to the Financial Control Board to override the council. As the District's Chief Financial Officer, Tony Williams cultivated a close working relationship with the Control Board and its staff, and the Board became his chief ally in his battles with Mayor Barry and the council. The federal legislation that created the Control Board gave it unfettered authority over the District government; it could review and overturn any legislation passed by the council. When he became mayor in 1999, and until the Board was dissolved on September 30, 2001, Williams relied on the Board to help impose his policies and decisions. For example, Williams prevailed in his decision to close DC General Hospital, over the unanimous opposition of the city council, through the Board's power to override council-passed laws. 2) The council distrusts the mayor and his senior staff. Williams and his senior staff in the Executive Office of the Mayor do not bother to hide their contempt for the council, and they rarely consult with councilmembers until after the administration has arrived at its position. On the rare instances when where has been consultation, Williams has agreed to deals behind closed doors, only to renounce them or even to deny them later. The running joke at the Wilson Building is, "Don't meet with Tony Williams unless you videotape him." A series of hardline senior staffers in the EOM in Williams's first and second terms -- Norman Dong, Max Brown, Abdusalam Omer, Kelvin Robinson, John Koskinen, and Tony Bullock -- have exacerbated the tension by encouraging Williams's natural tendency not to compromise with the council. Of course, it doesn't help the relationship between the mayor and the council when four senior councilmembers (Brazil, Chavous, Evans, and Schwartz) ran against Williams in 1998, and Schwartz ran again in 2002.

3) Council relations has been a low priority of the Williams administration, and poorly staffed. In August 1999, Williams hired Darlene Taylor to serve as Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and as his liaison to the council. Taylor was on the job for several months before she ever made the rounds and introduced herself to councilmembers and their staffs. Her role and effectiveness was undermined by her lack of knowledge of District issues (her nickname among councilmembers and staffers was "Fluff"), and during her tenure all of the OIA senior staff, who did have the council contacts and institutional memory, quit or transferred out of the office. Taylor quit in August 2001, after she was publicly embroiled in the nonprofit fundraising scandals in the mayor's office. Since then, the OIA has been abolished and its duties have been assigned to Gregory McCarthy, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor and Director of the Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs. As the Mayor's chief policy advisor, McCarthy has neither the time, skills, nor interest in serving as the EOM's liaison to the Council. 4) Among the thirteen members of the council, Mayor Williams has not a single friend. During his tenure as CFO and his four and a half years as mayor, Williams has not cultivated a friendship with any councilmember. His closest allies have been at-large Councilmember Harold Brazil and Ward One Councilmember Jim Graham, neither of whom has sufficient influence on the council to be able to gather additional votes for the mayor on any issues. Moreover, as a result of Graham's investigation of the Office of Property Management scandals and a confrontational appearance with the mayor on Channel 8's NewsTalk show, Williams no longer regards Graham as an ally. To Williams, anyone who does not support him one hundred percent of the time is an enemy, and Graham is now treated as an enemy. This leaves Harold Brazil as the mayor's sole uncritical supporter on the council.

5) Finally, councilmembers finally realize that opposing the mayor does not have any negative political consequences. When he took office in 1999, Williams had a strong political machine in each of the wards that he had built during his 1998 campaign. Over time, Williams has alienated, rejected, and turned away almost all of these loyal supporters, who in turn have disassociated themselves from his administration, and many have publicly expressed their loss of faith in him. As a result, the mayor no longer has a citywide political organization or an organization in any one of the wards, that could intimidate recalcitrant councilmembers.

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Finding a New Library Director
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

The DC Public Libraries are on the lookout for a new director. If I applied to be the library director, I might have a good chance, as I have no library management experience whatsoever. My primary qualifications are that I routinely return books and videos late. If I were library director, I'd institute a program where you could earn late-return usage points for every item you returned late. People would be so eager to get late-return usage points, they'd sign out tons of books. Once they hauled the books home, they'd say to themselves, “Now that I have these books home, I really ought to read them. It would be a waste for me to return them without reading them.” Libraries really ought to take a cue from how the airlines are able to get repeat customers. Personally, I need no incentive to return books and videos late, because I've already developed great skill at doing that. That value was instilled in me at an early age. It's become a habit I can do without even thinking about it. (Especially without thinking about it.)

What could people redeem late-return usage points for? How about a $10 off coupon on a parking ticket for every 1000 late-return usage points? DC residents would sign out books in droves if there were any way to get discount coupons for parking tickets. After running the DC libraries for a couple of years, I'll be running for the governor of California, swept in by an outpouring of support for parking ticket relief.

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Sloppy Political Strategy and Planning in Special Ed
Ed Dixon, jedxn@erols.com

Early this year, the National Governors' Association came to DC to press the President and the US Congress for more federal aid to pay for special education in the public schools (http://www.nga.org/nga/newsRoom/1,1169,C_PRESS_RELEASE^D_5079,00.html). (DC is not a member of the NGA even though some US territories are.) February was budget season and most of the country's leaders knew it was time to start negotiating how the nation's resources would be allocated. About the same time, DC's Education Mayor and Chairman Chavous met behind closed doors with Education Secretary Rodney Paige to discuss the prospect of bringing school vouchers to the District. The rumor at the time and to this day was that the impolitic trade had a quid pro quo in federal funding, maybe to go to special education, one of the highest expenditures for DC's public schools.

In 1975, Congress passed IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) that required federally funded school districts to improve their inclusion and service to American children with disabilities. In the past decade, the number of students receiving special education services nationwide grew 30.3 percent, from 4,253,018 in 1989-90 to 5,541,166 in 1998-99 (http://www.ccsso.org/federal_programs/IDEA/index.cfm). As of 1998–99, states reported only 47 percent of students with disabilities spent 80 percent or more of the day in a regular education classroom (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2002/section4/indicator28.asp). The balance of students and their time outside of class is defined by an individual education plan created for each student. In 1985, the Act was amended so that parents would recover all expenses in cases requiring litigation over federal compliance from the losing school district or state. During the 1999-2000 school year, the nation’s school districts spent around $146.5 million on due process, mediation, and litigation activities for all K-12 special education students in public schools. That's not bad compared to a total nationwide K-12 special education budget at $78.3 billion for the same year. The total regular and special education expenditure for educating students with disabilities represented over 21 percent of the 1999-2000 spending on all elementary and secondary educational services in the US. The total expenditure on special transportation services alone was estimated to be about $3.7 billion (http://csef.air.org/pub_seep.html).

The states and DC are spending an average of $1.5 billion each on special education. Why the NGA went to the Hill and the White House to address the special education problem seems obvious. Why the Education Mayor and Chavous didn't work early on with Congressional Representative Norton to get legitimate assistance for public education from the Federal government through the prescribed channels is unclear.

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For Tenleytown Commercial Development
Lyla Winter, mrscalabash@att.net

Apparently, many residents of Tenleytown are NIMBY's (Not In My Backyard) re development of condos, apartment buildings, or any other commercial developments. The status quo is fine for those who have cars and don't have to rely on their feet for navigating the hills and the few stores on Wisconsin Avenue. Our so-called shopping area is spread out over many blocks. If you need mattresses, you're in luck. There are fast food shops, a shoe store, electronics store, cleaners, liquor store, CD store and a Mexican restaurant in one block — that's about it. At night, Wisconsin Avenue from Tenley Circle to Fessenden is mostly dark -- and unwalkable — to the few upscale restaurants. Friendship Heights and Cleveland Park are good examples of how commercial developments can provide the impetus to support the needs of their neighborhoods. (Which are now alive and well, with shoppers and diners from morning 'til late at night.) Without new construction, Wisconsin Avenue and Tenleytown will remain a limited, second-class commercial strip in a quiet, but boring, neighborhood.

The anti's, who apparently include Kathy Patterson, are vocal and well-organized. Does anyone out there know of a contact for a pro-development group?

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Early Trash Truck Progress
Phil Carney, philandscoop@yahoo.com

In District residential neighborhoods, trash pickups before 7 a.m. are illegal. DCRA and MPD enforce this noise ordinance. DCRA does not have anyone working early. MPD does. Several months ago, Garcia's trash truck started, at first intermittently and then eventually every morning, arriving before 7 a.m. Some morning pickups were as early as 5:30 a.m. This is not a minor nuisance. Garcia's makes multiple pickups on the east side of the 1500 block of 17th Street. Their trash truck noise usually lasts for about 15 minutes.

This problem took too long getting to the attention of the right people, but when it did, the solution came quickly. This morning there was a police car parked in our block waiting for the arrival of Garcia’s. A few minutes after 6 a.m., Garcia's arrived. The officer issued a warning. Any future violations will be $300. ticket.

Residents are entitled to peace and quiet from trash truck pickups before 7 a.m. (District trash trucks are exempted on days with high air pollution.) Early trash truck pickups will not stay stopped and will reoccur. Residents will again need to contact and work with MPD to keep our streets quiet in the early morning.

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More E-Lists
Susie Cambria, s.e.cambria@verizon.net

I recently found some lists that might be of interest to themail readers: PSA112W-TALK-LIST, psa112w-talk@lists.psa112.com; NElink is an E-mail distribution for residents of PSA 106, E-mail psa106@toward.com; PSA 108, beaton@jmail.umd.edu; PSA 511, jflather@erols.com. (Caveat — I can't vouch for them, just passing them along.)

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A Summer Pastime: Put Yourself in Their Shoes
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net

Pretend for a moment you're a member of Congress back from your summer break, and you're being urged to grant DC a permanent billion dollar annual subsidy, based on a Government Accounting Office study endorsed by DC's Chief Financial Officer. Offhand, which of these arguments would you find most convincing? 1) DC needs a police force well over twice its present size to take care of the city's high murder rate. 2) DC police need a 40 percent raise, but school teachers don't. 3) DC needs more than double its '02 budget for its courts and corrections system even though the Feds took over most of it. 4) DC's fire/EMS budget should be almost tripled to handle all the fires in old, multiunit apartment houses. 5) DC's revenue-raising capacity rose only half as much as its gross state product. 6) People who live and work within five miles of the nation's capitol should pay no higher taxes than people living 2000 miles from ringside. 7) Twenty-three states deserve subsidies totaling over $50 billion for their equivalent 'structural imbalances'. Can you guess NARPAC's positions? Care to see the data? Check out the August update of its web site at http://www.narpac.org/INTHOM.HTM. Try a new approach to making DC better. Help keep it honest. Get positively involved. Even during the summer.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Mentor for Reduced Rent
Judith Sandalow, jsandalow@childrenslawcenter.org

One bedroom basement apartment in Mt. Pleasant neighborhood available immediately for reduced rent in exchange for several hours per week of "mentoring" a troubled adolescent boy. The ideal tenant would be an African-American man with experience in social work or counseling. The apartment is a spacious junior one bedroom with separate entrance, parking spot, washer/dryer. For more information, please contact Judith Sandalow at jsandalow@childrenslawcenter.org or 467-4900 ext. 11.

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Share Capitol Hill Rowhouse
Mary Vogel, MaryVogel@yahoo dot com

Available mid-September. I am looking for a progressive, living lightly couple (preferably vegetarian) to share a two bedroom with office, one bath, rowhouse. Ideal Hill location on 7th near E. Capitol Street. You would get the 11 x 18 bedroom with balcony and two large closets. We can use your furniture or mine in the rest of the house and split storage and the office equally. We would also split the rent and utilities three ways, so your portion would be $534 each or $1067. The landlord has agreed to reinsulate the attic and I hope to add other energy/water conservation measures to keep utilities low.

Quiet street, great neighborhood where people look out for each other, relatively responsive landlord who lives downstairs, brand new central air conditioner and paint, DW, washer/dryer, fireplace, gas stove, house plants, low E light bulbs, lots of windows, lovely hardwood floors. I am a land use/environmental planner and community activist, over 40, vegetarian, into yoga and massage and the new urbanism and green building movements. You can reach me (Mary) at 547-8925 or maryvogel at yahoo dot com.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

General Contractor
Cynthia Harrison, harrison@gwu.edu

I need a general contractor to repair some water-damaged walls. I'm talking with a few companies advertised in the Northwest Current: Certa ProPainters, MRC Painting, Beni's, M&J, and Alberto. Has anyone had any experience with these firms? Any others that you would recommend who could do wall repair, some waterproofing, etc.? Please reply privately [as well as to themail].

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Life Insurance Agent
Steven E. Levy, slevy@kalorama.com

I am a resident of DC looking for a highly qualified and knowledgeable insurance agent to advise on the purchase of life insurance for me and my wife. Any suggestions?

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