Baby Bloomers
Dear Bloomers:
Spring is coming, it really is. The truest sign of approaching spring
in Washington is the blossoming of the web site for the National Cherry
Blossom Festival (http://www.nationalcherryblossomfesvtival.com),
which gives the schedule of the official events and has a bloom watch
page to count down to the real event, the blossoming of the cherry
trees. We all know about the great grove around the Jefferson Memorial
on the Tidal Basin, but in a few weeks many neighborhoods and parks in
the city will have gorgeous flowering trees. If you will, please help us
find the best places to go to appreciate spring trees aside from the
Mall. Where do you go to see our city in bloom?
The owners of Major League Baseball have grudgingly agreed to accept
the city’s $611 million gift as a good start, with the provision that,
as expenses for building the baseball stadium escalate far beyond that,
the city will pay for all the cost overruns. All the city council has to
do is agree in advance that the supposed cap it pretended to place on
the city’s spending was a complete fraud on the residents of the city.
Mayor Williams thanks the MLB for its gracious generosity in agreeing to
raid the city’s treasury, and says it will serve as a model and
inspiration for all the development giveaway deals he hopes to conclude
this year.
I’d like to wish David Sobelsohn, a frequent contributor to themail,
a quick and complete recovery. You may have heard that David was badly
beaten in a street robbery last week, as he walked to a community
meeting. He’s out of the hospital now. Get well quick, David.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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On March 1, the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) posted on its web
site its proposed assessments for tax year 2007, along with its Assessor
Reference Materials. These steps permit an overview of the problems
confronting homeowners throughout the city, including Cleveland Park.
All proposed assessments are alleged to be based on cost of replacement
new less depreciation and obsolescence. However, the tables derived by
OTR cast some question on this allegation. For example:
1) The base rate for cost of replacement of detached houses has been
changed from $116.67 per square foot of "effective area" as of
January 1, 2005, to $149.57, as of January 1, 2006, an increase of 28
percent in twelve months. For row houses, the change is from $92.52 per
square foot to $126.65, an increase of 37 percent. I am unaware of such
steep inflation in building costs. 2) The maximum deduction for
depreciation and obsolescence is 16 percent for all houses. This
compares to a maximum depreciation for commercial structures of 80
percent. It is impossible for the taxpayer to find out how the
multipliers used by OTR were derived, because the judgments and
assumptions being entered into the computer are known only to the few in
OTR who were responsible for constructing the multipliers. However, the
resulting data casts serious doubts on the validity of OTR’s
statistical tables.
In addition, OTR persists in the erroneous assumption that the market
price of residential properties (gross sales price on the deed) is the
same as "estimated market value" under District assessment
law. This is not what the law says. As held by Judge Hamilton last
September, "estimated market value, as used in the DC Code, refers
solely to the value of the real property being assessed and does not
include personal property or services or taxes related to the sale of
such real property that would be borne by the owner if the property were
sold, such as agents’ commissions, fix-up costs (or seller subsidy at
closing) and transfer taxes." Ordinarily, "estimated market
value" (EMV) is about 90 percent of the selling price. The effect
of this error is to inflate assessments by about 11 percent.
By all tests, however, the secret methodology being followed by OTR
falls far short of being satisfactory and has caused unacceptable
discrimination among DC homeowners. This can be seen by comparing the
estimated market values of houses sold in 2005 (the alleged basis for
the new assessments) to the proposed assessments for such houses.
Under existing law, OTR is expected to issue assessments which are
within 5 percent of estimated market value. If within this range, they
are immune from change on appeal to the Board of Real Property
Assessments and Appeals. In Cleveland Park, 55 houses were sold in 2005.
Under OTR’s new assessments, only eight (14.55 percent) have proposed
assessments within 5 percent of estimated market value. Another fourteen
(25.45 percent) are under-assessed. But 33 (60 percent) are
over-assessed. Examples of the extremes are set forth below:
3317 Newark Street sold for $1,850,000 in 2005 (estimated market
value of $1,665,000). OTR proposes it be assessed at $1,026,770 -- only
62 percent of its estimated market value (EMV). 2927 Macomb Street sold
for $1,750,000 in 2005 (EMV=$1,575,000). OTR’s proposed assessment is
$1,116,750 -- only 71 percent of EMV. 3454 Newark Street sold for
$3,253,000 (EMV=$2,927,700). Proposed assessment is $2,246,870 -- only
77 percent of EMV. 3222 Woodley Road sold for $1,025,000 (EMV=$922,500).
Proposed assessment is $1,259,110 -- 136 percent of EMV. 3124 38th
Street sold for $1,065,000 (EMV=$958,500). Proposed assessment is
$1,417,650 -- 148 percent of EMV. 3010 Ordway Street sold for $1,450,000
(EMV=$1,305,000). Proposed assessment is $2,045,080 -- 157 percent of
EMV.
OTR does not like the standard in DC law that its assessments should
be within 5 percent of estimated market value. Instead, it favors the
standard of its trade association, the International Association of
Assessment Officials (IAAO), which has a rule that the average
coefficient of dispersion (COD or average deviation of each
assessment/sales ratio from the median assessment/sales ratio for the
entire group of sales) should not exceed 15 percent for heterogeneous
areas. However, by its own measure, OTR also flunks this rule. As shown
on page 89 of its Assessor’s Reference Materials, the COD for
Cleveland Park for last year’s assessments was 17 percent for
single-family houses in Cleveland Park and 19.5 percent citywide. Even
these figures are too low, as OTR excluded from its sales ratio report
sales not to its liking.
The primary objective of the District’s real property tax law is
the “equitable sharing of the financial burden of the government of
the District of Columbia.” Indeed, the Equal Protection clause of the
US Constitution requires that each homeowner be treated equitably. The
intentional discrimination imposed by the District’s flawed assessment
system does not meet this objective.
###############
Why Your Property Tax Bill Went Down This Year
Matt Forman, Matthew.Forman2@verizon.net
If you’re like many, the property tax bill you just received is
smaller than last year’s. Assuming that the Office of Tax and Revenue
calculated the bills correctly, it went down for three reasons. 1)
Correction of the triennial group disparity. Certain parts of the city
had a 25 percent cap in prior years, while other parts had only a 12
percent cap. The council passed legislation to correct the disparity.
Special thanks go to Jack Evans who sponsored the legislation, which
gathered support from the rest of the council. Phil Mendelson was the
only one to raise objection on the dais. 2) Lowering of the tax rate
from .96 percent to .92 percent. Obviously not much of a reduction ($40
per $100,000 of assessed value). 3) Increase of the homestead deduction.
(As near as I can tell, it went up to $52,000 in most cases, not the
$60,000 they’re claiming on your tax bill. Savings from this item
equaled $202.40.) Finally, the cap was lowered from 12 percent to 10
percent, i.e., your bill would have gone up 12 percent, but went up only
10 percent, minus the three types of relief just mentioned, resulting in
a net savings in many cases. Of course, all this is only a short
reprieve from the massive increases we’ve had over the past several
years. Bills will keep going up 10 percent a year from now on. Jack
Evans had proposed a 5 percent cap, but Phil Mendelson gathered enough
opposition behind the scenes to ensure a 10 percent annual increase.
Remember this at election time this fall.
As to whether you should appeal your assessment, remember that you
don’t pay tax on your full assessment. Rather, you only pay it on the
capped amount (which you can calculate by dividing your annual tax bill
by .0092). So it’s only worth appealing if you think you can prove
that your full assessed value should be less than your capped value. If
not, your tax bill won’t go down.
###############
Assessments Rising, But Property Taxes Falling
Ed Lazere, lazere@dcfpi.org
DC homeowners just got their new assessment notices, and for most the
news is that their home continues to rise in value. While many
homeowners may think their tax bills are jumping, too, the reality is
that tax bills are falling for the vast majority of DC homeowners. This
the result of several property tax relief measures adopted in 2006,
including a rate cut, an increase in the Homestead Deduction, and a 10
percent cap on increases in taxable assessments.
A new analysis from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute shows that 79
percent of DC homeowners will pay less in property taxes in 2006 than
they paid in 2005. For the remaining homeowners, tax increases will
generally be less than five percent. (These figures do not reflect the
"triennial fix" that reduced taxable assessments for two
thirds of homeowners this year, due to data limitations. If this had
been reflected, it would show even more homeowners paying less in 2006
than in 2005.)
The DCFPI analysis found that the tax relief adopted in 2005 was so
substantial that 2007 tax bills will remain lower than the 2005 bills
for nearly half of DC homeowners. The full analysis can be found at http://www.dcfpi.org/2-28-06tax.htm.
###############
Giant to Expand at Last at Friendship Heights
Gabe Fineman, gfineman@advsol.com
Always on the lookout for good neighborhood news, I can report that
Giant Foods announced plans to redevelop the two blocks they own on
Wisconsin Avenue, north and south of Newark Street, to include a much
larger supermarket. This was discussed at a community meeting Tuesday
night sponsored by ANC3C with about 135 people present. First announced
seven years ago, the plans were put on hold and then changed because of
protests by some immediate neighbors and the Office of Planning
threatening to declare the current mundane buildings as historic. The
plans include a 400-space underground parking garage. A fuller report is
available at http://www.cpposts.com/Docs/Other/060228_Giant_Meeting.htm.
###############
With just ten months remaining in his term of office, Mayor Williams
is working to finish the agenda he has set for his administration,
including a new baseball stadium, the National Capital Medical Center (NCMC),
the construction of a new central library and public-private
developments on many of the city’s real estate holdings, the
construction of a new convention center hotel, and traveling to all
seven continents of the world. With regard to the NCMC, in the past few
weeks, the administration has sent six separate pieces of legislation to
the city council seeking its support for public financing of a new $400
million hospital to be built in partnership with Howard University on
the site of the former DC General Hospital on Reservation 13. The six
pieces of legislation (see http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/council16)
include an “exclusive rights agreement” between the District and
Howard University, a grant agreement awarding Howard University more
than $200 million in District funds, a $1-a-year lease with Howard for
the nine-acre site, and an exemption for the project from the District’s
legal requirement that health facilities undergo a certificate of need
review. The Williams administration had pressured Council Chairman Linda
Cropp to have all the NCMC legislation reviewed only by the council as a
Committee of the Whole, in an effort to fast-track the process. However,
Cropp has parceled the various bills to three council committees,
Health, Government Operations, and Economic Development, as well as the
Committee of the Whole.
In the past week, two of the committee chairs who will be reviewing
the bills have raised serious questions about the project. Councilmember
Sharon Ambrose, the chair of the Committee on Economic Development and
the councilmember for Ward 6, where the NCMC would be located, has
insisted that the NCMC go through the legally required certificate of
need process, which would review both the medical need for the facility
as well as the financial ability and medical competence of the partners.
The administration and Howard fear that the project would not survive a
certificate of need review, and threaten to abandon it if the CON review
is required.
Councilmember David Catania, chairman of the Committee on Health,
will play a central role in reviewing the project. This was very evident
last week. At a budget performance hearing on the Department of Health
last Wednesday, Catania questioned Gina Lagomarsino, special assistant
on health to the City Administrator, about the urgent health care
facility that the city had committed to operating at the DC General
site. Lagomarsino replied that on the basis of a consultant’s report,
the administration had determined that there was not enough demand for
an urgent care facility at that site. Therefore, the city had ceased
operating it, would not reopen it, and was going to shift urgent health
care operations to Greater Southeast Community Hospital. Catania asked
why, if the city didn’t believe there was enough demand for even an
urgent health care facility on Reservation 13, it believed there was a
need for a full-service hospital. City officials had no answer. On
Friday, Catania was a guest on the DC Politics Hour (http://www.wamu.org/programs/kn/06/03/03.php#10529,
at thirty minutes). There, he said that he had met that week with
officials from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
regarding the $200 million in FHA financing that Howard is seeking to
finance its portion of the project. Catania indicated that HUD’s and
FHA’s base financing rules require that a certificate of need process
be completed in states that have CON requirements. The rules also forbid
loans to any prospective borrower that has lost money within any of the
preceding three years, and Howard has run a deficit for the past two
years. Off air following the broadcast, Catania revealed that Mayor
Williams and he had gone together that morning to visit the Inova
Healthplex facility at Franconia-Springfield (http://www.inova.com/inovapublic.srt/healthplex/index.jsp?tStatus=5),
an emergency and urgent care facility that provides an emergency room,
ambulatory surgery, and specialty care. Inova Healthplex is much cheaper
than the proposed NCMC; it cost only $34 million to build, and last year
it treated 30,000 patients in its emergency room at a cost of $12
million, and another 30,000 patients in its ambulatory surgery for $10
million. According to Catania, Williams was extremely impressed with the
facility. The question is whether the administration is willing to
explore whether a facility like Inova Healthplex meets community needs
better than another full-scale hospital, or whether it is so committed
to the NCMC plan that it refuses to consider any alternative.
###############
Shame on Sharon
Raymond S. Blanks, The Gerasene Group, brsb20002@aol.com
A deep darkness descended on public discussion and dialogue in the
District last week when Councilmember Sharon Ambrose declared she
refuses to conduct a public hearing on the proposed National Capital
Medical Center. Ambrose, the chair of the Council’s Economic
Development Committee, The Washington Post reported, insists that
a certificate of need process must be a part of the proposed legislation
to authorize a new hospital in Ward 6. The certificate of need process
involves in-depth assessment of various factors such as finances, the
need for expanded hospital capacity, and other issues involving the
expertise of specialists and public participation.
Ambrose’s position of prohibiting a public hearing on the hospital
is not only disturbing but also anti-democratic. “I know how to be a
Councilmember,” Ambrose boasted when she campaigned in her first
council race nearly a decade ago. Rather than face critics and defend
her position, Ambrose maintains, there is no need for public discussion,
since she’s opposed to the hospital. Voter views are not vital to her.
Several significant disadvantages result from the Councilmember’s
disturbing decision on dialogue. First, it strongly suggests that public
decisions need not require public input but only imperial judgment.
Unfortunately, Ambrose fails to respect the duty of elected leaders in a
truly democratic process to also be involved in dialogue and debate on
critical issues with citizens. If the people are excluded, then
representative government is thwarted and truncated. When the
representative dismisses the people, an essential dimension of democracy
is diminished and distorted.
This recent action by Ambrose is not the first time residents have
been amazed by Ambrose’s arrogance. Ambrose pushed the funding of St.
Coletta School and dismissed the opposing sentiments of citizens. She
was a force behind the establishment of Two Rivers Charter School
although many residents objected to the new school on Capitol Hill. She
also refused to hear from citizens opposed to the half-billion dollar
baseball stadium. Rumor has it that the Ward 6 Councilmember is always
willing, however, to meet and hear the demands of developers. The shame
of Ambrose’s stance on the hearing on the hospital is the fact that
she only continues to demonstrate her serious disregard of the people’s
interests or views on important issues.
Ambrose has the right to oppose the proposed National Capital Medical
Center. However, she held no public discussion of this issue before she
decided to oppose the NCMC plan. Information on her position has not
been shared or circulated via mail, public forums, or community
newspapers. In essence, she has operated in isolation and shown
consistently utter disdain for the people’s position on public policy
issues. Therefore, I challenge the Councilmember to exit her isolation,
escape from the District Building and meet me anywhere and anytime in
the District or our ward for an open discussion and debate on the
proposed NCMC. Accepting this challenge, Ambrose would be both seen and
heard by the people and gain once more the wondrous experience of
hearing from the people rather than only herself.
###############
Specialty Schools
Gabe Goldberg, gabe at gabegold dot com
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom said [themail, March 1], “. . . it
looks to me like a decentralized Brooklyn Tech. Brooklyn Tech was a
magnet, competitive-entrance school in NY that had many specialty
programs, all in the same school. The school occupied a whole city
block, was ten stories tall, and housed 6000 students. The school
attracted many fine teachers anxious to teach in a school with great
discipline and great students.”
No past tense needed. Brooklyn Tech is still there, is still a magnet
school. It’s changed a bit, is now coed (it was all male when I
attended) and has fewer students, because some classrooms have been
converted to specialized labs. I’ve been back a couple times recently
for homecomings, and it’s still an impressive building housing equally
impressive students.
###############
As Steve Seelig correctly points out [themail, March 1], both Zipcar
and Flexcar are for-profit companies. I stand corrected and apologize
for the error. I maintain the belief, though, that both are
accomplishing something good here in DC, and in New York, San Francisco,
and many other urban areas with way too many cars. Shared car services
are a relatively new phenomenon here in the US, but have been used for
years abroad to relieve congestion in major urban areas. I do hope that
the District conducts a full and thorough review of the reserved parking
program when the test period is up.
Providing dedicated parking spaces to these two companies, which
permit twenty to forty people to go without a car (per Zip/Flex car), is
no different than many other uses of public road space that would
otherwise be available for parking — taxi cab stands, entrances to
hotels and some other businesses, and dedicated night parking for tour
bus companies. In fact, I suggest that Zip/Flex are advancing more
public interest than these other examples.
As for people getting towed for parking in a Zip/Flex space, I’m
not sure how one “accidentally” parks in one of these very
well-marked spaces. Those I’ve seen have very clear signage painted on
the surface of the spots in addition to the orange poles. One also gets
towed and/or ticketed for “accidentally” parking in a cab stand or
in front of a fire hydrant.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Public Library Events, March 7-8
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov
Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-5. C.R. Gibbs, local historian and
author, presents his lecture, “Black Root of Ancient Egypt’s
Glory.” Public contact: 727-1211.
Tuesday, March 7, 7:30 p.m., Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, 416
Cedar Street, NW. Poetry at Takoma Park’s spring series featuring
readings by local poets Rod Jellema and Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli. Public
contact: 576-7252.
Wednesday, March 8, 1:00 p.m., Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park
Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW. Shepherd Park Wednesday
Afternoon Book Club will discuss Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. Next
month’ selection: #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander
McCall Smith. Public contact: 541-6100.
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Emerging Voices Lecture at the National
Building Museum, March 8
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
Wednesday, March 8, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Emerging Voices lecture: Studio
Gang Architects and Lead Pencil Studio. The projects of Studio Gang
Architects focus on materials, technology, and sustainability. Principal
Jeanne Gang will discuss the Chicago-based firm and work, which includes
the Starlight Theater at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL; a
community center in Chicago’s Chinatown; and the Marble Curtain, an
installation for the Masonry Variations exhibition at the National
Building Museum. Studio Gang was chosen as one of six firms representing
the USA at the American Pavilion at the 2004 Venice Biennale, and won
the international competition for the Ford Calumet Environmental Center
in Chicago.
Founded in 1997, Lead Pencil Studio explores the emerging field
created from the interdisciplinary overlap of architecture and
site-specific art. Founding principals Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo will
discuss the work of the Seattle-based firm, which includes the Seattle
Staircase, an outdoor installation at the Sand Point Arts and Cultural
Exchange; and Linear Plenum, a space that remains empty but full at the
same time. Lead Pencil Studio is a recipient of a Visual Arts grant from
the Creative Capital Foundation in New York, and a Special Projects
grant from Arts 4Culture in Seattle. At the National Building Museum,
401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for
events at http://www.nbm.org.
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DC Action for Children Budget Briefing, March
29
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org
Are you interested in how the mayor’s proposed FY 2007 budget
supports children and youth? Then plan on attending DC Action for
Children’s March 29 budget and policy briefing, "What’s in the
FY 2007 budget for children and youth?" The event is being held
from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW.
Panelists are: Ed Lazere, DC Fiscal Policy Institute; Brian Wilbon,
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders; Rob
Miller, Office of Council Chair Linda Cropp [invited]; Susie Cambria, DC
Action for Children; Evita Smedley, DC Action for Children; Frankeena
Wright, DC Action for Children; Mary Levy, Washington Lawyers’
Committee; and Mark Ouellette, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust
Corp.
The advocates on the panel will present on early care and education,
child welfare, child health, education and out-of-school time. The
government representatives will talk about the executive and legislative
branch priorities and views on the mayor’s budget.
Registration is required; to request a registration form, contact
Alexis at DC Action for Children, dcaction@dckids.org,
234-9404. There is a fee to attend this event.
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Fair Budget Coalition Town Hall Meeting on
Budget, April 1
Martina Gillis, martina@legalclinic.org
The Fair Budget Coalition is cosponsoring a town hall meeting with
more than a dozen community organizations on Saturday, April 1, at 10:0
a.m., at the True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW. This is an
opportunity for community members to share their concerns and also
identify budget priorities for the District of Columbia. Come insert
your voice into the budget process! City department directors and all
councilmembers have been invited. Child care and food will be provided;
you must RSVP for child care. Contact Martina Gillis, 328-5513 or martina@legalclinic.org.
Also, if you would like to be a cosponsor, please contact me.
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