Washington Dc Government

For some time, life here has been a study in contrasts: the impressive monuments and edifices of the nation's capital shadowed by some of the country's most oppressive poverty and crime. But now Washington has taken on the trappings of a Third World city. Broke, neglected and mismanaged, it seems incapable of providing basic services, paying its bills, repairing its firetrucks or supplying its children with books and pencils.

District of Columbia officials say the city is ready to take back control of its finances six years after a federally appointed board stepped in to avert collapse. The district has produced four clean audits reflecting a balanced budget--the latest with an operating surplus of $241 million. Mounting financial problems and widespread indications of mismanagement surfaced after Mayor Marion Barry returned to office after a 1994 drug conviction.

In a major shift of power, Mayor-elect Anthony A. Williams will be delegated the authority to run the District of Columbia government upon his inauguration Jan. 2, according to an agreement that will be released today. Under the new arrangement, Williams will direct virtually all of the city's daily operations, and Chief Management Officer Camille C. Barnett will report to him, sources said.

In a major shift of power, Mayor-elect Anthony A. Williams will be delegated the authority to run the District of Columbia government upon his inauguration Jan. 2, according to an agreement that will be released today. Under the new arrangement, Williams will direct virtually all of the city's daily operations, and Chief Management Officer Camille C. Barnett will report to him, sources said.

The House reconciled minor differences with the Senate on Friday and approved a bill to create an oversight board for the cash-strapped District of Columbia, sending the measure to President Clinton. By voice vote, the House adopted changes in the version of the bill passed by the Senate late Thursday night.

Mayor Marion Barry railed Wednesday against members of Congress and one of President Clinton's top aides over a new law that transfers most of his powers to a presidentially appointed financial control board. "Democracy has been raped. We're going to try to do something with the perpetrator," Barry told a room packed with supporters during his weekly press briefing. Clinton, meanwhile, defended the rescue package for the municipal government of the nation's capital as being "on balance . . .

District of Columbia officials say the city is ready to take back control of its finances six years after a federally appointed board stepped in to avert collapse. The district has produced four clean audits reflecting a balanced budget--the latest with an operating surplus of $241 million. Mounting financial problems and widespread indications of mismanagement surfaced after Mayor Marion Barry returned to office after a 1994 drug conviction.

In a victory for home rule and gay rights in the District of Columbia, a federal judge ruled that Congress acted unconstitutionally when it tried to force the district's government to allow religious schools to discriminate against homosexuals. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth struck down a federal law that would cut off all $3.2 billion of the district's funding unless the district's council acted by Dec. 31 to revise its Human Rights Act.

The House panel that oversees the District of Columbia unanimously approved legislation that would entrust the city's finances to a presidentially appointed control board. With Congress expected to pass the measure soon, lawmakers said that they expect the city to be under new financial management by the end of April.

The District of Columbia Financial Control Board flexed its newfound powers and replaced four of Mayor Marion Barry's top managers Tuesday. Angry demonstrators disrupted the meeting, and police made a dozen arrests. The board's tumultuous meeting took place in a local church hours after President Clinton signed into law a budget bill that provides new cash for the capital but wrests powers from both the mayor and City Council.

Marion Barry is the last of the civil rights activists to parlay street leadership into City Hall power.

Mayor Marion Barry railed Wednesday against members of Congress and one of President Clinton's top aides over a new law that transfers most of his powers to a presidentially appointed financial control board. "Democracy has been raped. We're going to try to do something with the perpetrator," Barry told a room packed with supporters during his weekly press briefing. Clinton, meanwhile, defended the rescue package for the municipal government of the nation's capital as being "on balance . . .

The District of Columbia Financial Control Board flexed its newfound powers and replaced four of Mayor Marion Barry's top managers Tuesday. Angry demonstrators disrupted the meeting, and police made a dozen arrests. The board's tumultuous meeting took place in a local church hours after President Clinton signed into law a budget bill that provides new cash for the capital but wrests powers from both the mayor and City Council.

The financially troubled District of Columbia would get $928 million over five years in a rescue package approved by the House but Mayor Marion Barry would be stripped of much of his power in exchange. Barry denounced the compromise, part of a bill to balance the federal budget, as a "rape on democracy." But Republican leaders said it was the only way to restore stability to the nation's capital.

For some time, life here has been a study in contrasts: the impressive monuments and edifices of the nation's capital shadowed by some of the country's most oppressive poverty and crime. But now Washington has taken on the trappings of a Third World city. Broke, neglected and mismanaged, it seems incapable of providing basic services, paying its bills, repairing its firetrucks or supplying its children with books and pencils.

Hoping to avert an embarrassing bankruptcy for the District of Columbia, President Clinton signed a bill to set up an oversight board with broad powers over Mayor Marion Barry and the City Council. The law also allows the district to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal Treasury to help pay its bills, and it requires a balanced city budget in three years. The board's powers include the authority to lay off thousands of city workers.

The District of Columbia, technically insolvent and now such a bad credit risk that Wall Street has downgraded its bonds to junk status, is about to be taken over by Congress, effectively ringing down the curtain on a 20-year experiment with home rule. But the conservative Republicans who control Congress say they envision a federal role that goes far beyond guarding the capital's purse strings. "The District represents a great opportunity for the Republican Party . . .

City Administrator Carol Thompson, in charge of government duties as Mayor Marion Barry seeks treatment for substance abuse after his arrest on cocaine charges, Friday called for an investigation into alleged drug use and distribution among city government workers.

The House reconciled minor differences with the Senate on Friday and approved a bill to create an oversight board for the cash-strapped District of Columbia, sending the measure to President Clinton. By voice vote, the House adopted changes in the version of the bill passed by the Senate late Thursday night.

The House panel that oversees the District of Columbia unanimously approved legislation that would entrust the city's finances to a presidentially appointed control board. With Congress expected to pass the measure soon, lawmakers said that they expect the city to be under new financial management by the end of April.