D.C. Council members yesterday praised Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for introducing a fiscally responsible budget proposal, though some criticized what they called a lack of transparency within the spending plan.
“Streamlined it is, transparent it is not,” said Carol Schwartz, at-large Republican. “There are details that are just missing.”
Mr. Fenty’s fiscal 2009 budget proposal calls for a 1 percent increase in local funding — from $5.62 billion in fiscal 2008 to $5.66 billion next year. Council members had their first opportunity yesterday to publicly question Mr. Fenty on his proposal.
Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Mrs. Schwartz criticized the budget for a lack of detail about how funds were shifted among agencies.
Mrs. Schwartz said the lack of such detail means “we don’t know where the money is going, what changes are being made.”
Mr. Gray also told fellow Democrat Mr. Fenty that he would send him an official letter requesting the information.
“We may see a bottom line that hasn’t changed, yet there may be dynamics within that agency that are important to us in evaluating [the agency] going forward,” Mr. Gray said.
Mr. Fenty said his administration will provide the information “as fast as humanly possible.”
The mayor — who appeared before the council with City Administrator Dan Tangherlini and Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi — also faced questions on proposals to increase the emergency 911 telephone charge imposed on most residents and the fees for riding in an ambulance.
The council will hold hearings on the proposal in the coming months, and Mr. Fenty acknowledged that parts of his plan might change.
“That always happens,” he said.
Prior to the hearing, council member David A. Catania announced a universal health care program he hopes to have included in Mr. Fenty’s final budget proposal. The “Healthy DC” program would be funded in part through tax increases and require city residents 18 years and older to have health insurance by next year. Residents would be required to certify their coverage on 2010 tax returns and would be fined at least $250 a year for noncompliance, though exceptions could be granted.
Mr. Catania, at-large independent and chairman of the council’s Committee on Health, said the program attempts to bridge the gap between coverage for the city’s poorest residents and those who have access to a health plans through their employers.
The $56 million-a-year program would be made available through a contract between the District and provider CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and uninsured residents earning more than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines would be eligible for enrollment.
Costs will be split among the city, CareFirst and the enrollee. The District’s subsidies are estimated to amount to $21 million and will be paid in part through a 2 percent premium tax on some Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and an increase in premium taxes for commercial health insurers, from 1.7 percent to 2 percent.
The program also proposes an increase in the tobacco excise tax, from $1 to $2 a pack of cigarettes.
Mr. Fenty pledged to not introduce new taxes in his budget. He did not say yesterday whether he would specifically support the increases.
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