The Jack Evans Report

As I write this article, I am settling in for a weekend of work on my committee’s budget report ...

I wrote in the last issue about the Mayor’s budget proposal, which I am largely pleased with subject to ...

I was pleased to work with the Mayor Gray as he developed the fiscal year 2014 budget, which will be ...

As we wait for Mayor Gray to transmit his budget proposal to the District Council, I thought it would be ...

Every year, the Mayor, the Chairman of the Council, the Chief Financial Officer and myself, the Chairman of the Finance ...

I was disappointed to learn of Dr. Natwar Gandhi's recent decision to retire as the District's chief financial ...

As we begin the new year, these are indeed exciting times for the District.

Personally, I was sworn in for ...

We have one more legislative session in Council Period 19, on Dec. 18, and then our year will be over ...

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Council Period 19 is wrapping up, and my colleagues use this time ...

This week I want to put my views on the record regarding the recent proposal by DC Public Schools Chancellor ...

Tuesday was a great day for our city, country and indeed the world. The initial election of Barack Obama as ...

Dr. Gandhi has been instrumental in overseeing the financial resurrection of the District of Columbia and in generating an overall financial structure for the city that not only has provided annual surpluses but also has infused Wall Street with the confidence to, year-after-year, improve the city’s bond ratings and lower our cost of capital.

Our first legislative session of the fall was this week, and I’m looking forward to finishing out the year ...

Summer is over, and the kids are all back at school. The routine has returned, and with it the District ...

I read with great concern a recent Washington Post article, “Surge in D.C. tax office settlements reduces commercial property ...

As I write this article, the Washington Nationals have the best record in Major League Baseball. It has been widely ...

I was pleased by the Mayor Gray’s decision to reappoint Natwar Gandhi to another term as the District’s ...

This month, I passed a personal milestone. On April 30, it was the 21st anniversary of my being elected to ...

Beginning on May 9, the council members got together around one table to discuss our budget priorities and contrast those ...

On Mother’s Day––coming up May 13––you get images in your head.

Donna Reed unruffled. Soccer moms relieving ...

The District borrowed $584 million to build the stadium and though development around the stadium has been slowed, the District's several sources of revenue to pay off the loan has raised millions of dollars more than necessary to pay the annual debt service obligations.

Last week, Mayor Vincent Gray submitted his Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal to the Council. The total proposed budget for ...

This week, I chaired a meeting of the Committee on Finance and Revenue to consider a bill to require mobile ...

This week, the D.C. Council met at its annual retreat to review legislative priorities, receive briefings from various officials ...

Over the years, our bond rating has increased from “junk bond” status to an “A+” on our General Obligation bonds and the highest rating of “AAA” on our income tax bonds. The District’s finances remain strong, and we had a good story to tell when we visited the rating agencies on Wall Street.

In my last newsletter, I took some time to reflect on our accomplishments from the past year. This week, I ...

A subject that is unfortunately getting a lot of press these days is the alleged ethical failures of a number ...

I wanted to provide an update on the iGaming proposal that is currently under consideration by the Council and the ...

The fall has arrived and with it the change of seasons that really defines the Washington region. The beauty of ...

I thought it would be most appropriate in this newspaper to express my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and ...

It is with great disappointment that I report to you that the D.C. Council voted last week to raise ...

Summer is over and the kids are all back at school. The routine has returned and with it, the Council ...

I want to alert my constituents about the alarming decline in sworn officers in the District’s Metropolitan Police Department ...

I thought I had written my last Georgetowner article about the 2012 budget last month.

Unfortunately, the Council was taken ...

At this point, District residents must think the Council votes on the budget every time it meets. For the past ...

Friday night was the Volta Park fundraiser at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. A large number of Georgetowners and other advocates turned out to show their support. Mayor Gray, Councilmember Catania and I all attended and gave our support. Of course, Mimsy Linder was the Mistress of Ceremonies and again made sure the weekend ran smoothly.

This has been a very busy time at the Council. On Tuesday, May 24, the Council passed the Fiscal Year ...

After 20 years on the council, it's a good time for reflection.

This week Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting held two public hearings in the Council Chamber. According to federal law, the District must perform a redistricting of its eight Wards within 90 days of the Council’s receipt of the Census report, which happens every ten years.

The unique problem with the Mayor's budget is that it calls for $300 million more in spending than the FY 2011 budget. The budget has grown by over 3% when budgets of cities and states nationwide are shrinking.

It is that time of the year when everyone is giving their “State of the […]” speeches. The President delivered his State of the Union. The Mayor delivered his State of the City. Some of my Council colleagues even give “State of the Ward” speeches. So instead of a speech, I thought I would relate my own “State of the City” here.

It’s springtime, and one’s idle thoughts turn to baseball. March 31 is opening day for the Washington Nationals ...

It has not been a good two weeks for the District. Two Sundays ago, District residents learned from the Washington ...

As many of you are likely aware, my longtime friend and Committee Clerk, Jeff Coudriet, recently lost his fight with ...

Every ten years, all Colleges and Universities in the District of Columbia must file a Campus Plan with the DC ...

Happy New Year!

After all the election events of last year, we are settling into the New Year at the ...

The Council reconsidered the FY 2011 budget this past week to address the $175 million revenue shortfall and “spending pressures ...

Like many jurisdictions around the country, the District again faces both a decline in tax revenue due to the economy ...

Earlier this week, Mayor-Elect Gray had a press conference and briefing about the upcoming challenges the District faces in readdressing ...

Last Tuesday, we elected the people who will lead the District of Columbia starting in January. My colleague, Vince Gray, will take office as our new Mayor and Kwame Brown as Chair of the Council. The challenges before elected leaders are tremendous, and the next several weeks will be crucial in determining the fiscal future of the District.

The Council and Mayor are beginning to address the revenue shortfall and budget gap now anticipated in fiscal year 2011, which started October 1. To that end, the Mayor took immediate action to freeze personnel hiring and procurements. Our government faces a shortfall of $100 million in declining revenue and $75 million in various spending pressures. In the grand scheme of things, we have little control over the economy, we can’t make the stock market perform better, and we can’t make commercial property sell for more. But what we CAN control is what we spend, and I believe that should be the focus of our efforts.

The question on everyone’s mind these days is: What’s next for school reform?

On Wednesday, October 13, Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced her resignation, and Mayor Fenty and Chairman Gray jointly announced the appointment of Kaya Henderson, Rhee’s deputy, to serve as interim Chancellor.

The September Democratic primary has come and gone and the Council’s summer recess is over. It’s back to school, back to work, and back to reality...literally! After a heated campaign, we have my colleagues Vince Gray as the Democratic nominee for Mayor and Kwame Brown for Chair. And we have an outgoing Mayor Fenty with three more months on the job. Together we face a tremendous challenge right off the bat – rebalancing the fiscal year 2011 budget, which began October 1st.

What challenges will the new mayor and city council face as Washington enters the next decade?

I’m feeling a little more optimistic these days and wondering if we are turning a corner, at least in one respect, with regard to the economy.

This promises to be a long, entertaining summer in terms of Washington’s number one spectator sport, politics.

A reuse of the Hurt Home would be great and very much welcome, but I would like to see it occur in the best possible way for the neighborhood.

Next week on Wednesday, May 26, the D.C. council will vote on the fiscal year 2011 budget. The District ...

The anticipation at the Verizon Center last Wednesday night could not have been greater. The Washington Capitals, our great hockey ...

Recently, Mayor Fenty released his FY 2011 budget plan to the council and the public. The budget proposes $5.27 ...

Last week, we lost two giants of Ward 2.

While most people have probably heard the news, I want to ...

By now homeowners in the District will have received their annual property tax assessment from the Office of Tax and ...

It began to snow. And then it snowed and snowed. It stopped then it started again. The record snowfall of ...