Since then, Gandhi has informed the council repeatedly that economic conditions were on the mend. But the city lacks the authority to quickly adjust its spending, in part because of its checkered history of financial management.
"Am I conservative? Yes. Am I perpetually pessimistic? Yes," Gandhi said. "But that is what you have to do in a District with a history like ours."
Council member Jim Graham said more money should be made available to meet immediate needs.
(File Photo)
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Budget Surplus: The District of Columbia had a budget surplus of $318 million in fiscal 2004 and now has more than $1.2 billion in cash in the bank.
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Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) also complained about Gandhi's proposal to reserve such a huge chunk of cash for the future health care of city retirees when thousands of impoverished District residents face much more immediate needs. During an interview in his office, Graham held up a recent report that concludes that the city needs to spend an extra $20 million to fund drug treatment programs effectively.
"This is what I have on my desk," Graham said. "Why would [the city] squirrel the money away like we're in some kind of depression? We've got pressing human needs that have to be attended to."
On Capitol Hill, House and Senate appropriations committee sources said they were pleased with the latest audit. But they said the city's financial picture remains clouded by a massive shortfall between available cash and needed capital improvements.
The District still spends very little compared with peer cities on roads, bridges and schools, creating a deepening hole that congressional analysts say reflects a structural imbalance that only a new federal payment or other mechanism can address.
"I don't think the [audit] will result in people thinking the District doesn't need money anymore," one congressional appropriations source said.
Staff writers Spencer S. Hsu and Eric M. Weiss contributed to this report.
