News from Muriel, 2-22-12
District of Columbia sent this bulletin at 02/22/2012 02:17 PM EST
Letter from Muriel
2012 Junior Police Academy Program
14th Street Metro Bus Line Study Meeting, Tomorrow
Today, as Chair of the Committee on Government Operations, I am holding public hearings on the following District agencies’ Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012 performance and budgets: the Board of Elections and Ethics, the Office of Campaign Finance, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The hearing takes place in the Council Chamber, Room 500, of the John A. Wilson Building. For more information, please contact Judah Gluckman at jgluckman@dccouncil.us or 202-724-8052.
The public hearings will continue on two days next week beginning on Tuesday, February 28 at 10:00 am in Room 412. That day, we will discuss the Office of Disability Rights, the Office of Partnerships and Grants Services, the Contract Appeals Board and the Office of Contracting and Procurement. For more information, or to sign-up to testify, please contact Randy Hull at rhull@dccouncil.us or 202-724-8052. On Thursday, March 1 beginning at 10:00 am in Room 120, we will discuss the District of Columbia Retirement Board, the Office of Boards and Commissions, the Public Employee Relations Board, the Office of Employee Appeals, the Department of Human Resources, and the Office of Risk Management. For more information, or to sign-up to testify, please contact Jordyne Blaise at jblaise@dccouncil.us or 202-724-8052.
Legislative Update
Yesterday, I introduced a bill to prevent the worst contractors from doing business with the District. The legislation also holds District contracting officials to account for failure to strictly adhere to procurement law. The “Bad Actor Debarment and Suspension Amendment Act,” would permanently ban contractors who have been debarred twice before from receiving District contracting dollars. Currently, a bad actor who is debarred, for instance, for improper Fair Wage practices, Certified Business Enterprise violations, or fraud can continue to bid on work once the debarment expires. The bill is intended to ensure greater security in the billion dollar per year contracting and procurement system. In addition to banning bad actors who hold prime contracts, the bill also bans bad actors from subcontracting on District procurements and requires the Office of Contracting and Procurement to publish a list of debarred contractors on its website. Finally, any District employee who fails to follow the contracting process will be subject to progressive discipline. It is my hope that the measure will not only ban bad actors, but will also set a high standard for doing business with the District and discourage those who would seek to cheat our taxpayers.
In addition, I co-introduced emergency legislation that responds to concerns raised by District retirees who have recently, and unexpectedly, had their retirement benefits subjected to income tax withholding at the highest rate. The emergency legislation clarifies that only lump sum distributions will be subject to withholding. All other residents who receive annuities or other periodic distributions will not be subject to withholding. In my recent travels through the Ward this has been the issue most commonly raised and I am pleased that we were able to clarify the Council’s original intent and that we can put our seniors at ease. We need to be doing everything we can to make it easier for seniors to age-in-place.
Another important initiative that I introduced, the “Age-in-Place and Equitable Senior Citizen Real Property Act”—which increases the income limit for the senior homestead deduction from $100,000 to $125,000—is set for approval by the Finance and Revenue Committee as soon as next week.
Muriel
2012 Junior Police Academy Program
The Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Employment Services (DOES) are partnering for the 2012 Junior Police Academy Program. This is a 6-week program that will be held this summer from June 25 – August 3 and is an opportunity for students aged 14 -17 who are curious about the law or interested in law enforcement, politics and the criminal justice system. Students must be DC residents in order to be paid through DOES’s Summer Youth Employment Program. Applications must be submitted by May 19 and selected applicants will be notified by June 15. For more information, including the application, visit: http://www.mpdc.dc.gov/JPA or contact Yvonne Smith at yvonne.smith@dc.gov or
202-727-8809.
14th Street Metro Bus Line Study Meeting, tomorrow
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), in partnership with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), will host a public meeting tomorrow, Thursday, February 23 from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm as part of the Metrobus 14th Street Line Study. The meeting will take place at the WMATA Northern Division, 4627 14th Street NW, in the Community Room. The facility is located at the corner of 14th and Decatur Streets, and is accessible by Metrobus routes 52, 53, and 54.
This will be the first of three public meetings for the 14th Street Line Study to hear directly from riders about issues with the 52, 53, and 54 routes, and potential improvements that would address them. The meeting is open to all, and no registration is required. For more information, visit www.metrobus-studies.com.
Mayor Gray last year launched a One City ∙ One Hire hiring initiative in which he asked area employers to hire one qualified unemployed District resident. The Department of Employment Services (DOES) provides screenings, trainings and other services to facilitate job-seeker and employer matches at no cost. DOES is now reaching out to thousands of disconnected, unemployed District residents so that it can match them with employer partners who have job openings to fill. If you know of District residents looking for employment, please ask them to register at an event or online at http://onecityonehire.org. Once registered, they will be invited to visit a One Stop Career Center near them to assist with their job search, including career counseling, career planning, resume building assistance, unemployment insurance, as well as to inform them of other programs or services.
Upcoming Registration Events:
Wednesday, February 22 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at Columbia Heights Recreation Center, 1480 Girard Street, NW
Thursday, February 23 from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Anacostia Library, 1800 Good Hope Road, SE
Thursday, March 8 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at Benning/Dorothy I. Height Public Library, 3935 Benning Road, NE
Thursday, March 15 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW
For more information, call 202- 698-5141.
Tonight, February 22, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and on the fourth Wednesday of each month, Housing Counseling Services, Inc. (HCS), in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development, holds a Foreclosure Prevention Clinic so that District homeowners can learn about workable and immediate steps to take when facing mortgage delinquency, how to avoid foreclosure and learn what counseling can do to help save your home. The clinic is free and is held at HCS’s offices located at 2410 17th Street NW, Suite 100. For more information, or to reserve a seat, please contact Elsa Zambrano at (202) 667-7006 or elsazambrano@housingetc.org.
Muriel Bowser
Councilmember, Ward 4
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 110
Washington DC 20004
202-724-8052-voice
202-741-0908- fax
mbowser@dccouncil.us
www.murielbowser.com
Please remember to call 311 for all your city service requests such as tree trimming and bulk trash removal. Call 911 for all police, fire or ambulance requests.