WASA Could Lose Control of its Budget

Yesterday the WashTimes ran a story on a bill being introduced by D.C. Council member Jim Graham that would give budgetary oversight of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority to the D.C. CEO CFO, Natwar Gandhi. This morning, the WaPo follows up with a story comparing the bill to Fenty's school takeover plan -- essentially the WASA board, much like the D.C. school board, would become mere advisors to their own budget process, while Gandhi's control would expand greatly.

WASA has always been a bit of a rarity among D.C. government agencies, having been largely independent and financial scandal-free since it was created ten years ago out of the framework of home rule. As such, WASA General Manager Jerry N. Johnson is strongly objecting to the proposal under if it ain't broke, don't fix it logic. But WASA is the only D.C. government agency not overseen by Gandhi's office.

Mayor Fenty's office has had little to do or say about this bill so far. It is clearly the brainchild of Gandhi, and was introduced by Graham, who became chairman of the Committee on Public Works and the Environment this year. But it's not hard to expect the Fenty administration, which if it's about anything is about streamlining responsibility and power into the hands of a very few top city leaders, to support the change. WASA's budget process may not be broken, but when you're restructing the government to ensure the buck stops at the top, you probably want to go ahead and try to fix it.