Photo by philliefan99.

During a late-night debate over cuts needed to close a $188 million gap in the District’s budget late last year, Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) loudly complained that while the District’s government agencies were being forced to cut programs and staff, the offices of the Chief Financial Officer and mayor – the one proposing and defending all the cuts – weren’t making the same sacrifices. His point was clear — if we’re all being asked to trim costs, everyone should be taking a hit.

With the city facing a significantly larger budget deficit for 2012 — $600 million has been floated as the possible gap between revenues and expenditures — it seems that Graham’s words are now more appropriate than ever. Sadly, key officials and institutions don’t seem to be getting the message.

Over the weekend, the Post’s Mike DeBonis reported that D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown’s “fully-loaded” SUV was costing taxpayers almost $2,000 a month. (Money which could be utilized for any number of other things.) Moreover, the Post’s Nikita Stewart found that senior officials in the administration of Mayor Vincent Gray were taking in way more than their counterparts had during Mayor Adrian Fenty’s tenure. Gray’s chief of staff, Gerri Mason Hall, makes 25 percent more than her predecessor, while his communications director, Dr. Linda Wharton Boyd, rakes in $40,000 more per year.