Photo by Mr. T in DC.If Mayor Vince Gray was looking for a way to put a little distance between himself and the D.C. Council, well, it appears he found it. After pocket vetoing a bill last night which would have delayed a retroactive tax on municipal bond interest, Gray was called out by Councilmember Mary Cheh — and since, he’s been chastized by the legislative body’s Chair, Kwame Brown.
Brown released a lengthy statement on his Facebook page this afternoon which says the Chair was “very disappointed” by the Mayor’s decision.
“I strongly disagree with Mayor Gray’s assertion that this relatively minor Council action would be a precipitating factor in a future bond downgrade,” said Brown. “The rapid deterioration of our general fund balance and the tripling of our short term borrowing over the past 5 years are the real culprits.”
That’s quite as strong as Cheh, who called the move “nonsense” and an “ambush” of the Council.
Brown’s comments are in direct response to a letter sent by Gray to Brown yesterday (read below), explaining his rationale for the veto. In short: if the Council wants to delay the start of the bond tax until next January, Gray’s telling them to up the income tax to make up the difference instead of dipping into the city’s reserve fund.
