Washington Blade - April 24, 2003
Lou Chibbaro Jr.

A staff member for the Council's Committee on Human Services, which is headed by Council member Sandy Allen (D-Ward 8), said the cut would have no adverse impact on services for people with AIDS.

But D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams believes the cut will impact AIDS programs and opposes the move, according to Wanda Alston, the mayor's special assistant for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender affairs.

"The mayor opposes any cuts in the HAA budget," Alston said. "The Council members made a mistake."

Allen has said that under city procurement rules, the $7 million to $9 million in unspent funds "carry over" to the next fiscal year, and removing $1 million would merely lower the carry over funds while the amount spent on programs would remain unchanged.

Gay D.C. Council members David Catania (R-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who are members of the Human Services Committee, voted to approve Allen's proposed budget for HAA, which included the $1 million cut.

Graham and Catania said they supported the $1 million cut with the understanding that it would not adversely affect HAA programs and that the funds would be reallocated to the city's interim disability program. The two noted that the interim disability program provides medical and financial assistance to people with HIV and other disabilities during an interim period when they don't qualify for permanent Social Security disability assistance.

"It's of critical importance for people who have little resources," Graham said. "So this is relevant to people with HIV."

Catania and Graham also noted that the overall HAA budget is slated to go up by $6.5 million, and the $1 million cut would only reduce the size of the increase. Both said they would ask Allen to restore the $1 million to the HAA budget if the mayor can demonstrate that the cut would harm specific programs. Graham said he has yet to see convincing evidence that harmful effects would occur.

"This is not a real cut," Catania said. "It's a $1 million reduction of a $6 million increase."

Federal funds in jeopardy?

Floyd Nelson, a spokesperson for HAA, said the cut could jeopardize federal funds earmarked for HAA, which make up the bulk of the agency's budget. Nelson noted that the federal government requires cities and states to maintain their own level of spending on AIDS programs as a condition for receiving matching federal funds.

"This $1 million cut will impact HIV/AIDS services funded from the local match," Nelson said. "The services that will be reduced are prevention and health and support services."

Nelson also said HAA can only "carry over" unspent federal funds, not local, D.C. government funds.

Assuming the federal government doesn't penalize HAA for the Council's proposed budget cut, HAA's overall budget is expected to rise by more than $5 million because the federal government has agreed to provide HAA with nearly $6.5 million more in fiscal year 2004 than it allocated to HAA the previous year.

As it has for more than a decade, the federal government will pay for the lion's share of HAA's 2004 budget. Figures released by Nelson show that under the mayor's proposed budget, HAA will receive a combined federal-D.C. funding package of $74,464,240 in 2004, an increase of $6,478,463 over the previous year. Of that total, $65,131,503 will come from the federal government and $9,332,737 will come from the District government.

HAA finance review continues

The mayor's proposal for $9,332,737 in city funds for HAA in 2004 represents a reduction of $31,498 from the $9,364,195 the city allocated for HAA in F.Y. 2003. The mayor's office has said it would be making small to modest size cuts in many of the city's departments and agencies to help the city address an overall budget shortfall brought about by a sluggish economy and a dip in tourism.

Nelson said the $31,498 cut proposed by the mayor is too small to jeopardize federal matching funds under federal government's "maintenance of effort" rule.

If the full Council agrees to the $1 million cut, the city's portion of the HAA budget would be about $8.3 million.

The 2004 budget deliberations come at a time when the D.C. Inspector General is conducting a "review" of HAA's finances. Mayor Williams ordered the review after two officials at HAA were named by the FBI as alleged participants in a scheme to embezzle money from the Washington Teacher's Union. One of the officials, Michael Martin, resigned from his HAA job last month and pleaded guilty two weeks ago to a charge of conspiracy to launder money in connection with the WTU scandal.

FOR MORE INFO

D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration

717 14th St., NW, 10th Floor

Washington, D.C. 20002

202-727-2500

030424
WB030407

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