Opening Statement of
Senator George V. Voinovich
Chairman

Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management,
Restructuring and the District of Columbia

Hearing on

"Performance Management in the District of Columbia"
Tuesday, May 9, 2000

First, I would like to take a moment to congratulate the Mayor on some of his recent accomplishments. The District of Columbia College Tuition Assistance Act has recently been expanded to provide assistance to D.C. graduates that aspire to attend universities nationwide, which is a significant step forward in the education of this city's youth. I am pleased we were able to work together on this initiative and I think it is an example of the good things that can happen when Congress, the city government and the private sector work together. The Mayor has engaged the private sector in a broader discussion of how public-private partnerships can help transform the District into that "shining city on the hill" that we all want it to be. I congratulate the Mayor on this initiative, and I want to state for the record that we stand ready to assist him in any way we can, including reaching out to other private sector people who I believe would be willing to help on a definitive, understandable private sector initiative.

This Subcommittee, and Congress as a whole, remains committed to fulfilling our responsibility to exercise oversight over governance in our capital city. Congress is responsible for approving the spending of $1.9 billion in federal funds in the District of Columbia, and it is our job to ensure that this money is spent efficiently and to the maximum benefit of D.C. residents.

In that regard, one year ago this Subcommittee invited Control Board Chair Rivlin, Council Chair Cropp and Mayor Williams to share their thoughts on how the District could improve its performance based management, understanding that the Mayor had just been elected and was just getting his feet wet.

We have invited the Mayor to meet with us again today to report on the District's progress since last year. The Mayor unveiled some promising proposals at our last meeting, from the Short-Term Action Items, to the D.C. Scorecard, to the polling of District residents in order to determine their highest priorities for the city administration. I look forward to hearing Mayor Williams' progress report on achieving these goals.

There is no question that the Mayor has devoted considerable time over the past year to determining what the goals should be for the District - by holding neighborhood forums, compiling the results into comprehensive management strategies, and then establishing goals for the District government agencies.

On April 20^th of this year, the Mayor released the first official set of "Scorecards" for the city government. These Scorecards encapsulate the top priorities for each deputy mayor and agency head into simple checklists. They are easy for the public to understand and are a useful tool for holding government executives accountable for results.

I am somewhat concerned, however, that the District may not be as far along as it should be in terms of establishing performance expectations. The General Accounting Office released a report last month that raised some valid concerns about performance management in the District, reporting that the city was not able to fully comply with any aspect of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1994. That law requires annual performance plans, which establish goals for the next year, and annual performance reports which evaluate the progress made in meeting the previous year's goals. According to GAO, the Mayor's performance report does not contain the required information for any of the 542 agency goals identified in the accountability plan. The report also does not describe, as required, the status of the court orders pertaining to the 12 civil actions concerning activities of the District government during fiscal year 1999, nor does it identify who is responsible for seeing that a particular goal is met.

The District's failure to report on the goals set in the FY99 performance accountability plan is of great concern. However, my staff tells me that these goals were set by the Control Board, not the Mayor, and that the Mayor is starting fresh with his own goals for his administration. I understand the Mayor's explanation, but I hope next year we can expect to see that the District's performance accountability plan is in full compliance with the law.

I am also concerned about the status of the District's most recent performance accountability measures, as included in this year's budget request sent to the Council earlier this year. A majority of the measures had targets that were either left "to be determined" or had the exact same performance goals as last year. Although, Mayor, I'm sure it will take several years to accomplish.

Finally, with the performance accountability plans, the D.C. Scorecards, and other performance monitors like the Neighborhood Action Plan, I am concerned that the city lacks one comprehensive plan for holding the agency heads accountable. While all of the ingredients seem to be present, at this point they appear to be spread throughout numerous performance plans.

While I applaud the important steps the Mayor has taken to this point, I believe that more remains to be done to produce a coherent, easily understood performance plan. I look forward to learning about your strategy to meet this challenge.

Mayor Williams, I appreciate you being here today to report on the District's progress in management reform.