Jack Evans • September 19, 2016

I’ve written quite a bit about our Metro system over the past year. On everything from finances to safety …

Jack Evans • September 7, 2016

August is usually a sleepy time in D.C. In addition to school being out and everyone taking one last chance to hit the beach, the District Council goes on a […]

Jack Evans • August 31, 2016

August is usually a sleepy time in D.C. In addition to school being out and everyone taking one last …

Jack Evans • August 1, 2016

Just over a year ago, I become chair of the Finance Committee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board. Fast-forward a year, and although I now chair the entire […]

Jack Evans • July 27, 2016

Just over a year ago, I become chair of the Finance Committee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board …

Jack Evans • July 1, 2016

The NBA Finals may have just wrapped up in Oakland, but here in Washington we had a bout of our …

Jack Evans • March 24, 2016

Our Metro system took the unprecedented step of closing the entire rail network last Wednesday for immediate emergency inspections of the roughly 600 “jumper cables” along the electrified third rail. One of these jumper cables caused the fire and smoke incident at the L’Enfant station last January and another jumper cable caused the fire incident at the McPherson Square station this past Monday.

A full inspection was conducted after the L’Enfant incident by Metro and the National Transportation Safety Board, resulting in the replacement of 125 problem cables. Despite these efforts last year, Monday’s fire demonstrated that an immediate reinspection was necessary.

The decision to reinspect the jumper cables last week was made by new Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. As the new chairman of the Metro board, I fully support his decision to take immediate, drastic action to ensure that the system is safe for riders. Once I was made aware of the similarity between Monday’s incident and the tragedy that took place last year, it was clear that the public needed to know this information; waiting even a few days for these inspections was not acceptable.

I’m glad we took immediate action. Metro staff and outside engineering and maintenance experts, brought in by Wiedefeld to assess Metro’s entire approach to its work, walked the entire rail system and found 26 defects. Three of the jumper cables were so deteriorated that Wiedefeld described them as “show-stoppers,” meaning defects that would have interrupted service if seen during normal operations.

It’s very troubling that we found these 26 defects a year after inspecting the cables, and before federal regulations would require their reinspection this summer. I’m pleased that the Federal Transit Administration, the federal agency charged with oversight of Metro, announced that it will begin additional inspections of the system this week.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and done urgently, to fix Metro, but the more important takeaway is that our GM, myself as board chair and the new leadership of the agency will shut the system down when necessary to ensure the safety of riders. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said during a Senate hearing last week that Metro lacks a strong safety culture. I agree. The system has been mismanaged and under-maintained for too long. That ends now.

Metro is too important to riders, businesses, governments, growth, development and the future success of the entire region to be allowed to fall any further. I left the board in 2000 with Metro as a shining example of regional cooperation and success. Over the past 15 years, that coordination and the system have fallen apart. I want to thank and apologize to all of the riders and businesses that had to deal with last week’s shutdown. It will take time, but we are going to work tirelessly, every day, to improve our Metro system and regain your trust.

*Jack Evans is the District Council member for Ward 2, representing Georgetown and other neighborhoods since 1991.*

Jack Evans • October 26, 2015

The District of Columbia had been fortunate over the past several years to collect tax revenue in excess of the amounts we’ve budgeted for. That’s good news for you as taxpayers, because I’ve been able to keep my colleagues from spending all that excess money. Instead, it has gone into our city savings account to make us financially stronger, increase our credit rating and, as a result, make it cheaper for the District to undertake capital projects such as rebuilding schools, roads and bridges.

While financial reserve funds are critical to a strong municipality, there’s an even better use for excess revenue for taxpayers: lowering tax rates.
At the end of September, D.C.’s chief financial officer, Jeffrey DeWitt, certified that our revenue was $39.3 million more than we budgeted — despite attempts by some of my colleagues to delay tax cuts already promised to residents and businesses.

Specifically, beginning next year, personal income between $40,000 and $60,000 will be taxed at 6.5 percent, rather than 7.5 percent; the tax rate on income between $350,000 and $1 million will drop from 8.95 percent to 8.75 percent; and the business income tax rate will drop from 9.4 percent to 9.2 percent.

These cuts follow even more substantial cuts implemented this past year, including the creation of that $40,000 to $60,000 income bracket and an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income residents.

Some of you may remember that the District Council passed a sweeping tax reform package in 2014 based on recommendations from an expert Tax Revision Commission, led by former Mayor Anthony Williams.

The tax package was a broad-based adjustment to our tax structure, making it fairer and stronger. It included some provisions that I didn’t like (expanding the sales tax to fitness classes) and others that some of my colleagues didn’t like (lowering the business tax and personal income tax rates), but the commission made principled recommendations based on sound tax policy. It was a compromise that we agreed to implement over several years, as we saw increased revenues.

Implementing these tax cuts now is responsible public policy. It puts money back in the hands of the individuals and business who earned it, makes us more competitive to attract and retain residents and businesses and reminds people that the District government is able to make good on its promises.

We’re got more work to do to improve our tax structure, but this is an excellent start. We need to recouple the District’s estate-tax level to the federal level, which adjusts with inflation every year. This change is particularly important for our seniors, many of whom cross the District’s threshold simply by owning a home here.

We also need to expand the personal exemption and standard deduction and continue to implement the commission’s recommendations about lowering the business tax rate. This will help to attract and retain businesses in the city, employing more District residents.

The tax cuts were hard fought, unfortunately, but they were well earned by D.C. residents and businesses. I will continue to fight to ensure that our growth in prosperity can be enjoyed by all residents who want to live, work and operate a business in Washington, D.C.

Jack Evans • September 17, 2015

In January, I rejoined the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors. Almost immediately, I realized that Metro was in worse shape than when I previously served on the board during the 1990s.

Last week, however, was truly troubling. Jack Requa, WMATA’s interim general manager, announced that the cause of a train derailment on Aug. 6 was essentially that a section of the track had become too wide. The biggest problem? The track issue was discovered in early July, but not fixed.
This is unacceptable. Quite frankly, I’m furious.

I’ve been calling for months for WMATA to encourage employees to be looking constantly for problems in the system, reporting problems when they are discovered, then getting them fixed. This is the type of culture and these are the types of people we want working for Metro. It’s a critical piece of making the system better: constant improvement and commitment to safety.

Requa said as much in his announcement. He, unfortunately, didn’t know about the rail deformity, but someone did. The board demanded an immediate and rapid investigation into the incident and reiterated Requa’s call for the agency, following the investigation, to undertake “organizational changes or any appropriate personnel actions — and that may include termination.”

This maintenance issue was a failure plain and simple. It has appropriately received substantial media attention.

Another issue of concern that I want to bring to your attention is WMATA’s financial condition.

I was elected by my colleagues on the Metro board to chair WMATA’s Finance Committee this summer. I will be in charge of overseeing the agency’s budget process during the coming year. To those of you who know my record as Finance Committee chair on the D.C. Council, it may not come as a surprise to hear that I’m already making substantial changes to restore responsible financial management to WMATA.

WMATA just finished its 2014 fiscal year audit nine months late. This past year, the agency’s credit rating was downgraded and its pension liabilities became unfunded to an even greater extent. I’ve instructed WMATA’s CFO and inspector general to ensure that we have enough resources to get our audit done in a reasonable amount of time. I told management that any budget presented to the Metro board must indicate our total actuarial pension responsibilities for the year and our unfunded maintenance needs. I’ve put the CFO to work evaluating the total cost of making Metro a first-class system and funding its pension and operating obligations. A rough estimate is in the range of $25 billion over the next 10 years.

These improvements on the operating and budgeting side are things we must do. The jurisdictions — D.C., Maryland, Virginia and the federal government — have to step up to the plate with the required funding if they want the system that so many politicians are now demanding and that riders deserve.

This won’t be easy, but for those of you who remember the mess the District was in 20 years ago, you know that the hard work and laser-focus that I and others committed to rebuilding our government paid off. I intend to bring that same focus and leadership to WMATA.