The House version of the D.C. budget bill passed last month eliminated all funding for the city’s 37 ANCs. The Senate could vote on its version as soon as this week. While it appears unlikely the Senate version of the bill will remove ANC funding, Norton said ANC commissioners must educate Congress and the public about the "thankless unpaid work" they do. Otherwise the funding cut could be retained later this month in the final compromise version of the budget bill that emerges from a House-Senate conference committee.

About 35 ANC commissioners met with Norton Sept. 10 to draw up a list of ANC accomplishments and a plan for publicizing them.

One after another, commissioners stood and talked about the work they do – things like setting up police substations, getting stop signs put up, admonishing owners of abandoned buildings, fighting new liquor stores, cleaning streets and alleys, and setting up summer jobs for kids.

"If you take away the structure of the ANCs, nothing would get done in this city," said Roscoe Grant, chairman of ANC 7B in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Southeast Washington. "Who else is going to do this stuff?"

"Citizens need to know they have the right to scrutinize new businesses that come into their neighborhoods," said Daniel Pernell of ANC 6A.

"I shudder to think what would happen if the ANC were not there to intercede for the citizens when an undesirable business wants to come into our neighborhood," said Norma Broadnax of ANC 5B.

Commissioners are elected officials but receive no pay. The $573,000 eliminated from the House version of the D.C. budget bill would be used to rent office space and pay for utilities and supplies. ANCs survived a 50 percent budget cut in 1994 but few believe ANCs could survive with no money at all.

Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., who authored the House legislation eliminating the funds, let it be known that his decision was based on news reports of fraud and mismanagement. While many commissioners agree the ANC system does not function as well as it should, many also were insulted and angry at being punished for the highly publicized actions of a few irresponsible commissioners.

"This is clearly a punitive measure," Norton said.

Plans are underway for a press conference to publicize the accomplishments of ANCs and to show Congress and the public the faces of ANC commissioners, many of whom are longtime city residents working as teachers, lawyers, ministers, and D.C. and federal employees.

But commissioners agree residents in many parts of the city have no idea who their commissioners are or what their ANCs do. Some ANCs have trouble achieving a quorum and, therefore, are prevented from taking official action, while others are paralyzed by infighting.

Recommendations on ANC reform drawn up by current commissioners will be presented to D.C. City Council Nov. 5 when the Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Kathleen Patterson, D-Ward 3, holds an oversight hearing at One Judiciary Square.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator