By Associated Press - Wednesday, June 12, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Washington, D.C., City Council is refusing to modify its proposed $15.5 billion budget, in opposition to the District’s chief financial officer.

The Washington Post reports that councilmembers questioned Tuesday whether CFO Jeffrey S. DeWitt is overstepping his powers and engaging in policymaking by refusing to certify the budget.

DeWitt said the proposed budget would improperly divert money from the Washington Convention and Sports Authority. DeWitt has said the authority mistakenly kept $47 million since 2017 that should’ve been put in the city’s general fund. But he said using it now for other city projects would violate bondholder requirements to maintain the authority’s reserves.

The council wants to spend $49 million from the authority’s reserves on urgent public housing repairs and eliminating the need for an increased hotel room tax.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

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