On Monday, July 9th Chuck Asmar testified before the District of Columbia’s Committee on Transportation & the Environment, at a hearing chaired by the Honorable Mary M. Cheh. Chuck appeared in his capacity as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) and as the Executive Appointee of its Construction & Development Committee, and was there to voice DCBIA’s opposition to the proposed Office of Special Capital Projects Establishment Act of 2018 (B22-738).
At present, the Department of General Services (DGS) oversees the District’s capital improvement projects. The proposed Act aims to establish a new “Office of Special Capital Projects” to manage capital improvement and construction programs for public schools, District-owned short-term family housing, parks, public recreations centers, and any other projects designated by the Mayor.
Chuck testified that the existing DGS regime “contributed to the development boom and economic renaissance the District has witnessed in recent years.” He testified that creating a new agency would not create better efficiency and that DC needs “to improve the Agency that is already in place, rather than create a new bureaucracy…. Creating a new agency does not create better efficiency. What creates better efficiency is better communication both within the agency itself and through inter-agency cooperation.”
We look forward to seeing what becomes of this proposed bill.
A recording of the entire hearing is available on the District of Columbia’s web site, here.
