On March 23, 2010 Councilmember Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) the Chairperson of the Committee of Aging and Community Affairs held the annual public meeting on Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

ANC Commissions were requested to complete a questionnaire issued by CM Alexander prior to the meeting and the Chairperson and the Secretary for each commission was asked to attend and give testimony.

Go HERE to view the video of the hearing.

UPDATE: Testimony of ANC 8A - 8C can be found at the link for Part 1 Ward 7 ANCs can be found  HERE
The purpose of these hearings it to get a status report on what the ANCs are doing, confirm they are following the law, address any issues and to make recommendations directly to the Councilmember on what needs to be improved with the ANC law.

The Advoc8te strongly recommends that everyone views the video.  In particular the testimony of Commissioner William Ellis of ANC 8C.  Commissioner Ellis was the only ANC 8C commissioner who attended and testified at the hearing.  Commissioner Ellis did address for CM Alexander some of the many issues and problems surrounding ANC 8C.  Specifically the wasteful and frankly quite baffling use of ANC dollars for an used office - an office where there still is no lease, no clear understanding of who the landlord is, the ONLY expense for ANC 8C for the past 5 years and most importantly what has been called by the DC Auditor as " uneconomical waste or ANC funds". Councilmember Alexander was just as baffled as the rest of the community as to why $900 a month is still being paid, especially in the continued absence of a lease agreement and after the results of  the September 2009 audit.  She was particularly concerned with who on the ANC Commission was pressuring the treasurer, Commissioner William Ellis  that this rent continue to be paid. She was also very concerned about the lack of quorum at meetings, so concerned she promised to attend a future ANC 8C meeting to find out what is going on.

So far her office has not yet scheduled her attendance at an ANC 8C meeting.  For the reasons listed above as well as the other numerous problems surrounding ANC 8C The Advoc8te requests that the community send an email to Councilmember Alexander 1) requesting her attendance at an ANC 8C meeting so she can hear directly from the community on the problems surrounding ANC 8C and 2) request that she hold a public hearing on ANC reform.  The Advoc8te is including contact information and  a sample email that you can cut and paste and send to the Councilwoman:

CouncilemberYvette Alexander
Email: yalexander@dccouncil.us
Fax: (202) 741-0911

Dear Councilmember Alexander,

In the March 23, 2010 public hearing on Advisory Neighborhood Commissions you promised to visit ANC 8C to address several issues with the commission, including the lack of attendance by commissioners, the waste of ANC dollars - waste confirmed by the DC Auditor -  in the form of paying rent for an office with no lease or use.  During your public hearing Commissioner William Ellis testified to some of the many serious issues effecting our commission. For his honestly there is the opinion in the community that he is being "shut out" of ANC 8C business by other commissioners who are not happy he presented the truth of what is going on in our commission.

We, members of the community, are requesting that you please schedule to attend an ANC 8C meeting as soon as possible and that you invite the community to come out and voice our numerous concerns and problems with our ANC Commission.  We as members of the community continue to be outraged at the lack of action by our commission and deeply concerned surrounding the finances of our commission.  At your request the DC Auditor completed an audit on ANC 8C in September 2009 yet no action has taken place to date.  There have been no sanctions, no action and most importantly the waste has not stopped.

Lastly, we request that you please hold a special hearing for the community to address community concerns with Advisory Neighborhood Commissions across the city so that we may improve the process, identify shortcomings and hopefully enact some reform in Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.  The law is in desperate need of being updated and further resources need to be made available.

Thank you so much for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

To submit an article or to inquire about advertising options send an email to Advoc8te@congressheightsontherise.com