Metropolitan Police Department: Oversight Hearing on FY2001 and FY2002 Performance

Madam Chair, members of the Committee and guests - thank you for the opportunity to present this opening statement outlining the Metropolitan Police Department's performance during fiscal year 2001 and year-to-date in fiscal 2002. As a note to you and our viewing audience on DC Cable 13, the text of my prepared remarks is available on the Police Department's Web site - http://mpdc.dc.gov.

Today's hearing comes at a critical time for our Police Department - indeed, for our city. In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, our city still faces very real, but largely unknown threats, and our Department has had to assume new and unique responsibilities related to homeland security here in our Nation's Capital. At the same time, we continue to expand and enhance our community policing and crime reduction efforts in District neighborhoods.

I think it is important to understand this is not an "either-or" proposition: either focus on homeland safety or on neighborhood safety. I fully recognize that our Department's primary responsibility remains fighting crime and protecting our neighborhoods. But our neighborhoods and our residents cannot be safe if our entire city is not safe - both our neighborhoods and our national treasures. As the primary law enforcement agency in the District of Columbia, the Metropolitan Police Department has unique and significant responsibilities in both arenas. And I want to assure the Committee - and the public - that we are meeting these challenges through hard work, diligence and innovation. I believe our performance during the past two fiscal years reflects that commitment.

Fiscal Responsibility and Management
During fiscal years 2001 and 2002, the MPD has met our public safety responsibilities - and we have done so within budget. This has been achieved through strong fiscal oversight and management. Even as our Department moves toward the new, performance-based budgeting process, we continue to monitor very closely our spending under the current system. And we continue to demonstrate strong fiscal responsibility in managing the taxpayer dollars allocated to us.

We continue to maximize our use of grant and capital funds. Grants that expired in FY 2001 had a spending rate of almost 99 percent. There were zero percent grant funds disallowed and 100 percent of matching funds set aside during fiscal 2001. Through the leadership of Congresswoman Norton, we have been able to receive federal reimbursement for certain expenses related to protecting the Nation's Capital, and the President has included a specific line item in his FY 2003 budget proposal specifically for these expenses. Finally, we continue to implement important public safety programs - most notably, our automated traffic enforcement initiative - at no cost to District taxpayers.

The bottom line is that the MPD continues to operate within its means. Despite highly publicized concerns last year that the MPD was somehow running a large deficit just a few days into fiscal 2001, we ended the year on budget. And we continue to practice the same fiscal responsibility in FY 2002.