Milligan Responds to the Metropolitan PAC Questionnaire

Government Regulation of Businesses and Citizens

1) Do you think the District's regulation of businesses and citizens, particularly
by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) is
acceptable, or do you share the view that it is unduly complicated, time
consuming and unpredictable? What do you think needs to be done at the
agency?

2) Every area jurisdiction, as well as every major city in the U.S., has effectively
utilized the use of third-party inspection programs to streamline their
building and land regulation programs. The Council enacted third-party
authority for DCRA several years ago. Yet, in D.C., there is a strong
frustration among developers, contractors and building owners that the
program is being implemented inconsistently and unevenly, and a perception
that its effectiveness is being undermined by bureaucratic resistance within
DCRA. Do you support the use of third-party programs, and what will you do
to insure their effective use by DCRA?

No, I don’t think DCRA is acceptable. I think it is unduly complicated, time consuming and unpredictable. DCRA must be overhauled from the ground up. First, I would push for the Mayor to perform an overall assessment of DCRA using a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). We will use this information to close the service gaps in the organization. Further it will be used to determine the skill sets and leadership required to overhaul and bring about change in the organization.

Yes, I support the use of third party programs as used in major cities throughout the United States. To ensure their effective use by DCRA I will meet with other members of the Council and the Chair to encourage DCRA to establish standards by which they will be measured. These standards will be used as a scoring mechanism or report card that the Council and Chair can use to determine the effectiveness of their use.


Multifamilv Housing Property Tax Relief

In the last four years, the Council and Mayor have taken multiple steps to insulate
homeowners from rapidly increasing property tax assessments-an outright cap,
now at lo%, on property tax increases; an increased homestead exemption, and
most recently, a 4-cent reduction in the tax rate. At the same time, rental housing
providers have experienced equally dramatic increases in their assessments- or
even more so, because the assessors are basing valuations on the luxury condo
conversion value of a building, rather than its actual continuing use as rental
housing.

The most recent data show that 61% of your constituents live in rental housing, and
they, ultimately, bear the burden of these tax hikes through rent increases. Do you
support property tax relief for rental housing properties?

Yes, I support property tax relief for rental housing properties. Here is why: I recognize that housing providers are in the business of providing multi family units and should earn a profit for their investments. I also do understand that costs and taxes imposed by the city must be passed on to the tenants in order for the housing providers to stay in business. A reduced tax component is part of an affordable housing program that I would support. And I do recognize that placing undue tax burdens on housing providers make it harder for them to compete with neighboring jurisdictions. As a result, undue taxes could lead to higher vacancies. This is not good for housing providers, tenants or the City.

Consultation and Cooperation on Initiatives Affecting Business

Last year, several members of the D.C. Business Coalition wrote to the Council and
Mayor that they were "most concerned with what appears to be a trend toward
using the Budget Act to enact substantive changes to District of Columbia law and
policy without adequate or appropriate public hearings." They cited then Mayor
Williams' effort to enact the "Way to Work legislation as an amendment to the
Budget Support Act, and subsequent action by the Council to use the same means
for adopting significant new requirements for all development projects supported by
District funds or taking place on District owned property.
As Councilmember, what is your commitment to the business community regarding
consultation and collaboration on major initiatives affecting District businesses
before they are launched and, specifically, how will you implement that
commitment?

My commitment to the business community regarding consultation and collaboration on major initiatives affecting District businesses before they’re launched is to hold focus groups with the business community in particular, the businesses directly affected by such legislation. I am committed to working with the DC Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. The City can not survive without the support of the business community both investors-large and small. We need more business investment, not fewer. I envision that I will meet with the business community on a frequent basis.

Affordable Housing

What is your affordable housing vision for the District of Columbia? In particular,
what are your views regarding the District's privately owned existing rental
housing stock and the role it holds in that vision?
What is your position on allocating appropriated dollars in the city's budget for
tenant assistance programs which can offer tenants financial assistance to deal
with a temporary housing crisis?



My affordable housing vision for the District of Columbia is to increase the supply of housing stock. We must do this in order to increase the number of residents living, working and paying taxes in the District of Columbia. For the District’s privately owned existing rental housing stock, I support programs that would bring those properties online. There are many properties in the District that are not in use, eyesores and havens for crime. We must find resources and collaborations with the business community to bring them back online.

In terms of tenant financial assistance to deal with a temporary housing crisis I support these types of programs. The homeless situation in DC is at a severe level. I do not want to make the homeless situation worse than it is today. Further, I do not wish to have these types of situations to have an undue burden on housing providers or investors.

Capital Improvements Under Rent Control

Right now, when a rental housing provider wants to make capital improvements to
his or her property (e.g. new roof, boiler, windows etc.), and needs to pay for them
by raising rents, he or she has to go through a long and costly adjudicative process
at the Dept. of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Would you support a
change in the law to exempt these capital improvement rent increases from rent
control regulation, since their purpose is to maintain and improve the condition of
our city's aging and deteriorating housing stock?


Yes, I would support a change in the law to exempt certain capital improvement rent increases from rent control regulations. It is not in the best interest of the landlord, tenant or City to have properties in poor repair. I will work with housing providers and the community to develop appropriate legislation to address changes that will help them cover their costs for these types of capital improvements.

Increasing Existing Business TaxesICreating New Business Taxes

What will your position be regarding 1) increases in taxes paid primarily by
businesses, and 2) the creation of new taxes which would be paid primarily by
businesses?


I understand today that the businesses in the District pay one of the highest tax rates in the United States. I am interested in coming up with a medium. Today when there is a need to cover a budget shortfall, the Council and the Mayor look at the obvious. And the obvious is the business community. I do not support this approach. My plan is to address tax fairness. That is identifying residents who live and work in the District of Columbia; however, file their taxes in neighboring states. Additionally I want to reenact the ROSA program. (Registered Out of State Vehicles). Using these two strategies I envision we could capture back taxes and future taxes on incomes and property taxes. Also, collection of excise taxes on out of state registered vehicles.


Crime in Residential Neighborhoods

1) What specific actions would you recommend to address the problem of crime
in neighborhoods?
2) Because of the crime problem in some areas, many housing providers must
now spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire armed, off-duty MPD
officers to patrol their buildings because the on-duty police are overwhelmed.
Would you support a full or partial D.C. tax credit for housing providers who
must undertake such extraordinary measures to protect their tenants?


In order to address crime in residential neighborhoods, we must first address issues that many neighborhoods face. For example litter and trash collection. The data shows that the first sign of a deteriorating community is an accumulation of trash and litter. I will work with the department of public works to ensure that all neighborhoods are well maintained in regards to trash and litter collection. In addition to trash and street cleaning I will insist that the Department of Public Works comes up with a plan to clean alleys as well. I will encourage the Chief of Police to develop a proactive approach to come up with policing. That is they should use their statistical database as a tool to prevent crime. Community policing should occur before crimes are committed as opposed to a reactive approach to a crime spree.

Using the approach that I identified in my answer to question number one. A proactive approach will reduce the need for housing providers to hire armed off duty police officers to patrol their buildings. Providing a safe city is the city’s responsibility and not the responsibility of housing providers.

Evictions

In the District of Columbia, tenants have an absolute "right to cure" any violations
of their lease and thereby avoid eviction; there is no penalty or disincentive
whatsoever for "repeat offenders." Thus, a tenant who continually disturbs or
endangers other tenants by using the apartment for illegal activities, overcrowding
the apartment, making excessive noise, creating hazardous conditions by hoarding
or other activities, or getting months behind in their rent (a tremendous problem for
the small housing provider who can't carry the delinquency) can simply "cure" the
violation by the time the marshal and moving crew arrive at the door, and thereby
stop the eviction-- only to resume the same kinds of behavior a few days later.
1) Would you support legislation to create something like a "three strikes and
you're out" rule which would ensure that such problem tenants can be
evicted, if a judge finds that they have repeatedly violated their lease and
their continued presence is disturbing or endangering the other tenants in a
building?
2) Right now, a housing provider even has to go through the entire court process
for eviction when a tenant has already "skipped the apartment, i.e. the
tenant has clearly abandoned the apartment but did not "officially" give
notice to vacate. The court costs and delays in re-renting the apartment are
unnecessary hardships on housing providers. Would you support legislation
to streamline the process, for example, by allowing the housing provider to
certify that the tenant has not been seen in a specified period of time, and
having penalties for false certification by a housing provider?

No, I would not support legislation to create a “three strikes and you’re out” rule. We already know that this type of legislation has not worked anywhere in the country. I think we can use existing laws to fix these issues and make better use of the taxpayers’ dollar. For example: if a tenant is endangering others; housing providers should report these incidents to local authorities and the police department.

I understand that the District of Columbia has traditionally been a pro-tenant jurisdiction. I support streamlining the process for evictions. At the same time I support severe penalties for false certifications of tenant abandonment.