Agreement Shifts Control of D.C. Back to Mayor’s Office

In a major shift of power, Mayor-elect Anthony A. Williams will be delegated the authority to run the District of Columbia government upon his inauguration Jan. 2, according to an agreement that will be released today.

Under the new arrangement, Williams will direct virtually all of the city’s daily operations, and Chief Management Officer Camille C. Barnett will report to him, sources said. Barnett will be guided in her work by a new performance agreement that she and the mayor will negotiate, sources said.

The heads of most major city agencies, ranging from those that pick up the trash to those that provide health care and other services to the poor, will report to Williams through Barnett. A few officials, including D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, will report directly to Williams, according to a memorandum of understanding that the District of Columbia financial control board and Williams agreed on.

Williams and control board officials appear satisfied with the arrangement, which will put a fragmented city government back together under an elected leader, sources familiar with the agreement said. Williams, who met with control board officials Friday to discuss the details of the memorandum, will have the power to implement a far-reaching program of changes.

“I’m excited about it,” said Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Oversight subcommittee on the District. “We want to give him the leeway to run the city and have the control board maintain oversight. We want to give him the opportunity to succeed.”

As a practical matter, Williams will make decisions about personnel and then seek control board approval. The mayor-elect is comfortable with the arrangement because he is confident the panel will back his decisions, sources said.

The decision by the presidentially appointed panel to transfer power to Williams is a significant step toward the restoration of home rule in the city, according to Mayor Marion Barry, D.C. Council members and others. Established by Congress in 1995 in the midst of a financial crisis, the control board also has been responsible for running the city’s biggest agencies since Congress stripped Barry of the power to run them in summer 1997.