(The following story by David Nakamura appeared on the Washington Post website on April 14.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi is being wooed by Amtrak, which has offered him $350,000 to take control of the debt-ridden railroad’s finances, District government sources said yesterday. Gandhi, credited with helping rescue the city from bankruptcy, could decide whether to resign as early as next week.
The news alarmed Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who has scheduled a meeting Monday with Gandhi in an effort to persuade him to stay, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), head of the council’s Finance and Revenue Committee, also are scheduled to participate.
Shortly after winning the Democratic primary in the fall, Fenty announced that he would reappoint Gandhi when his five-year term expired this year, and Gandhi accepted the offer. His departure could seriously disrupt Fenty’s young administration.
“It would be no surprise that a man of Dr. Gandhi’s tremendous skills would be sought after,” Fenty said in a statement last night. “But we believe his work for the city is not yet done and we will do whatever we can to counter any offer to keep his world-class talent and one of a kind experience serving the residents of the nation’s capital.”
Fenty hopes to keep Gandhi, who is popular with Congress and Wall Street, as the mayor focuses on taking over the District’s troubled public school system. Fenty has named new police and fire chiefs, so replacing Gandhi would represent another major challenge.
In addition, the District is hoping to get upgraded bond ratings from Wall Street this year, which could save the city $10 million in interest on its borrowing for capital projects.
If Gandhi leaves, such an upgrade might be put on hold, the District sources said. They also said they feared that he would take many of his top deputies with him.
“We need to keep him,” said one government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. “The question is: What does it take?”
The offer from Amtrak is said to be an annual salary of $250,000, with a $100,000 signing bonus, to take the position of chief financial officer at the publicly financed railroad, city government sources said. Gandhi’s salary is $186,600 per year.
Amtrak has $3.6 billion in debt and is heavily dependent on federal subsidies. It has been seeking a new finance chief since David Smith departed in December.
Gandhi, 66, who has been the city’s finance chief since 2000, was appointed by then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) and has been credited with helping restore the city’s financial health, overseeing bond ratings that rose from junk status to A-plus last year. This year, Gandhi and Fenty celebrated the city’s 10th consecutive balanced budget with a news conference.
Although named by the mayor, Gandhi operates independently and reports only to Congress under the structure created by the District’s financial control board.
Gandhi’s influence is vast. He manages a staff of 1,000 that oversees collection of taxes and helps compile and approve the city’s $5.4 billion local operating budget. At the request of Williams, Gandhi played a key role in working out financing options for major projects such as a $611 million baseball stadium for the Washington Nationals.
Although Fenty has praised Gandhi, city sources have reported tension between the two over Fenty’s fiscal 2008 budget proposal. Some council members criticized the mayor for including a fee increase for emergency 911 service and budget changes at two city agencies. Gandhi and Fenty gave conflicting statements under council questioning.