Layoffs Ahead for DC Workers

Hundreds of layoffs in Mayor Fenty's spending plan

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's spending plan includes hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts. He presented his 2011 budget proposal to the City Council Thursday morning. D.C. workers should brace for major layoffs.

"There probably will be in excess of five to six hundred positions that will be eliminated in the government. That's just the types of tough decisions you have to make, not just in an economy but when you're running a government the size of the D.C. government. And that's what I was elected to do," Fenty said on his weekly Connecting With the Mayor segment on News4.

The District is facing an estimated $555 million budget gap. Under the budget proposal, local spending will go down by 2.8 percent. Some social programs will be scaled back. District workers may also see pay freezes.

Fenty said the District will still provide quality services to its residents.

Thursday morning's budget briefing was the first face-to-face encounter between Fenty and Council Chairman Vincent Gray since Gray announced he would run against Fenty for mayor in November. Their meeting was very cordial.

Fenty will testify before the D.C. Council on April 12.