DC Council Limits Parks Spending

Tens of millions of dollars in D.C. taxpayer dollars, but were they appropriately spent? The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation aimed at blocking any further transfer of funds to the D.C. Housing Authority for more projects.

Council members say anywhere from $86 million to as much as $170 million was funneled through that agency to fund parks projects in contracts to friends of Mayor Adrian Fenty. Legislation passed also orders the Parks and Recreation Department to submit any new construction projects over $75,000 to the council for review. That's a far cry from the amount that normally triggers council approval, $1 million.

A multi-committee hearing into the questionable contracts continues on Thursday. Harry Thomas, Chairman of the Committee of Parks and Recreation, says he wants to hear from two principals-- Omar Karim, the owner of Banneker Ventures who is project manager of many of the parks projects; and Keith Lomax with RBK Landscaping, Both are friends of the mayor's who have donated generously to his political campaigns.