D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray touted Washington’s economic rebound while presenting his budget proposal for fiscal year 2014 to residents of Ward 2 at the Charles Sumner School on Saturday.

According to Gray, the $10.1 billion budget proposal is indicative of the District’s renewed fiscal health because D.C. has accumulated a $1.5 billion surplus after two years of net revenue following three years of decline during the recession. The unemployment rate has also improved, with 30,000 new private sector jobs compensating for a net loss of 1,100 government jobs in the city.

The mayor explained how his proposed budget compares to that in other major cities.

“We are a state, a county, a city and a school district all rolled into one,” Gray said, encouraging residents to vote in today’s budget autonomy resolution that would give the District more control over its tax dollars from the federal government.

Gray was joined at the town hall meeting by Councilman Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who said in a February interview with The Hoya that he plans on challenging Gray for the mayor’s office in November 2014. Neither Gray nor Evans has officially filed paperwork for the next mayoral election and neither discussed the upcoming race at the meeting.

Gray’s budget supports his One City Action Plan, which aims to grow and diversify D.C.’s economy, improving quality of life for D.C. residents.

During the town hall, Evans introduced new budget proposals that would directly benefit Ward 2. For example, Stead Park by Dupont Circle will be renovated with $1.6 million by fiscal year 2015, and the Georgetown Department of Motor Vehicles in Georgetown Park mall’s reopening, slated for October 2013, will be fully funded at $2.7 million.

In addition, the budget dedicated $400 million to the D.C. Streetcar project, which will have a line from Minnesota Avenue to the Georgetown waterfront. The university and the Georgetown Business Improvement District have both voiced a desire to have the line expanded closer to the university.

In an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting in October 2011, Gray said he sided with neighbors as opposed to the university in the university’s 2010 Campus Plan, noting that enrollment caps should remain in order to mitigate neighbor concerns. Evans was also a public opponent of the campus plan and endorsed proposals to move students back on campus.

Furthermore, Gray said that over the next six years, $259 million will be spent on a Ward 2 capital plan, which would include money for infrastructure and public areas such as parks.

Concerning other areas of D.C., Gray expressed optimism that new healthcare training facilities in St. Elizabeths Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center would encourage D.C. residents to fill jobs in the city. Currently, approximately 30 percent of city jobs are held by residents.

In addition, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi will retire in June with a $417 million budget surplus.

During the town hall, Gandhi added that the city has also undergone significant financial improvements recently, indicated by the 1,200 people moving into the city each month. He contrasted this with the mass exodus from the city during the 1980s and 1990s.

To continue this growth, city officials have also strived to reduce retail leakage. For example, Washington, D.C.’s first Costco opened Nov. 29. Moreover, the projected budget surplus for the coming year is $190 million, which will ensure that no new taxes will be introduced.

Overall, the budget called for a $100 million investment in affordable housing in the district. It also aims to renovate and replace lost federal funds for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Other plans include hospital renovations for increased healthcare access, a new facility for D.C. archives, parks renovations, improvements to public libraries, senior citizen care and a fund to provide grants to nonprofits for community service.

Despite Gray’s optimism regarding the budget, Garrison Elementary School parent Dana Miller, who attended the town hall, expressed disappointment with the city administration’s promises regarding the school system.

“[Garrison Elementary] was to be modernized in 2012. Now we’re slated to be modernized in 2014, 2015, not to be completed until 2022,” Miller said. “We’re trying to talk to everyone. It’s a huge step for us to be given a name of someone at a high level who has the potential to make a change.”

In response to that, however, Gray said that projects which have been in limbo for a long time will soon be completed. As an example, Gray cited the Skyland Town Center project in southeast D.C., which has been in limbo since 1989.

Dail Doucette, president of the board of Dupont Circle Main Street, an economic progress organization, also came to the meeting with concerns but left with a more positive outlook.

“The rest of the city may be flourishing, but we are not,” Doucette said. “… Nobody noticed. … I wanted to see what the program was, I wanted to hear it explained. … The plan has finite goals that are meetable.”

This meeting marked the fifth in Gray’s ward-by-ward town hall series, attempting to better educate and engage city residents.

“We’re working as hard as we can to be as transparent as we can,” Gray said. “If there’s someone who says ‘I don’t know what’s in the budget,’ it’s their own fault.”In an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting in October 2011, Gray said he sided with neighbors as opposed to the university in Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan, noting that enrollment caps should remain in order to mitigate neighbor concerns. Evans was also a public opponent of the campus plan and endorsed proposals to move students back on campus.

Furthermore, Gray said that over the next six years, $259 million will be spent on a Ward 2 capital plan, which would include money for infrastructure and public areas such as parks.

Concerning other areas of D.C., Gray expressed optimism that new healthcare training facilities in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center would encourage D.C. residents to fill jobs in the city. Currently, approximately 30 percent of city jobs are held by residents.

In addition, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi will retire in June with a $417 million budget surplus.

During the town hall, Gandhi added that the city has also undergone significant financial improvements recently, indicated by the 1,200 people moving into the city each month. He contrasted this with the mass exodus from the city during the 1980s and 1990s.

To continue this growth, city officials have also strived to reduce retail leakage. For example, Washington, D.C.’s first Costco opened Nov. 29. Moreover, the projected budget surplus for the coming year is $190 million, which will ensure that no new taxes will be introduced.

Overall, the budget called for a $100 million investment in affordable housing in the District. It also aims to renovate and replace lost federal funds for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Other plans include hospital renovations for increased healthcare access, a new facility for D.C. archives, parks renovations, improvements to public libraries, senior citizen care and a fund to provide grants to nonprofits for community service.

Despite Gray’s optimism regarding the budget, Garrison Elementary School parent Dana Miller, who attended the town hall, expressed disappointment in the city administration’s promises regarding the school system.

“[Garrison Elementary] was to be modernized in 2012. Now we’re slated to be modernized in 2014, 2015, not to be completed until 2022,” Miller said. “We’re trying to talk to everyone. It’s a huge step for us to be given a name of someone at a high level who has the potential to make a change.”

In response to that, however, Gray said that projects which have been in limbo for a long time will soon be completed. As an example, Gray cited the Skyland Town Center project in Southeast D.C., which has been in limbo since 1989.

Dail Doucette, president of the board of Dupont Circle Main Street, an economic progress organization, also came to the meeting with concerns but left with a more positive outlook.

“The rest of the city may be flourishing, but we are not,” Doucette said. “… Nobody noticed. … I wanted to see what the program was, I wanted to hear it explained. … The plan has finite goals that are meetable.”

This meeting marked the fifth in Gray’s ward-by-ward town hall series, attempting to better educate and engage city residents.

“We’re working as hard as we can to be as transparent as we can,” Gray said. “If there’s someone who says ‘I don’t know what’s in the budget,’ it’s their own fault.”