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WASHINGTON - D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced his plan to move forward and close the city's $131 million budget gap, even as he faces criticism from some members of the D.C. Council. But one council member said he supports the mayor's plan and even proposed more cuts.

Council member David Catania says he's worried the city's financial projections are inaccurate. He says they don't reflect the current economic crisis because they were calculated back in July and August, not September when the economy went sour. Even after the council and the mayor figure out the $131 million shortfall, he wants to set aside an additional $20 million in a cash reserve in case the situation gets worse.

Fenty says he's issued a "mayoral order" to cut spending under the executive branch by eliminating hundreds of vacant jobs. "That comes up to about $52.2 million," said Fenty. But the mayor still needs approval from the council to cut another $8 million under the legislative branch or take $71 million from the accounts of city agencies. "Independent agencies which are part of the proposal can only be done once action has been taken," said Fenty.

D.C.'s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi says the District is facing a $131 million shortfall. Council member David Catania criticizes Ghandi's revenue projection, saying it was calculated in July and August, which does not reflect the economic crisis in September. "It assumes for 2008 and 2009 combined the S&P will be reduced 13.2% and as of today, we're down 42%," said Catania.

To prepare for more budget shortfalls and create a $20 million cash reserve, Catania says the council should go even further than the mayor's proposal. In one case, he wants to delay his own pet project, Healthy D.C., which would extend health care to thousands of uninsured residents. "You know each of us have to be prepared, you mayor, me, the other 12 members have to be prepared to go to our most cherished constituencies and say we all have to share in the sacrifice," said Catania.

Catania stopped short of telling his colleagues on the council they need to cut their own programs. He says each member can make a decision for him or herself. "We have that responsibility to take those actions in our judgment make sense and I'll let the others make their call," said Catania.

NewsChannel 8 received a statement from the office of D.C.'s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi. "We cannot budget wisely on a week to week basis by reading the Dow Jones Averages. In addition, the federal government is making a massive intervention in the financial markets. Uncertainty dominates and the real economic effects are just starting to show up in the data. We will monitor these trends closely and have a much better sense of their impact for the December revenue estimate."

In response, Catania says the numbers are going to be much worse in December and could mean even deeper cut, which he says could destabilize the government.

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