Planner Strikes It Rich

The newly appointed chief executive officer of the Anacostia Waterfront Corportation (AWC) has been offered a generous pay and benefits package by D.C. mayor Anthony Williams. Andrew Altman, who formerly headed the D.C. Office of Planning, will earn $197,000 in salary and another $78,000 in benefits. In his new job, Altman will oversee the 25-year development plan to revitalize the Anacostia riverfront that divides the historically poor and crime-ridden southeastern corner of the city from the more scenic and prosperous northwest region. While some city officials question why Altman is worth such an amount, others, like Councilman Harold Brazil thinks that, "you want competent people in charge of development" and that "you cannot get quality on the cheap." Altman is has earned widespread respect throughout the city since arriving their from Oakland, California, where he served as city's chief planner. Besides disagreements over staff salary, the AWC is also being criticized as an unnecessary level of city bureacracy that lacks accoutability to a higher authority.

Thanks to Peter Buryk