D.C. Council Signs Off On Plan To Continue City Services

The D.C. Council approved a measure that allows local workers to remain on the job and get paid during the partial federal government shutdown.

The council approved emergency legislation that would pay tens of thousands of municipal workers out of contingency and emergency cash reserve funds. Officials say the funds would support government operations for a couple of weeks if necessary.

Mayor Vincent Gray, who separately designated all D.C. government operations "essential" during the shutdown, appeared in the Council chamber as the measure easily passed.

Gray says he has had conversations with the Office of Management and Budget over the designation and OMB has now posted it on the agency's website. It's still unclear whether Gray's declaration will hold up, but Gray says he has spoken to several senators and Congressman Darrell Issa, the Republican who leads the committee that oversees D.C.

"We are now working with Congress to have us exempted from this as we move forward," Gray said.

The moves mean that the roughly 32,000 municipal workers are expected to report to work as usual and that the local government will not be affected by the shutdown.