Evening star., 1923-06-15
2,301 City Employees to Ben
eft if Classification Board
Approves Rates.
REPRESENTS INCREASE
OF Upper CENT IN SALARY
Individual Boosts Vary With Re-
quirements of Position and
Present Pay.

increased by s4896s4.50 if the per
sonnel classification board approves
the rates recommended by the Com
missioners today for each of the
2.301 workers affected by the reclas-
sifcation law.
This would be equivalent to tota
increase of IS per cent in the amount
spent for salaries. according TO
report prepared by Daniel ]. Don
ovan. auditor. and submitted to the
city heads this morning.
Mr. Donovan explained that this
does not mean an IS per cent in
crease for each employe. but an ad-
vance Of that amount in the totai
pay roll. The individual percentages
vary according to the requirements
of each position and the salary al
ready being paid.
The report did not reveal the new
salaries recommended for the heads
of departments, but it is understood
that practically all of those officials
are listed for increases
Boost for Commissioners.
salary of $500 for each of the three
Commissioners, who now receive
$4,000. At present there are a mum
Der of subordinate department heads
who receive almost as much as the
three governing officers of the Dis
| trict government. In the past when
ever higher salaries were recommend
ed to congress for municipal en-
ployers the Commissioners were list
ed for increases. but favorable action
was never obtained.
The total present pay of all en-
ployes included in the reclaSsif1cation
law. with the bonus, amounts to So
652.950.50. Under the grade alloca-
tions recommended by Mr.. Donovsn's
committee the new total would be
| s3142.645, or an increase of $4Ss.-
! $3.50.
considering that the present rates
| of pay of municipal employees are no.
| toriousiy low" wrote Mr.. Donovan.
| ing lower rates of pay than EN-
ployes in the federal government;
doing similar work, it is apparen;
that the total increase recommended
by your committee is not at all in
ordinate"
Mr.. Donovan told the Commissioners
that in considering the duties of each
of the 2,301 positions the committee en-
deavored TO be fair both to the emploEe
and the government. making due allow
/ bilities of the position.
THE committee could not be inf1u-
enced'' the report continues. by the
question of individual efficiency. as the
i jobs only were being rated and not the
! incumbents. The incumbents in this in
! stance were merely means OF identl-
flying the positions.
I'm the tabulated statement herewith
| the several units of the municipal or
ganization have been divided into four
| groups. namely. Cd General offices. en-
bracing all branches of the District
service other than penal and charitable.
! institutions courts. and public schools :,
! (2) Charities and corrections. embracing
the board of charities, penal institutions.
! hospitals and other charitable tnStitu-
tions go Courts embracing the Police
! Court. Juvenile Court, Municipal Court,
and the probation office of the Supreme
Court of the District. and "a Public
f, schools Excluding officers and teachers. !.
1,1ss Benefit.
In group l general offices) are
t1,166 employees. Their total basic
pay amounts to s1,30S, ,104.50; the to-
! tai bonus paid amounts to S262,272,
making their total present pay
sI,57o,S76.5O. The total new pay
recommended by your committee for
this group is $1,756.57O, an increase
! of s1S6.193.50, or 11.S56 per cent.
For this group the bureau of cffi-
| cheney, in the survey referred. recon-
mended about a / per cent total in
crease. Many of the heads of depart
ments soda~ and bsn na,a in on this sroqp
! basis adopted thirty years and more
ago. the only increase in all this
| period being the bonus of S24O.
4 f,Lo
| rections) are SIS employees of the
several hospitals. penal, and other
charitable institutions. Their total
basic pay amounts to S333,392; the
total bonus paid amounts to $10S.-
| 1920, making the total present pay
of such employees. $442.S2S.2 20. The
total new pay recommended by your
committee for these SIS employees is
S643600. an increase of $201. .276.S0.
or 45.504 per cent. The largest per
centage of increase in compensation
recommended by your committee is
| for employees of this group. This is
| because the compensation of these
! employees has always been inordi
! nately low, and this fact has been rec
ognized by every agency that has
examined the subject. Members of
mittee have frequently commented
upon the ridiculously low salaries
paid In many of these positions.
| The congressional COMMITTEES ua se-
classification, in its investigation sew
eral years ago. recommended in
| creases of more than 100 per cent in
many instances.
Turnover Heavy.
The Commissioners are acquainted
with the fact that these institutions
| have had to seek employees among
former inmates, prisoners and inoom-
petent persons in many instances and
that in recent years it has been i'm
| possible to keep the positions filled.
and the frequent turnover has been
most demoralizing and has made it
quite impossible to secure a reason
able degree of efficiency in the serv-
| ice.
'In grading officers and employees
! of institutions allowance has been
made in each instance for the fact
| that such employees receive subsist
ence in whole or in part and the
| eradings recommended represent the
amount of cash allowance. in addition
| to any benefits of subsistence or
| quarters.
"In group three (courts) are eighty
| four employees. These are the judges
! and employees in the Police Court. the
CONTINUED on Page ., Column 3l