Evening star., 1937-10-29
PALM|SANO BEGINS
STUDY OF COSTS Of
D. c. GOVERNMENT.
Seeks to Find Why BaIti-
more'S Expenses Are Less
Than Capitals.
MAY DRAFT OWN PLAN
FOR REORGANIZATION
Federal Influence on District Will
Be Taken Into Consideration,
Lawmaker Says.
By JAMES e. CHINN.

Chairman PalmlSdnO Ol IIle uouee
District Committee today began an
intensive study of thes District gov
ernment to determine why its opera
ton and maintenance are more costly
than the municipal government OF
Baltimore, where he lives.
Baltimore, with an area of % square
miles greater than Washington and
a population larger by 100000. Mr..
Palmisano pointed out, is now op-
Grating on a budget OF S46,23b,Oo9,
whereas the Commissioners are seek
ing s49,70O,0O0 for the District in the
coming fiscal year. Actually the 1887
Baltimore budget amounts to $685.
953.541, he said, because sl2,282,5l8
must be set aside in sinking fund
to retire bonds.
THE District has no bonded in
debtedness," declared Mr.. Palmisano.
yet rs annual budget is far in ex-
cess of the amount needed by Baltl-
more with its larger population, great
er area, more schools, more policemen
and more flremen.
Must Be Something Wrong"
There must be something radically
wrong with the District government.
1 don't know yet what it is, but l
intend to find out if possible. 1t
may be due to inefficiency or an
unnecessarily heavy overhead. What
ever the cause, something should be
done to remedy it."
Mr.. PalmiSano said he is aware OF
the fact that the Federal influence
on the District requires it to spend
more money than most municipali-
ties on public Improvements. But
this factor alone, he declared, fails
to explain the wide difference be-
tween the annual budgets of Wash
ington and Baltimore.
Voluminous data in the fiscal rela-
tions report of the Jacobs Committee
are being examined by Mr.. Palmisano
in the hope of finding solution to
the problem. However, he plans TO
dig deeper and check official records
of the operating and maintenance
expenses in Baltimore with those in
Washington.
MAY Formulate Own Plan.
Mr.. Palmsano's independent in
vestigation may result in the formu-
lation of his own plan for reorganiz-
ing the District government in the
interest of efficiency and economy.
Representative Kennedy. Democrat,
of Maryland, a member of the House
District Committee, made similar
study at the last session of Congress
and turned out a reorganization plan
which he intends to push at the ap-
preaching special session. Another
reorganization plan is being devel-
oped by a special committee appointed
by the Commissioners, headed by E.
Barrett Prettyman, former corpora
ton counsel of the District.
Mfr. Palmisano indicated his reor-
ganization plan would be designed to
give the Commissioners complete con-
troll over District finances. Neither
the Budget Bureau nor Congress, he
believes, should dictate how revenue
raised by taxation should be spent.
THE Commissioners should be given
more power and, above all, should
have complete authority to determine
the amount of the budget" he said.
There should be no other influence
over them, either from the Budget
Bureau or Congress. I believe the
only relation Congress should have
with District finances is to fix the
amount of the Federal payment
toward District expenses.
"Given such authority, the Com
missioners should be responsible only
to the President, who appoints them.
If they make mistake or demon
strate their inefficiency the President
could ask for their designations"
Mr.. Palmisano said his sole object
in making the District government
organization study is to find some
method of reducing the present cost
of government without sacrificing
efficiency and economy.