Evening star., 1939-02-05

menu ana SUBSTITUTION Vi Qudl
setup-a governing body to be called
q council, assembly or commission
to formulate legislative policies and
an executive administrator to carry
them out - was recommended to
Congress yesterday by E. o. Griffen-
hagen g. Associates, the Chicago
firm of municipal specialists en-
ployed for $4,000 to develop plan
for reorganizing and modernizing
the 60-year-old municipal structure.
Sweeping changes also were rec
commended throughout the entire
municipal organization - changes
that would consolidate many of the
IS existing agencies and bureaus,
group others under II new admins
trative departments and strip nu-
merous subordinate officials of the
limited executive authority they now
possess.
The present Board of Commis-
sioners under the proposed plan
would either be abolished or re-
tanned as the nucleus for coun-
Gil, assembly or commission or what
ever the governing body is finally
named. The experts suggested that
the governing group in order to re-
feet as many points of view as prac-
ticable be composed of either five
or seven members. 1t would be
strictly a legislative organization
without executive authority.
Would Supervise Departments.
The proposed District admins
traitor would take over the execu-
tive and administrative functions
of the present Board of Commission
ers and have supervisory as we'll
as appointive control over the direc-
tors of the IT. new departments.
The administrator would be ap-
pointed either by the council or the
President upon the recommendation
of the council. A salary Of at least
$4,000 year was suggested for this
official. Members of the governing
body, however, would be compen-
sated on modest part-time basis"
One of the surprising changes
recommended IN the plan for re-
vamping the administrative organ
ization calls for the abolition OF
the Board of Education. Instead
of a school board, which now con-
trolls the educational policies OF
the school system and names the
superintendent, there would be an
advisory committee on education.
The superintendent of schools, in
stead of being appointed by the
school board, would be named by
the proposed District administrator.
The school board now is appointed
by justices of the District courts.
Another outstanding change would
place Traffic Director William A.
Van Duzer and his Department OF
Traffic and Vehicles under the Met
ropolitan Police Department. Tags,
registration cards and titles, how
ever, would be handled by pro-
posed department of finance. But
the Police Department would have
the authority now vested in Mr..
Van Duzer's department to propose
traffic regulations as we'll as enforce
them.
President Roosevelt, who has taken
a keen interest in the proposed re-
organization plan, was reported to
have favored single adminlstra-
tor" form of government for the
District. The Griffenhagen plan is
not essentially that, although it does
provide for an executive heard who
in effect will be a city manager or
a business manager.
Congress is urged in the report to
delegate broad legislative authority
to the proposed governing organiza-
ton by clarifying the Districts Or
ganic act and extending its powers
as q municipal corporation.
The method of selecting members
OF the legislative council, commits
sion or assembly is not specifically
recommended and the door is left
wide open for a governing body
elected by the people. On this par
ticular point the report said: "@ !"
Great pains have been taken to
propose no feature of administrative
or operating organization that needs
to be changed should the Congress
decide upon a governing body diff
ferent in size or constitution from
that proposed or should provide for
different method of choosing its
members from that now in use"
The report, however, stressed that
the composition of the legislative or
governing authority and the method
Of selecting its members has little
or no bearing on the plan of admin
istrative organization!'
Other Major Recommendations.
Outstanding among other recon-
mendationS are these:
l. That the Budget Bureau be
divorced from its present control
over District expenditures and that
the present budget-making pro-
cedure be simplified
2. That the amount of the Fed
eral payment toward District ex-
penses be worked out according to
whatever formula may seem fair
and an annual lump sum decided on
for period of five years in advance
In fixing the amount of the Federal
obligation. the report recommended
that all direct services provided by
the District to the Federal Govern
ment and vice versa be taken into
consideration.
3. That these interchanges OF
services between the Federal and
District governments be for the most
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