Evening star., 1940-09-08

service system to fill vacancies
which need to be filled after the
reorganization plan goes into effect.
"The Commissioners now" he de-
clared. operate under an agree
ment with the United States OWL
Service Commission. 1t is not salts
factory. AS The matter now stands,
the employees of the District have
all of the disadvantages of the civil
service without possessing any of
the advantages"
Another feature of Mr.. Kennedy's
reorganization bill would completely
divorce the Federal Budget Bureau
from control over the annual Dis
trict budgets. These budgets under
his plan, instead of first being sub
mitted to the Budget Bureau for
approval, would be transmitted d.
rectly to Congress after being pre-
pared at the District Building.
The police ana municipal courts
under the bill also would be con-
solidated into one court consisting
OF two branches--civfl and criminal.
Wouid AID Courts.
The advantages of such a con-
solidation, he said, is that judges
of the now two independent courts,
nine in number, would be utilized
in bringing up to date and keeping
up to date the dockets of both
courts.
While the work of the municipal
court Is current, and has been for
many years" he added, "the police
court is now more than 500 Jury
trials in arrears. BY utilizing the
services Of all nine Judges, the
dockets of the police court could be
brought up to date and so con-
! tinued"
Mr.. Kennedy said further another
provision in his bill would give the
Commissioners many additional
powers much needed and usually
possessed by administrative author
tiles.
1T has been necessary in the past
for the Commissioners to prepare
special bills and submit them to
Congress asking for powers that in
special instances where, if a general
grant of authority is given, that will
not be necessary" he declared.
This procedure takes the time Of
the House District Committee and
OF the Congress itself. For example,
1t Is necessary for the Commissioners
to obtain special bills granting per-
mission to lay conduitS, to remove
graves, and to regulate various busi-
ness practices"
The Board Of Public Library Trus-
tees and the Board of Education
would continue as independent
boards under the proposed setup of
Mr.. Kennedy. The other boards and
agencies of the municipal govern
ment, however, would be consoli-
dated in the following II depart
ments:
Finance, law, engineering and
public works, personnel police. fire.
health. insurance. licenses, public
welfare and vehicles and trafic.
The Health Department also
would continue its autonomous sta
tus, but the bill provides that the
Commissioners may in the future
select a health officer from any
source" and may, in filling a va
cancy, request the President to des-
ignate an officer from the Army
Medical Corps or the United States
Public Health Service for the posi-
ton.
The Kennedy reorganization plan
Is an outgrowth of a study made of
the municipal government several
years ago by the firm of E. o. Grif-
fenhagen and Associates of Chicago
at the direction Of both the House
and Senate District Committees.
Numerous notifications, however,
were made in the original plan of
reorganization suggested by the
Griffenhagen firm before Mr.. Ken
nedy introduced his bill in the
House.