Imperial Valley press., 1944-07-23
CALIFORNIA THIRD STATE
TO SET POSTWAR PLANS
Riverside Daily Press)

In making 500 900 available to cities
and counties to aid local goernments IN
drawing up blueprnts for postwar plan-
ming projects and to purchase project
sites, California becomes the third state
to assume some financial responsibility
for helping solve problems involving I'M
usually heavy local expenditures IN pre-
pairing for the future.
The other states setting up similar pro-
grams are New York and Michigan, the
latter only recently appropriating S5'Ooo'-
900 for the use of local governments In
drawing up postwar plans.
It will be recalled that under the pro-
gram in this state, S6,S75,0OO OF the Slo,-
100000 appropriation made by the legls-
lature will go to cities and counties to
help finance engineering plans and sur
vevs, 100000 for the acquisition of
project sites, and S125,000 to the state
department of finance and the state con-
troller for administration of the act and
for auditing.
The act also sets up a postwar pubic
works review board consisting of the
state finance director as chairman, the
director of public works, the director of
the reconstruction and Unemployment
commission and, insofar as he may con-
stitutionally act, the legislative auditor.
The board prescribes rules and regula-
tons for the general administration of
the act and with reference to applica-
tions for aid in the purchase OF sites,
reviews and approves or disapproves such
applications.
1t was emphasized in the language of
the act that the S10,000.000 is provided
not for construction of public works but
for the preparation of engineering plans
and surveys and for the acquisition of
sites and rights-of-way as steps necessar-
lily preliminary to the later initiation of
very large postwar public works pro-
gram when and as conditions may later
require Twin detectives of the act are to
expedite the construction of necessary
public works and to provide useful en-
ployment on such construction under
system of private contract rather than
under the old type of WPA make-work
projects.
The S10.OOO.OOO will be distributed as
follows: First each county area (Which
includes incorporated citieS) will be al
located $4,000. regardless of population
for drawing up plans, and $4,000 for site
purchase; the balance of both funds then
will be allocated among the county areas
on a population basis. Second, the total
amount each county area gets is feallO-
Gated on a scheduled city-county basis.
On this basis, the percentage of funds
made available to each county area will
vary-smaller in metropolitan areas and
larger in rural counties but tending on
the average to approximate one half or
more
An interesting feature of the act is the
manner in which the state aid is given
on an outright grant-local matching
basis. No state funds will be turned over
to local agencies in advance of the actual
beginning of work or the actual acuuisi-
ton of site. however; funds will be
given only after an application for a spe-
cific project has been properly submitted
to and acted upon by the public works
review board, and work actually begun
by the local agency. The act then provides
for partial payment of the states share
(unless money is granted outright) as
work progresses on plans and for pay
ment Of the states share of the cost of a
site acquisition at the time when the next
step in the proceedings is the payment for
the site, as distinguished from proceed
inpe for purchase or condemnation