Evening star., 1945-02-04
Five Postwar
Projects Wait
County Action
Montgomery Group
To Act Tuesday
On New Proposals

Resolutions calling for five Mont
gomery County projects will be acted
on by the Montgomery County Ad-
visory Committee on Postwar and
County Planning at meeting at 8
pm. Tuesday in the Bethesda Ele-
mentary School, E. Brooke Lee,
chairman. announced last night.
The resolutions, approved by sub
committees, include provisions for
financing postwar building projects,
strengthening the county's Juvenile
court system, improving the county
engineering department, appoint
ment of county purchasing agent
and establishment of a civil service
system
A resolution proposing selection of
county manager has been held over
until the February IA meeting to
permit further study by the sub
committee. Postponement was made
at the request of Richard B. Barker.
who presented a resolution at a
meeting of the County Government
Committee Friday night recon-
mending that the powers of the
county manager be defined more
definitely than in the original pro-
posal and asking limitations of the
ordinance powers of the County
Commissioners.
Resolution on Bonds.
The original proposal had been
adopted by the County Government
Committee at a previous meeting.
The Committee on Public Building
Projects, headed by Rhees Burket,
has adopted a resolution recon-
mending that legislation be enacted
by the State Legislature at this
session to permit the County Com
missioners to issue bonds without
referendums to finance public works
which may be authorized for three
years after the war.
Such authorization, the measure
continues, should not be limited
except that the total should not
create a county indebtedness of 8
per cent of the assessed value of real
and personal tax property.
The County Government Com
mittee Friday agreed to the pro-
posal, but recommended that ref
erendum restrictions again be placed
on bonds for school projects over
s25O,OOO at the end of this three
year period.
Also approved by the Govern
ment Committee was a resolution
presented jointly by Mrs. Dorothy
kurtz, executive secretary of the
County Welfare Board, and Judge
FRANK B. Proctor of the Montgomery
County Juvenile Court, urging that
the county delegation in the Leg
lslature oppose the application to
Montgomery County of a Senate
bill which would place all Juvenile
cases under the jurisdiction of the
Circuit Court.
Juvenile Court Conference.
The resolution further asks that
the legislators consider Legislation
Tor continuation of the present
Juvenile Court.
1t also contains 10 provisions de-
signed to strengthen the court. most
of which are current practices they
wish enacted into law.
Sponsors of the resolution ex-
planned they are only opposed to the
Senate bill in its applications to
Montgomery County. The county.
they asserted, should be exempted
because of the efficient handling of
cases by the Juvenile Court, estab-
lished in 1881.
The burden of this work. which
now necessitates the work of a Judge
three days a week, would be more
than the circuit court could under !
take and has proven unsatisfactory
In the past, it was stated
In proposing county civil service .
system, the subcommittee on admin /
lstrative change in county govern
ment recommended that it be ad- /
by a county civil service
whose members would
be appointed for four-year terms.
The system would include all present
and future permanent, non-elected
and non-policy-making county en-
ployes, including members of the
police department.
All present county employees would I
be blanketed into the merit system
provided they can pass qualifying
examination, and provided further
hat additional protection be given
returning service men and women /