Evening star., 1948-01-23

tiveS are greater uniformity and
Generally speaking, all city en-
ployes would be placed under the
Federal civil service and classifica-
ton rules. Exceptions would include
chiefs, limited number
of POSITIONS where the pay would be
set by the Council, certain other
special instances, including judges OF
the city courts, and unskilled labor.
The pay of per diem workers
would be determined by Council
ordinance.
Police and firemen would keep
their separate laws as to selection,
classification promotion and retire
ment, with one notable difference.
Their pay deductions toward retire.
ment would be raised to the uniform
5 per cent level.
Changes School Retirement. ).
School employees would retain their
merit selection and pay classification
as provided by present law, but these
would be extended to include pcofes-
sional employees Of the city libraries.
The separate school retirement
system, however, would be consoli-
dated into the Federal plan. One
study indicates that about half of
the school employees would get
slightly more in retirement pay
under the new plan, with the others
given slightly less. The new plan
would have no effect on retirement
pay of persons retired prior to en-
actment of the home rule measure.
There would be no District resi-
dence requirement for city jobs.
One reason given by authors of the
plan is a desire to keep the door
open to the best qualified applicants.
Another is that the measure pro-
posed to make it possible, without
loss of civil service status, for Gov
ernment employees to transfer be-
tween Federal and District services.
Metropolitan Area Reference.
This could not be done, they say,
if the city had a District residence
rule. Preference would be given
to persons living in the Metropolitan
Area.
In support Of its position, the
Auchincloss Subcommittee of the
House District Committee started,
in its final report on its plan: i.
"It is to the advantage Of the Dis
trict to secure the best qualified
people available to fill its public
positions. A local residence require
ment would prevent transfer to per-
sons from Federal to District en-
ployment who do not live In the
District. Most Federal employees who
work In Washington do, however,
live somewhere in the Metropolitan
Area of Washington.
1T is well known fact that the
population of the Metropolitan Area
surrounding Washington is expand
ing at rate much more rapid than
in the Districts. Thus, as time goes
on, the Districts choice would be
more limited if a local residence
requirement were aplied.
Qualified "Po0I' Available.
"The Metropolitan Area contains
a pool Of people with trained minds
and experience in government, an
advantage probably not available
anywhere else in the United States.
It would be extremely short-sighted
for the District not to utilize this
advantage in its public employment. !"
Sponsors Of the plan emphasize
there is no design to sweep District
employees out of their jobs and
award their places to Federal work.
ers. The measure would provide
that present District employees now
lacking civil service status be
blanketed into the system, under
customary checks.
These would be that department
chiefs certify the employees had
rendered satisfactory service for
not less than six months prior to
certification and that the employees
qualify in a noncompetitive exami-
nation prescribed by the Civil Serv-
ice Commission.
The philosophy underlying the job
qualification question is akin to the
plan to permit persons living In
Washington for as much as a year
to vote In District elections, even
though they maintain voting rights
in their home States. More I'M
portantly, it is related to the pro-
posal that Federal employees be per-
mitted to seek and hold posts on
the elected City Council or Board
of Public Education, without losing
their Federal job rights.
Deal Voting Largely Accepted.
There has been no great outcry
raised against the so-called dual
voting plan. 1t is generally recog-
nized that Federal workers living
here are subject, like others, to DIS
! trict regulations (although many