Evening star., 1954-01-17
.
Budget
"a
To Total Close
ToS141 Million
Sum Is Million
Less Thun Allotted
For Current Year
By John w. Stepp

By John w. Stepp
The fiscal 1856 District budget
to be handed Congress Thurs
day viii total close to $141 mil
lion-about $12 million less than
appropriations for the current
fiscal year.
Main cause of the drop-off is
the absence Of any capital i'm
provements chargeable to the
General Fund in the 1855 budget.
This fund. as fed by an under
sized $11 million annual Federal
payment and slackening tax
revenues, simply is too anemic
to build new health, welfare,
school, sewer and correctional
institutions.
II the city is to get such
needed construction, the Com
missionerS feel their $305 mil
lion 10-year works improvement
program must be adopted by the
legislators. The program for
mula for building and financing
requires annually SO million in
higher local taxes, SO million in
higher Federal payment and So
million in Federal interest
bearing loans.
Assuming congressional ap-
proval of the program, general
fund capital outlay scheduled for
: the first year-f1scal 1955-of the
program would be grated onto
the regular 1855 budget. This
construction would cost SIC mil
lion, mostly in schools, storm
water sewers and welfare insti-
tutionS.
Appropriations $153 Million.
District appropriations for fis-
cal 1854 to date have amounted
to nearly $153 million. The fig-
ure includes some SAT- million in
pay increases granted firemen.
policemen and public school
teachers. And before the year is
out, the city win doubtless be
paying its per diem workers an
additional 100000 to keep their
wages in line with other Govern
ment pay levels.
During fiscal 1855, not only viii
these pay increases have to be
taken into account but an esti-
mated 3 per cent increase in gen
eral operating expenses as well.
This boost alone would be $3.5
million.
If the $l6 million General
Fund capital outlay appropri-
ated for the current fiscal year
were to remain in the fiscal 1856
calculations, the grand total of
the 1855 budget would be in the
neighborhood of $157 million.
Shorn of this outlay, however,
the budget drops to a $141 mil
lion level, far cry from the
$185 budget requests which the
Government department heads
made to the Commissioners last
September.
That such financial condition
is also far cry from the budget
ing of a financially healthy
metropolis has been repeatedly
emphasized in recent months by
the Commissioners.
No Hearing Date Fixed.
Higher costs and dwindling
revenues have caused the plight
which the city heads seek to
remedy with their works pro-
gram. With the Federal Budget
Bureau giving the program its
final screening, the legislative
version of it is expected to be
ready soon enough for congress
sional hearings January 26
No hearing date has yet been
fixed for the 1855 budget. Aside
from the fact that it has not
yet introduced before Congress,
Capitol Hill sources indicated
yesterday a definite date may
be a long time coming. Other
budget measures have priority
over the District supply bill. Fur
thermore, action on the city
budget habitually is delayed until
the 11th hour of congressional
sessions.
District officials hope this ses-
sion, that the budget hearing
will be delayed until after a de-
ciSion on the works program.
The appropriations committees
Of the two houses will handle
the budget, the House and Sem
ate District Committees the
works program.
Works Outlay Faces Fight.
A decision on whether taxes
and the Federal payment
are increased and Federal
loans granted-as proposed in
the works program-must be
reached before the size and
shape Of the 1856 budget can
be determined.
A dogfight over the works
program could delay final ap-
proval Of an appropriation bill
virtually up to the June 80 fiscal
year deadline. While support for
the program is city-wide and
even includes q number Of
Congressman, it faces q gener-
ally economy minded Congress
and some citizens who favor q
smaller-scale building program
The budget hearings, too.
could be drawn out by such
controversies as last years
wrangle over reorganization.