Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-06-21

PTO0F0m fICDteW COHtHtttLCo TC'
and made the following reco1
leased today.
First. The Public Works Pro-
gram Review Committee has
stated that the public works
program contained in the rec
concentrations of the other SUBJ
committees under the classifica-
ton Of necessary" represents
a minimum program which must
be put into effect If the City Of
Washington is to remain able
to supply the services required
of it in its character as the
Nations Capital.
Second. 1t is the Finance Com
mittee's belief that the financing
of this program is definitely be-
yond the fiscal ability Of the
District of Columbia operating
on q pay-as-you-go basis. Pro-
jections of revenue and expenses.
made on reasonable bases for
the remaining period to be COW
cred by the program, indicate
that a deficit in the neighbour
hood of $142 million may be
anticipated from operations and
capital OUTLAWS combined.
Third. It is the conviction of
your committee that tax rates
in the District of Columbia can
not and should not be increased
beyond the present level. TN
this connection 1t should be
noted that the programs of the
Sanitary Sewer Division and Of
the Water Division are such
that increases in the charges
which support these independent
funds will have to be made If
the construction programs are
to be completely Taxes In the
District of Columbia have been
advanced sharply since the in
ception of the Addison program
In fiscal 1857 over SIS million
In additional taxes and charges
were imposed upon and paid by
residents Of the District Of Col
umbia compared with fiscal
1854: this amounts to an in
crease of $50 per capita. TN the
same period the Federal author
ization advanced So million
but the actual Federal appro-
priation advanced only 50 mil
lion.) Presently tax rates in the
District are comparable to-in-
deed in most instances are some
what heavier than-those of
surrounding areas montgomery
and Prince Georges Counties in
Maryland, and Arlington and
Fairfax Counties and the cities
of Alexandria and Falls Church
In Virginia). We believe that
any further increase viii weaken
the city's position by accelerat-
ing the exodus of both business
and residents from the District
Of Columbia. The increases al
ready made have, we feel. been
all that the city's economy can
safely and equitably be asked
to bear.
Fourth. Believing as we do
that the proposed public works
program should be carried
through, and that it is beyond
the ability of the District Of
Columbia to finance under pres
ent practices. we are of the
definite opinion that the only
sound method is to provide a
substantial increase IN the Fed
eral participation in the general
fund. and also to permit bor-
rowing by the District of CO.
lumbia. In all equity, we believe,
the Federal participation in the
Districts general fund for the
operation of the Nations Capt.
tai should be increased by a
SUFFICIENT amount to carry out
this program. At the same time
We recognize that everything in
the record to date indicates that
there would be difficulty in
achieving such an increase in
the Federal appropriation. 1t
therefore seems to us that there
Is no alternative but borrowing
to cover a portion of the costs,
Further, we believe that borrow
ing for the purpose of carrying
out capital improvements is a
sound financial procedure. While
pay-as-you-go financing is ex-
cellent where it can be followed,
1t Is not proper to deny the
community adequate permanent
facilities in order to avoid debt.
Facilities such as those con-
templated in this program are
used over a period Of many
years; and it is therefore not
necessary nor equitable to saddle
this particular generation Of
taxpayers with their entire cost
The question then arises as to
what type Of borrowing should
be involved. We do not believe
that public issuance Of bonds
should be INDUCED in by the
District Of Columbia. but that
the pattern of borrowing from
the Federal Treasury should be
continued. Since the District
does not have full control over
its finances and does not have
the resources for improving its
revenues in order to provide ade-
quate protection for bonds
placed in public hands, it seems
to us that the only proper pro-
cedure for the District Of CO.