and firemen's pensions and relief. Personal services, wage board employees, $225,000; settlement of claims and suits, $7,347. The appeal letter from Commissioner Tobriner and the justifications filed in support of the supplemental estimates will be placed in the record. (The letter and justifications referred to follow :) Hon. CARL HAYDEN, Committee on Appropriations, U.S Senate, Washington, D.C. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, April 2, 1962. DEAR SENATOR HAYDEN: The Commissioners wish to express to you their sincere thanks for extending to them the courtesy of an opportunity to indicate to your committee certain changes desired by them in the District of Columbia second supplemental appropriation bill for 1962 as passed by the House. The change requested from the District of Columbia fund is summarized as follows: President, Board of Commissioners, District of Columbia. GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES Supplemental estimate, 1962. House allowance, supplemental 1962 (reduction of $23,500) AMENDMENT REQUESTED $14, 668, 810 15, 468, 660 86, 500 63,000 (1) Page 4, line 20, strike out "$63,000" and insert in lieu thereof "$79,500", or an increase of $16,500 in the appropriation. (2) Page 4, line 20, insert the following: "of which $60,000 (to remain available until expended) shall be availble solely for District of Columbia employees' disability compensation and $4,500 shall be payable from the highway fund". HOUSE REPORT The budget estimates for general operating expenses proposed $13,000 for the Commissioner's Youth Council to combat juvenile delinquency, $60,000 for employees' disability compensation payments, $10,700 for five additional positions in the highway construction program, and $2,800 for the examination, licensing, and regulation of physical therapists in the District of Columbia. The committee recommends that items for the Youth Council and $50,000 for disability compensation payments be approved, but that the other items be deferred for consideration in connection with the regular 1963 bill. JUSTIFICATIONS Activity 2. General administration, $14,500: (a) Administrative services office, $4,500 Restoration of $4,500 of the original $10,700 requested will provide five additional positions in order to meet greatly increased workload in acquiring rightsof-way for the District highway construction program and to meet the nationwide procedural requirements of the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads for expenditure of Federal funds on all Federal aid highway projects. Recent Public Roads procedures require staff review of fee appraisals to a degree of professional competence not available in the District government. Fair market values must be established after such review for offer to property owners as required by law before instituting condemnation proceedings. In addition, the appraisals become evidence in support of the fair value established by the District when necessary condemnation cases are tried in court. In addition to establishment of fair market values for acquisition, the appraisal review activity serves the Department of Highways and Traffic in the design and planning phases of highway projects, furnishing appraisal estimates for economic consideration in the selection of routes for highway projects and the design of structures in order to assure the least financial impact on District and Federal funds and the economic balance of the community. The Bureau of Public Roads has been critical of the lack of required contact and communication with property owners in advance of actual negotiations for properties. The availability of additional personnel will permit compliance in this area by direct contact through the requested appraisers and by other available personnel within the real estate activity whose services are partly employed in the limited review of appraisals presently performed. The services of five additional employees will be required to meet these added procedural requirements and the ever-increasing growth in rights-of-way acquisitions for highway purposes. Funds requested will provide for these positions from May 27 to June 30. Although this appears to be a short time gain (5 weeks) the situation is so critical that this start on the program is significant. When consideration is given to the possibility of a late appropriation for fiscal year 1963, this leadtime becomes even more significant. (b) Personnel office, employees' disability compensation, $10,000 Financial analysis: Employees' disability compensation... $10,000 Restoration of $10,000 to allow the full $60,000 requested is necessary to augment available funds ($290,000) for payment of employees disability compensation claims and medical costs in fiscal year 1962. Expenditures from this fund for the first 9 months totaled $274,882, as compared with an apportionment of funds for this period of $215,000. Assuming that the full $350,000 is made available, this leaves $75,118 for the final 3 months. This is an average of $25,000 per month and at the present rate of expenditure represents the estimated minimum amount that will be needed for April, May, and June. Several factors, all uncontrollable and unable to be projected in advance, contributed to the shortage of funds being experienced in 1962: (1) Public Law 87-339, approved October 3, 1961, made section 104 of Public Law 86-767 applicable to the District of Columbia and increased compensation rates according to date of injury as follows: January 1, 1951, to December 31, 1957, 10 percent increase. January 1, 1946, to December 31, 1950, 20 percent increase and all prior to January 1, 1946, 30 percent. (2) The incidence of claim for permanent and temporary disability took an unprecedented increase over the previous year's experience and the projection for 1962. During the period July 1 to December 31, 1961, there were 221 claims filed, as compared with 143 in the comparable fiscal year 1961 period, and 160 planned. This resulted in an average increase of $3,500 per monthly payroll of compensation payments, or $31,500 for the first 9 months. (3) Hospital charges increased approximately $7,000 due to the higher incidence of claimants hospitalized because of injuries sustained. The 10 percent increase in rates, effective July 1, 1961, had already been taken into account in the fiscal year 1962 financial planning. (4) Billings for services of physicians increased $5,100 over estimates due not only to the higher incidence of claims paid, but because of the use of private physicians and specialists in lieu of those of the U.S. Public Health Service. The decision in the latter item is not one made or influenced by the District Government. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Employees' Compensation, which is charged with the responsibility of approving these billings for payment, no longer adheres to a fee schedule for services rendered by physicians and surgeons to whom cases are referred. Experience of the first 9 months has indicated that the $60,000 requested for the balance of 1962 will provide only a minimum payment of claims for the last 3 months. Payments have been averaging $30,500 per month for the first 9 months, and the funds requested will provide, as stated previously, an average of only $25,000 per month. Restoration of $10,000 to this fund would enable the June payment to reach the minimum requirement. To not do so would force curtailment of vital payments to claimants until the following fiscal year. Employees and annuitants, with their widows and children, who are entitled to these benefits, suffer serious hardship when payment is delayed for any reason. Most of them have families to support, rent or house payments to pay, food, clothing, and medical bills to meet. Many have no savings whatsoever on which to rely. Activity 4. Occupations and professions, $2,000: Restoration of $2,000 of the original $2,800 requested is to provide necessary services to implement Public Law 87-280, which provides for the examination, licensing, and regulation of physical therapists in the District of Columbia. As it is now the public has no protection against any unqualified person who wishes to practice physical therapy, because there is no specific legal control over physical therapists. This is unfair to the physical therapists and the public since licensure is necessary to maintain standards for the profession. The Physical Therapy Act was approved on September 22, 1961. However, the District of Columbia has not been able to implement the provisions of this act since the act specifically states: "This Act shall take effect one hundred and twenty days after funds are appropriated for the purpose of administering the provisions of this Act." It is extremely desirable that funds be restored to this supplemental in order that the implementation of this act need not be further delayed. Appropriation, 1962 Supplemental estimate, 1961 (language). House allowance, supplemental 1961 (reduction of $134,000). AMENDMENT REQUESTED $44, 117, 800 43, 257, 900 (194, 000) (130, 000) Page 5, line 16, after the word "Reformatory" insert the following: "and not to exceed $130,000 of funds heretofore appropriated under that heading, shall be available for the purchase of a site for a structure to replace the third precinct station house", or an increase of $130,000 in reappropriation authority. HOUSE REPORT The budget proposes language authorizing funds heretofore appropriated for "Capital outlay, public building construction," to be used for the purchase of a site and construction of a building to replace the third police precinct station house, and $64,000 to be used for the repair and reconstruction of the laundry at the Lorton Reformatory. The committee has deferred action on the $130,000 requested for the new station house until the 1963 construction program is considered in the regular bill but has approved $60,000 for the laundry project. JUSTIFICATIONS Although the House report stated that action on the reappropriation of $130,000 of funds heretofore appropriated for capital outlay should be deferred until the 1963 construction program is considered, this item is very essential for action at this time. The project to replace the precinct was added to the 1962 budget estimates in April 1961, as an amendment, when it became apparent that it would be economically advantageous to the District of Columbia to sell the entire District-owned plot now occupied by the present precinct No. 3 and the Western Market at 21st and K Streets NW. (The sale value of this combined plot is appraised at $2 million.) In order to realize the financial benefit from the sale of this property at the earliest practicable date (fiscal year 1962), the estimate for the new precinct site was included in the 1962 budget estimates without benefit of a professional appraisal. In September 1961, a review of the recent sales and potential values of property in the vicinity of the proposed new station house revealed a rising market. subsequent consultations with professional appraisers led to the conclusion that the funds requested to purchase the site, $140,000, are inadequate. The current estimate is $270,000, or an increase of $130,000. The additional cost of $130,000 reduces but by no means eliminates the financial gain to the District of Columbia from the sale of the Western Market, which is still in excess of $1.1 million after considering the revised total cost of replacing the police precinct. It is proposed that unobligated balances in the following three construction accounts be transferred to supplement the funds needed to acquire the new site: Ballou Senior High School, $60,000; Public School Warehouse and Department of Buildings and Grounds Repair Shop, $60,000; and Watkins Elementary School, $10,000. These projects have either been completed or are nearing completion and the unobligated balances shown above will not be required. In the face of the reduction in staff, it was decided to concentrate efforts in the central part of the city which includes most areas of highest delinquency. Staff coverage is now provided for 8 of our 22 area boards. The areas covered are the near northeast, the second police precinct, the Mount Pleasant-Columbia Heights area, Foggy Bottom, and the near southwest. No one is assigned to the southeast area adjacent to the Capitol and down to the two rivers, nor is anyone in the far northeast. In both of these areas there is evidence that delinquency has been rapidly increasing. There is no one assigned west of Rock Creek and no one east of the Anacostia. In the last-named area there has been a marked increase of delinquency due, in part, to the increase of children in the many public housing projects located in that section. Many of these families are from the low socioeconomic level and have been displaced by slum charance in other parts of the city. run. One of the real losses in stuff reduction has been our inability to encourage and make use of the ideas which spring from area boards which have been well For instanc, in the far northeast, which is seriously lacking in facilities for young people, the area board has been humpered in encouraging grouɔ activities for lack of a meeting place, as well as continuing leadership for young people's groups. Now a church in that area wants its facilities used for this purpose and |