D.C. to Ask Big Loan Of Treasury: Commissioners Need Funds to Complete Public Works Plan
The District Commissioners have agreed unanimously to seek permission to borrow! millions of dollars from the I United States Treasury as a means of financing the remaining six years of their in-1 Ration-struck public works j program.</br></br>District. Engineer Commis-I isioncr A. C. Welling confirmed this yesterday. The action! [was taken behind-closed doors; several weeks ago.</br></br>The borrowed funds would be spent on health, welfare, school, penal and library projects assigned to- the General Fund, largest of the five city funds. General Fund borrowing is not now permitted. However, the District now obtains Federal loans to finance [projects in the highway, water and sanitary-sewer funds, j Col. Welling said it has not yet been determined how large a General Fund borrowing program should be sought. He said Director of General Administration Schuyler Lowe and liis staff have been asked to draft u detailed proposal to be presented to the Federal Budget Bureau. If Federal Budget-makers approve, the proposal presumably would be submitted to Congress after it convenes in January...</br></br>In favoring a borrowing program. the Commissioners are endorsing a recommendation of the Dunn Public Works review Committee. The citizensÛª group, headed by Richard P. Dunn, a businessman, made recommendations last June to lift the troubled public works pvogram out of financial difficulty.</br></br>The Committee,' recommending that $141.1 million be spent from the General Fund, advocated two financing aids: j Û¢ Borrowing $97 million I from the Treasury at going in-ilcrest rates to be amortized lover a 30-year period.