European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 03, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                National geographic time May 6e running out for the financially strapped District of Columbia which can t even count on parking tickets As a reliable source of income because foreign diplomats who work there simply Don t pay. A � . Seeks Cash for capital improvements by Peter Copeland Scripps Howard news service ased solely on the number of government experts who live in Washington the capital of the free world ought to be a smoothly running Urban machine a Model for other cities to follow. Instead residents of the District of Columbia suffer from a High crime rate a weak medical system and corruption and inefficiency that have made the local government a laughingstock. For that each . Resident pays $4,600 a year in state and local taxes Well above the National average of $2,900 and higher than in any state except Alaska according to . Census figures. Despite the Strong pull of Federal employment and despite the City s undeniable Beauty wide avenues and tree filled Parks people Are leaving the City in urge numbers. The resident population has dropped from 802,000 in 1950 to 573,900 last year with the Black Middle class following the White Middle class to the suburbs. That Means fewer taxpayers Are left to contribute to a financially desperate City government increasing " the temptation to raise taxes on those remaining which Only encourages More to leave. The financial problems Are not unique to Washington and Many .. Cities Are in far worse shape. The difference is that the Federal government lives Here and its leaders Are finding it hard to continue wednesday August 3,1994 ignoring the District s problems. Despite talk of . Becoming new Columbia the 51st state Federal involvement in running the City actually is growing and some warn of the eventual need for a massive Federal bailout. A. _ the City already is under 25 separate court orders for violations of Laws governing everything from Foster Homes to medical care. Rep. Richard Durban m7 recently scolded mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly for the chaos and corruption particularly in the housing _ department which is now run by a court appointed oversight Board you need More than a Broom " you need More than a shovel you May need a Bulldozer Here Durban said. He conceded that part of the problem is the City s Peculiar form of government designed and ultimately controlled by the Congress. We have no one to Blaine on Capitol Hill but ourselves Durbin said. George Washington chose the Confluence of the Potomac an Anacostia Rivers to be the seat of government. The District was Given Home Rule in 1974 and has an elected mayor and 13-member Cound but the finances Are subsidized and supervised by Congress. The District is unusual because it funds both Normal City services and schools plus those functions that Are handled in other jurisdictions by \. Counties and states like vehicle registration and prisons. The median household income is reasonably High $32,490 but in some neighbourhoods 60 percent of the stars and stripes the people live below the poverty line while in others almost no one is poor according to the census. Add those problems to the tax situation two thirds of the income earned Here is made by suburban _ commuters Haare not taxed the _ Only Industry government can t be taxed atall and 39 percent fall real _ property is tax exempt. Even parking tickets a Good Money maker for most cities Don t or work vell a Washington in part because foreign diplomats simply Don t pay. The City is owed More Tyfian $7 million in outstanding parking violations. Kelly manages the 68-Square-Mjle enclave with a $3.4 billion budget most of it raised from local taxes. She wants the Federal government to pay More than the current $700 minion to support what she Calls America last _  some City officials want to raises Money by taxing commuters or exempting . From the Federal income tax to attract newcomers proposals that Only angered Congress. Legalized gambling also has been _ _. Suggested but the big Money would have to come from a Federal bailout. Federal help won t come without strings however because members of " _ Congress would have a hard Lime justifying a bailout without  in the District payroll Many of them government workers or other savings. When people come Here from my District they have a love hate relationship said rep. Henry  Bonilla a Texas. They love to come Here but they go Home and trash the City saying it is in  Short subject guard members train by helping neighbors by Scripps Howard news service the Clinton administration is calling out the National guard to build roads teach school and heal the  of training for War on . Military bases or in Central american Jungles More guard and Reserve Heimbers Are teaching inner City kids tearing Down crack houses and building roads. In the Green Foothills of the ozarks where incomes Are Low and some counties have Only a single doctor and dentist the 135th surgical Hospital and other units unfolded their tents and went to work. They took Over an old Church Camp on a wooded Hillside in Van Buren mo., and children had their Teeth cleaned for free in the Chapel while their parents got free cancer screening shots and other Basic health care. In Eminence another country town where some of the Best jobs Are cutting Wood for charcoal retired businessman Mort Mote sen had his cholesterol checked by doctors Anco medics wearing camouflaged fatigues. This is an excellent use of the guard in peaceful times. I d rather have them doing something that s needed than out playing a National guardsman helps build a Road. Games Mortensen said guard leaders agree. When i did my training As a medic we practice on dummies and then they sent me to Korea said maj. Gen. Raymond Pendergrass no w adjutant general of the Missouri National guard. This is More realistic training and better for everybody Pendergrass said. Providing health care is just one of. The ways the military is being used to promote non military goals the Pentagon also is funding. Boot Camps for High school dropouts while reservists Are helping kids clean up a Park in Massachusetts building a pier and Bridge in puerto Rico constructing artificial reefs with surplus tanks off the coast of Alabama drilling Wells in Ohio and restoring Homes in Kansas. Jahile the guard and reserves always have  their communities the White House and the Pentagon Are pushing for the first time to coordinate and expand the Effort in a _. Program grandly named civil military cooperation rebuilding America. Deborah Lee assistant Secretary of defense for Reserve affairs said the Only limit on civic action is that every Mission must promote the readiness of the Force or at least not Cut into its ability to fight. This is not a justification for keeping troops on the books but a Way to get a double bang for each Buck Lee said. 15