Everybody is getting into the anti-litter act, according to an informal survey by the American Public Works Association. The campaign is gaining momentum across the nation, and even Mickey Mouse is doing his share.

In New Haven, Conn., the famous rodent, wearing a street cleaner's uniform, decorates anti-litter literature, posters and trash baskets, suggesting that the public keep their city clean. Boy Scouts in Denver, Colo., gathered cans, bottles, wrappers and discarded food, placing them in an unappetizing mass in a store window. A similar exhibit in Bangor, Me., was labeled, "Does Any of This Belong to You?"

Florida is installing "drive-in" trash containers. All the motorist has to do is pause briefly and drop his rubbish into a special container set back from the road.

Chicago, according to the survey, has hired an extra 350 laborers to step up its street cleaning and garbage collecting program, bringing the total force up to 2,052. The city reports that 92 per cent of its streets have been cleaned at least once this year, compared with 59 per cent at the same time last year.

Milwaukee, Wis., is conducting a newspaper campaign against litterburgs, and urging that city laws, providing fines of $50 to $100, be enforced. The association also reports that Wisconsin has a state law set up to fight litter. On the same front, Wisconsin brewers are also at work trying to persuade beer drinkers to dispose of containers properly.

Louisville, Ky., has sworn in nine special police officers to enforce sanitary regulations. Cincinnati, O., too, has added a staff of enforcement officers to aid the regular police. The work of this task force is described as being not a campaign but a year-round activity. Since Jan. 1 they have made 3,083 violation contacts and issued 1,919 notices of violations.

Nashville, Tenn., police have been handing out pink slips to offenders reading: "This is not a ticket. Next time, you will get one. You are a litterburg. Keep our city clean." Oregon state highway police have erected signs indicating "Litterbug barrel ahead — 100 yards. Littering is against the law."

Not only government and civic organizations are at work, but business firms as well, says the association. Several companies, tired of seeing their well known trade marks scattered around, formed an organization called KAB: Keep America Beautiful. Their chief idea was to extend home manners into manners away from home, especially out of doors. They have been joined by various civic groups. Many of these were active before KAB began, but the centralization of activities has given new impetus to their efforts.

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Modernized city charters, calling for strong mayor-council or council-manager government, also require a single finance department, according to an article in "Municipal Finance," quarterly publication of the Municipal Finance Officers Association.

The article points out that because of the close and confidential relationship between the mayor or manager and the finance director, the latter should be appointed by that officer and be responsible to

him. This centralized control gives the mayor or manager an agency with modern technical tools to provide the current and complete financial information he needs for making sound decisions. The director also aids the executive in long-term fiscal planning and in debt administration. Fiscal reporting of the executive's program is another part of the finance department's duties.

In the ideal city finance organization, according to this source, all divisions are located in one building in addition to being under one head. This helps coordinate the activities of the different finance offices, and promotes efficient use of personnel and mechanical equipment.

The centralized finance department should include divisions for the following functions: accounting, budgeting, purchasing and stores management, debt administration, auditing, housekeeping functions, assessing, treasury management, financial reporting, cost accounting, and utility collections. Its main objectives, states the article, are to organize according to function and to set up modern methods for carrying out these functions.

The size of the city, as well as its charter limitations, determines the framework for this organization. In smaller cities, many of the functions listed can be combined and performed by the finance director himself. The important thing, the article concludes, is for the director to keep a constant check on the effectiveness of the methods in use and to recommend changes where needed.

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Thousands of city-dwellers throughout the U. S. are bringing their afterwork energies to bear on the problems of urban renewal, under professional coaching or guidance.

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials has issued a policy statement spelling out the need in urban renewal efforts for paid staff skilled in community organizations techniques if there is to be the most effective citizen participation. Precedents for hiring such trained personnel have been set by housing and redevelopment agencies in Detroit, Mich.; Baltimore, Md.; and Chicago, Ill.

The phrase "citizen participation" describes one of the tests a community has to pass if its urban renewal program is to be judged "workable" and therefore eligible for federal financial aid.

According to the association: "Handled well, citizen participation can gain for a renewal program the understanding and cooperation of a community, which is needed to make renewal benefits permanent through citizen support. Ignored or slighted, the lack of well thought out citizen participation can mean major public relations headaches, program delays, and disappointment for the urban renewal professionals and their backers."

The statement adds that activities involving the citizens of an urban renewal area must start early in the beginning stages, be continued after the project gets under way, and remain when renewal is completed.

In summary, the statement says that there is "vital need":

(1) for effective community organization at city-wide and neighborhood levels during the planning and execution of a renewal program.

(2)  for use of professional skills in achieving the program's objectives, either through salary or contractual relationships; and

(3)  for continuity during and beyond the federal contract termination date to sustain the citizen effort developed.