"THE FINE PRINT", by Michael Schrader -- # 39

"THE FINE PRINT", by Michael Schrader

IT’S TIME TO SHOW WHO IS THE REAL BOSS

(Written under the pseudonym “George Steinkrueger”. Published 27 November 1996 in the Community Banner. Posted in toto with Preface and Epilogue 14 May 2002.)

PREFACE -- This ranks among the top five of all my columns. Although part of this column was the column I wrote for the Little Rock Public Works newsletter, this particular column resulted in the ire of the Public Works Director, who threatened to take action against me for defamation. I never would have expected that a little op-ed piece in a little neighborhood newsletter with a circulation of 100 would have caught the attention of someone so prominant. It’s interesting that when I had written the exact same thing before, nothing was said; the second time around, suddenly it was a big deal.

This column was a result of my frustration, as a representative of the neighborhood, to try and get a ditch covered. Instead of hearing “How may we help you cover the ditch?”, all I heard was, “No, you cannot cover it!”

When I was asked by the press in Cabot after becoming the Public Works Director what my philosophy was, I showed them this column, as I thought that this was a great representation of my philosophy that government staff’s role is to enforce policy, not to make it.

In its quest for “self-improvement” (or is it self-delusion?), the City of Little Rock has decided to reinvent itself as a business. We, the citizens, are no longer citizens or taxpayers; we are now “customers.” Despite the city’s self-congratulations and pats on its collective back for it’s new, improved, customer-friendly approach, nothing has really changed. We are still, basically, treated like dirt. How can this be? Quite simply, the idea that a citizen is a customer is plain wrong.

Why? In a nutshell, freedom of choice, or lack of. Customers can choose the businesses they patronize; citizens cannot.

In the business world, a customer chooses to be a customer. If a customer chooses not to patronize, then that customer does not have to. In other words, an individual is not required to pay for electricity, clothing, food, transportation, etc., if that individual does not want electricity, clothing, food, transportation, etc. Citizens, through taxation, are required to pay for governmental services whether they want them or not. It does not matter if Mr. Smith does not want paved streets; he is still paying for them.

This lack of choice is this only logical explanation I can give as to why the staff of the city of Little Rock shows such contempt for the citizens. After all, we cannot just opt to go with another city; to do that would require relocation, which is a traumatic experience. Why should we have to move to another city? Our city is quite fine, thank you very much. It just needs to change its attitude.

First of all, staff should not make policy. Policy should be made by the elected officials; that is their function. I think it is rather appalling that the city staff, especially Public Works, has become so arrogant as to dictate to us what we want. We can’t cover a ditch because Public Works doesn’t want us to? Listen up, Public Works: we, the citizens, are your bosses. We tell you what to do. That is what we pay you for. If we say we want a ditch covered, your response is to determine how to best cover it, not to question it. To make my point easier to understand, I will use an example.

At the Highway Department, the Highway Commission sets policy; the engineers and staff implement it. The policy is not open to debate or second-guessing; those are the parameters that must be worked within. Thus, when the Commission says to build a high speed highway to Fayetteville, the staff does, even if it means the reallocation of resources from other projects. Which is exactly what has happened with U.S. 71. Whether or not the staff agrees with the decision is irrelevant, as the staff does not make policy. They work with the constraints they are given.

Second, the city should reinstate the residency requirement. Don’t you find it rather odd that the Public Works Director, who goes before the Board at every meeting with some new policy for the betterment of Little Rock, doesn’t live here? (Not only doesn’t she live in Little Rock, she doesn’t even live in Pulaski County.) After all, if these policies are so great, then she should want to enjoy them. And if they aren’t (like, for example, the ridiculous garbage “gift wrapping” requirements), then she should have to suffer like the rest of us, and maybe, just maybe, her staff would show a little more tact and compassion. Then again, maybe not.

It may be that we, as the stockholders and owners of this corporation called the City of Little Rock, need to take our roles as owners seriously through our voices and our votes. We need to let the employees know who’s the boss.

EPILOGUE -- The City of Little Rock now has a diffferent Public Works Director, but the same contemptuous attitude, and is being sued by some of its citizenry over a development that the citizens do not want but that the city staff does. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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