Down The Sewer Pipe – Politically Speaking

One question the newly elected official needs to ask is; what the hired help are there for?  Every form of government has paid staff, the people who do all the work.  Contrary to popular opinion Elected persons actually don’t do much in the way of work, as such.

There is much that can be learned from the staff.  History, about the local area, projects that have failed, and, most importantly, where all the information is about everything is located.  Consulting the staff about the water plants, concurrent interagency agreements, where do road funds come from?

Many elected persons treat the staff like little, mindless, minions.  This is not the case but the issue is a bit larger than it seems.  The staff has a workload that is in place when you take office.  So when you ask them for information, and you want an answer right away, it causes their workload to grow.  Every government creates reports and there are time frames with those.  You come along and gum up the whole works.  The better plan of action, the one I used, was to get permission from the town administrator and then make my request.  Asking the staff member to just place at the bottom of the pile so it became just another thing to do, no rush.

On occasion, I made a list and then let the town administrator know what sort of information I was looking for.  This avoids a whole lot of issues, like treating the paid staff like small people, stepping on toes and causing anger issues.  If you think about it a bit it only makes sense to do this, this way.  The staff gets their job done; you get he information, a win for all around.

The idea that he staff is there to hinder occurs, most often, from elected people that want stuff right now.  Placing an extra burden on the hired help does not make friends.  In serving your community it behooves you to treat the staff well, from the standpoint of being human.  There is a line in a British sitcom, Yes Minister” that sums it up best,  “elected officials come and go, bureaucrats are forever.”

Sherman