Of all the things that government does spending money wisely, is the single thing it does the least well of all. Contracts that grow mysteriously larger after they have been signed, costing thousands of tax dollars to be spent, is all to common.
As an elected official you should drive to be accountable for every penny that is spent. Question why valves for the water system have to be special ordered. If the water department is replacing two or three valves in the potable water system a year, then why don’t they have two or three on hand, instead of having to special order the things. If they had the valves on hand then repair to the water system would be timelier. Not to mention that buying valves in some sort of quantity ought to be cheaper than buying them one at a time.
There are other economies to be made as well like:
- A paperless office.
- Buying years worth of copier paper all at once.
- Pre-purchase of a year’s worth of fuel for the water, sewer, and street departments.
There may be other things that can be done to keep down the cost however, upfront accountability is desperately needed.
It is no good telling your constituents that more money is needed if you cannot prove where their money disappeared into in the first place. Portland Oregon has wasted over twenty million dollars in the last eight years. No one at city hall can tell you, or anyone else, where the money went.
In your community you need to keep the books open, with detailed explanations as to the expenses. If you will do that then you will never have to listen to the criticism “if government were a business . . .”
Down The Sewer Pipe - Politically Speaking 
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