Perceptions and My Pocket
My perception of government is that government's perception of my perception of government is grossly distorted. Here's an example. When you're coordinating a large fleet of trucks that pick up and deliver a variety of supplies and equipment and perform various tasks thoughout the county, like in the Public Works Department, it's impossible to time things right down to the minute. In fact, it's pretty common to wrap up one job and not have time before the end of the work day to travel and replenish a truck's supplies, travel to a new job site and then complete that new job before it's time to clock out. So, when fate declares that a PWD truck finds itself with 30 or 45 minutes of unexpectedly unproductive time at the end of the day, what happens? Well, government's distorted perception of my perception takes precedence over common sense - and my pocket gets picked again. Public Works is so concerned that I may see trucks back in the yard earlier than expected and get the wrong perception, that I might believe those trucks and crews that aren't really doing anything important are, well, not really doing anything important. Actually, I guess that would be the right perception. Either way, my possible perception is such a problem that it apparently demanded a solution. PWD's solution is to tell its drivers to not bring their trucks back to the yard early, but drive around so folks will think they're still working. In other words, there's some dead time at the end of the work day when some crews just aren't productive. Can't get around it. But PWD's solution to the perception problem is to still not do anything productive, but spend more of my money trying to fool me into thinking they are. Hell, I can barely afford to fill up my own tank at $4 a gallon. I sure can't afford to send those big, ol' Public Works fuel-guzzlers on unnecessary afternoon PR missions. It's the kind of warped logic based on a distorted perception that I'd expect from somebody running for office. But we shouldn't be playing politics inside the various departments of Clay County government. That's where decisions are supposed to be based on things like common sense and professional judgment, not the politics of their perception of what my perception might be. Public Works should not concern itself with my perception of what it does, but on fixing my roads and saving my money whenever possible. That should include looking for reasons to park those trucks in the face of rising fuel costs, not keep them on the roads. Michael S. Mann
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Submitted by Angela on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 5:10pm.
Well that nice to know the taxpayers just paid to increase the funding for the public works dept to finish out the 08 budget year. What did this increase cost us? A little over a half million dollars, 600K to be exact. What was the increase for? Fuel cost. Well, that's a nice perception that turned into a stark reality. BCC approved funding on May 27, 2008:
Recommended approval of Budget Transfer Request #08-150 in the amount of $600,000.00 to provide additional funds for Fleet & Fuel Division to purchase fuel needs for the County. Funding Source: 101-9901-599100 So much for perception!
Submitted by TruthHurts on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 5:21pm.
I don’t know anyone that works for the PWD or whom is responsible for fleet movements so I really can’t speak to what the PWD perception is of public perception. I think that Mr. Heemer has made a very good point. The trucks could be sent back and re-supplied so they were ready to go first thing the next work day. Or maybe they could meet up with another PWD crew still working on a job to provide additional support to hasten that job. In any event I don’t think they should be cruising around just to burn up time and fuel.
TRUTHHURTS Please go to http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer and sign the petition for the Fair Tax Bill. Tell Congress to pass this Bill.
Submitted by CommodoreQueen on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 6:10pm.
This is another one of those County situation's where the public needs to allow the supervisors in that Division the opportunity to schedule there employees' time in a way that is most efficent aand financially sound. The public should stay out of this unless it is an obvious gross mismanagment of time! Unfortunatley the "Public" has decided that all Division's within the county are wasting time,money and or item's of value. Many private companies wrestle with the same issues on a day to day basis but none are the powder keg that is the taxpayer that feels cheated or wronged in some way. I agree with my fellow posters that the trucks should be parked when not in use. The trucks can always use a good washing! With all the potholes in the roads in Clay County maybe they could get a few more trucks doing some hot patch! Peace!!! CommodoreQueen
Submitted by Walt on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 6:42pm.
Wait a minute guys, you need to change your point of view when you’re talking about PW. You must remember that PW employees are government workers. The purpose of government jobs is to consume the monies allocated in the fiscal budget. We’re not talking about a "For Profit Corporation". These guys get paid whether they put in a full 8 hours working hard or just standing around leaning on a shovel. If a government department doesn’t spend the total budget during the fiscal year, the department head must justify the overage. All of us know that a department head hates to justify anything, especially having too much money left in the kitty when he is begging for his budget increases for the next year. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s give those hard working "shovel leaners" a big hand for doing their jobs so well.
Submitted by jimmaxie on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 7:21pm.
and leave the truck running in the parking lot so not to have to get back into a hot truck. How about sitting in a store's parking lot, the motor running while a morning paper is read. How about stopping at the local mom and pop store so to get breakfast on the way to the next job. Or how about 3 guys sitting in the truck while watching the 4th guy do the work (must have been the new guy) or how about picking your grandson up from a private school EVERY Day @ 2:30 in a county vehicle...Should I go on? BUT DON"T COMPLAIN to their bosses.... I have been on a mission for so many years now that it is a joke. Why don't county employees have to wear seat belts? Water guys don't wear them either.. .If you are breaking the state law and violating a county ordinance in a county truck by not wearing a seat belt and you get into a wreck who will be responsible for the cost of your medical costs? Take care of the small things.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle Submitted by ProLEO on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 10:59pm.
The sheriff's office has a policy on seat belts and you loose privleges if breaking it. Submitted by read44 on Fri, 07/25/2008 - 6:41am.
You tell ‘em Jimmaxie.There’s that lack of common sense showing itself again. When I am in charge of money belonging to someone else, I am even more conscious of making every cent count. By the way, County workers in all positions, you are also wasting your tax dollar. When you waste it, just like any private citizen on a fixed income, when you really need the money, it won’t be there. That’s when you have to borrow money. You must always save for a rainy day because it always rains. Not wearing a seat belt, in my opinion, is Stupid. I don’t care how many times you get in and out of your vehicle, before you crank the car up, before you put the car in drive; lock your seat belt. Just before impact, you won’t have the time to. No one foresees a car wreck or they wouldn’t be in it. You have to be prepared when the unexpected happens. You can’t freeze frame and then put it on. I teach every young driver – first you lock the door, put your seat belt on and then you crank the car up. You do it that way or you don’t go anywhere. With that being said, years ago my oldest sister and her husband were in a car wreck where another driver hit them because the sun was in his eyes. To my horror, I found out they were not wearing a seatbelt, either of them. When my sister is in my car, I don’t put the car in drive until she puts it on. Older sister or not, she wears it then. That wreck was also one of those wrecks that happened not far from home. Onemann, what you are writing about also shows a lack of common sense on the part of the County. Our County would look pretty pristine if on that early drive back, instead of doing nothing for a couple of hours, they stopped and picked up trash along the highway or pulled up signs out of the roadway or reported any new pothole they noticed. If they can’t do that they can at least take pictures or notes and report what they see to the correct department when they arrive back where the truck is parked. If you are on the clock, do something, anything, productive to benefit your employer! People are talking about ...Here are the recent blog postings with the most comments. |
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I'm not there so I can't comment specifically but for me I'd rather see the trucks go straight back to the barn or sit still.
I've been in charge of enough operations to know that you can't always time things perfectly but if they went back to the barn early maybe they could load up for the next day's work.
That might give them time to actually do two jobs. Maybe. It would take some study and watching to know for sure.
But I certainly can't see it being cost effective to just drive around.
Mike Heemer