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

michaelsmann@comcast.net [1]