To the County Palace
January-new beginnings, time to look back at old bad habits. First going through last year's bills to confront how much I overspent and then shred the statements in repentance. Next the collection of papers for the IRS as penance. We do have a duty to pay taxes to support our government but so much of it seems foolishly wasted. I was curious about how much our volunteer fire department (without volunteers) was costing the County, so a trip to the County Palace.
Approaching the building, the doors magically open into a gorgeous marble corridor (bet the floors are slippery when wet) with high ceilings (wonder about the electric bills for heating). There's Buddy the Bison guarding the washrooms (never knew there was something valuable in a toilet). The receptionists at the different departments are uniformly pleasant and helpful. Paul, the finance head, will answer my questions openly and makes a special attempt to help me understand even if I'm pretty ignorant about financial matters. He's got great information on his website. I often see Kate the manager in the building. She's charming, smart and willing to listen, except she does say no if the suggestion isn't part of the Commission's agenda, or is not related to Santa Fe's and Washington's dictates about what they'll fund, or if the suggestion is stupid. I think she's the number one workhorse who coordinates the reports from her capable staff concerning rules and regs, finances, priorities for services and purchases – and then presents the summary to the commissioners.
I don't like people saying no to me or making decisions with taxpayer money that I think are wrong. But if I put myself in their place, it helps me understand. If one day you suddenly change from a regular citizen to an elected official, you are expected to be knowledgeable about hundreds of issues that you have no experience with and little time to think about. Even if you're well intentioned and not self- serving, how can you possibly make a well thought out correct decision most of the time? Guess that's one reason there are so many lobbyists.
I wonder if each commissioner and/or citizens from the County who have hands on experience with roads, general construction, health care, policing, water, schools, IT, food supply, forest fires, etc. can offer to eyeball or research high-cost proposals before they are voted on.
This trip's lesson: It takes a village to run a village, not just one person.