The Power Of Newly Elected Officials

Anything in local or municipal government (i.e. County, City, Village, Township, Borough or Parish) is possible when  newly elected  public officials don't know what the heck they are talking about.

Why The Little Boy Wouldn't Go To the Public Meeting

A little boy is riding his bicycle one evening and sees several cars pulling up to City Hall.  He stops, gets off his bike, and watches as the parking lot fills up and people walk in.

He rides over to a man and says, "Mister, what's going on in there?" 

 

The man responds, "There is a public meeting tonight; would you like to come in?" 

 

The young boy thinks for a moment and says, "I don't think I should."

"Why not?" says the man, "Any member of the public is invited."

 

The little boy replies, "Because I don't think my parents are publicans."   

Saving Money With Local Government Construction Costs Tip # 1

From my experience, there is only one thing many local government officials dislike more than setting an annual budget and that is having to expend funds for new construction projects or rehabilitating older facilities that have worked fine for the last 75 years.

To help you, as a public official, avoid spending large sums of money on new construction, we are going to share tips that were actually used by other local and municipal governments in the past. 

Below is a tip that was used in a city hall to avoid expanding the men's bathroom.

According to the city council members, this tip involved three things.

           1)  Utilizing existing space in the restroom better,

          2)  Minimizing the need to run water lines great distances,

          3)  Making it easy and faster for custodial staff to clean lavatory fixtures.

If you know of any great ways local governments were able to save money on their new construction or remodeling projects, will you please let us know?

The Law of Probability As It Relates to Local Governmet

The Law of Probability:

The probability of a reporter or a citizen with a tape recorder or cell phone camera attending a local government function  is directly proportionate to the stupidity of what a local public official might say or do at that public event. 

The Dreaded Phone Call

The County Board Chair phoned the County Administrator this morning.  He asked, "Is everything okay at the courthouse?"

"Yes," replied the Administrator, "Everything is under control. 
It's been hectic this morning, but I have everything under control."

"Can you do me a personal favor?" asked the County Board Chair?

"Of course," replied the Administrator "What can I do?"

“Pick up the pace a little.  I'm in the foursome behind you and you guys are playing very slow this morning."