|
Thumb of Michigan | Thanks for the compliment, Bruce- but I didn't run this time. My term was up on December 31. Duane Weber ran for and got my seat, and he's doing (no surprise) a great job.
With that said: I spoke to the Chairman of the Board last week about the damage and costs associated. First thing he wanted to bring up was the fact that there was a lot of the work force that was on vacation over Memorial Day, in some cases they were quite a distance away. Many of them came back home to get the roads back to usable as soon as they heard the news. They weren't called in, most didn't need to be. Its because they have pride in the infrastructure the public entrusts them with and they understand that people are inconvenienced- or worse- when this type of damage is done.
I guess there are always those that are convinced that the only reason a public employee would be there is because of the overtime. After being involved with the Road Commission for 8 years, I would strongly disagree with anyone that money is the sole motivation for the bulk of the employees. Sure, you have a few I suppose, but I found them to be the small minority. I'm proud of the workforce at the Tuscola County Road commission. I guess I can say that kind of stuff now that I'm back to being a civilian. Like anything else, the public has some misconceptions about what things are possible and what things aren't , but more times than not if they public is unhappy, the buck stops with the board- not the guy who's just clocked 80 or 90 hrs in 7 days plowing snow, or fixing culverts.
The tally on the damages are still coming in as I understand it. Its going to be a big number I'm afraid.
I was glad to hear that the Governor has declared the county a disaster area. That eventually will help to take some of the sting out of the bill. | |
|
GOVERNMENT WORKERS WORKING ON HOLIDAY
