What's Wrong With This Picture

I had to read about it in the newspaper. A main man in public works no longer works for us.

Another one bites the dust.

Many a conversation have I had with the man. Usually he was explaining something in response to an inquiry. Always articulate. Always civil. Always helpful. He's been with the town eighteen years. I've been back on Council seven. Long enough.

Confidence that a job is being capably and conscientiously handled and the people you represent are receiving value and respect for the tax dollar, means everything to this politician

We don't know names and faces of every employee. We don't know details of their daily work. There may not even be a single job within the operation ,we would qualify to hold. But we do know their work contributes more to our political well-being than any other factor.

Politicians come and go.Employees provide the continuity and consistency. That's where the institutional memory resides. They are its keepers.

When a valuable employee leaves, a great deal more than willing hands and sturdy shoulders are lost.

A successful employer plans for succession. A second capable person must have an opportunity to work alongside and absorb the history of the town's various works acquired over decades . It's not enough to have the job skills. No operation can afford to lose its history.Such loss is catastrophic and cannot be recovered.

God knows, our town has been devastated during this term.

I had to learn what I know of this particular loss from a scant reference in a newspaper.