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Show PAGE 12 THE ZEPHYRAPRIL 1991 ' I call any bureaucrat my enemy. He treats me like one and so return the favor. that perceive the public as a In Moab, we are blessed with many public agencies I somewhere left of right by Jane S. Jones WHO IS THE ENEMY? When think about the I Issues of wilderness, endangered species, multiple use, air pollution, growth and development, tourism, drugs, morality, greed, education, parenting -- -I often wonder why there Is so little agreement, so little consensus among the public. Why cant we, as Americans, agree on anything anymore? And Just who Is the enemy, anyway? Is the enemy of the environmentalist the cattleman? Is the enemy of a rural community like Moab the developer? Is the enemy of the hiker the motorcyclist? Is the enemy of the "hippie the common-varie- ty What part does disillusionment with public officials and mainstream American? disintegration of ethical standards play In the problem? so-cal- led Politicians Most politicians started out as Just ordinary citizens, some richer than others, of course. But, when elected, politicians enter an exclusive club, where the sky Is the limit They come In to serve their constituency, to right some wrongs, to see the process at work. But, In a short time, they stop trying to serve everyone, because Its an extremely difficult heartrending, contentious undertaking. They begin to see things differently. They react to an angry public by not letting the public talk so much. They shelve controversial Issues, or Just appoint a committee to look Into It and thereby spread the blame. They cultivate groups, federal agency executives, large relationships with other politicians, special-intere- st business executives. They begin to build their own power base, under the guise of helping them to serve better. The distance from them and the general public grows. And we let this happen. We have not held public officeholders to high enough standards. I friend and as someone they will bend over backwards to serve. do not call anyone In these offices a bureaucrat But there are also several offices were bureaucracy Is alive and wed. And unfortunately, many good workers begin to look like bureaucrats at the public which was held by a public meetings they hold. I attended a public meeting recently no with questions or talking allowed by the agency. They presented a 1 12 hour program, audience during that time. Since they ran long with their talking, the time for adjournment arrived, and the question and answer portion of the program was deleted from the official meeting. Those that wanted to talk stayed after the meeting was adjourned. behavior angers the public. They usually come to public This bureaucratlc-llk- e meetings to participate, not to be lectured to. These attempts to keep the public at bay are similar to tactics used by many politicians, and we can see It also happening here In Moab. At a recent public meeting conducted by elected officials, they talked to the audience for 1 14 hours. Then, they let the audience speak, allowing only 3 minutes per Individual. The presentation by the elected officials was peppered with heartfelt thanks for such a large audience taking the time to come to the meeting. But since they didnt want us to say anything, I wondered why we bothered to come. STATE EDUCATORS At to the five-d- ay the last school board meeting where they considered and then voted to return school week, I became aware of yet another enemy: educators up at the state level. Instead of helping Grand County solve Its financial problems, they force It to play games. We try not to have a budget deficit, because the state people say that's Illegal. we have to have a large budget deficit to gain financially distressed status and be able But, to use the sacrosanct Capital Outlay (CO) fund as we see fit Right now, the $1.1 million CO fund cannot be used to actually educate children, like teachers' salaries, textbooks, supplies, etc. It must be used for buildings, land Improvements, furniture, site Improvements, building supplies, acquisition of facilities, and construction services. The money can't be used even If we dont think that a shiny, school with lush with to and lots has do the newly paved parking green grass building, anything actual education of our children. "site-bas- ed ed Something that Grand County needs to look at closely Is the management system. It Is an attempt to return most educational decisions to each school. It decentralizes the education business and attempts to return control to the area or "site. More nonprofessionals are Included In the decision-makiprocess, parents, community leaders, etc. In Dallas, Texas, they hope to eliminate 103 central staff positions under the new system. They are making the transition to site-basmanagement now. This looks good to me. Lets eliminate the middlemen administrators that are feeding off our state education funds. Let each school district get their fair share of the funding pie, and administer It at the local level, where the parents have the Incentive to make the best decisions. I also like It because, when we want something extra for our school kids, like a or a sports center, well know where the money will have to come: from computer system, our own pockets. And If we start running a deficit, well be able to reduce grounds Jf we make It clear as a Improvements, vehicle purchases, etc. when necessary to state that the rather than listens the other way around. The elimination us, community of central staff positions will return more dollars to the school districts for actual education expenses, where It belongs. I like this enemy. I think that we can get rid of him, If we try hard enough. Politicians and bureaucrats? We can look In the mirror and see their same tendencies In ourselves. Because they were Just like us once, and we might be like them, If we took over their Jobs, unless we tried harder than weve ever tried before at anything, to become "better than the common-varie- ty mainstream American, to become a true statesman. new-looki- ng so-call- ng ed It Is my strong conviction that politicians have to be "better than the average citizen. They are Indeed Judged by a different set of rules. They must sacrifice time from family, from business and the accumulation of private fortunes. A politicians service should generally be for only a few years. By that time, they should be worn out and ready for a rest Because If they are trying to keep their Jobs, If they are looking to become a career politician, I dont want them. Career politicians cant make the hard, necessary decisions and move the country forward. Witness all the career politicians In Washington last summer, deathly afraid of biting the budget bullet, blindly cuddling up with this special-intere- st lobby and that political action committee, whichever seemed strongest and wasnt yelling at them. If we demand true statesmanship from every politician, at every level, fairness and ethical behavior will become the norm, Instead of the exception. I have been to many public hearings and committees. In the end, we now follow regulations, not our consciences. Bureaucrats define a bureaucrat as a worker who spends part or all of his time behind a desk, some agency that serves the public, who perceives the public as an at working enemy. These folks are not elected, but rather appointed by a politician or hired by a politician or another bureaucrat The dislike of the public seems to be handed down through generation after generation, the genes residing In the swivel chairs, perhaps. In every public office where I have observed this behavior, almost everyone displays the same I characteristics. the canyons edge is now showing nightly 8:15 PM $3 ADMISSION (children under 12 free) visit our OPEN HOUSE April 4 5 PM - 7 PM at CFI office 7 PM - 8 PM at the Stuntmans Hall of Fame Free Showing of Canyons Edge 7:15 PM FREE REFRESHMENTS Hollywood Stuntmens Hall of Fame 100 E. 100 N. Inquire about CANYON LANDS FIELD INSTITUTE Post Office Box 68 Moab. Utah 84532 other CFI programs 1320 SO. HIGHWAY 191 |