Local Government Insanity
We have all heard Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity … ” doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Local government insanity is protecting your our turf at all costs.
This comes from from Minnesota but it could be from almost anywhere.
About 30 years ago, twinkle-eyed state Rep. James Pehler drafted a bill that, had he introduced it, would have caused a stir in his district. It would have planted a compass point on a map of downtown St. Cloud, drawn a circle with a 30-mile radius and made it the boundary of a new jurisdiction, to be aptly named “Round County.”
Within Pehler’s “Round County,” 47 local governmental bodies coexist, not always in harmony.
Damn right, not always in harmony. Do your local governments coexist in harmony? Is there overlap in services? Waste? Petty bickering?
Political Insanity?
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Protecting your own turf at all costs?
Over the past year I have corresponded with a colleague in Canada who insists that local government consolidation in Canada has not produced the savings that were expected. He advises against the idea.
I gotta believe there is a better way than having 47 jurisdictions within a 30 mile circle.
I think James Pehler was way ahead of his time.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 4:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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