Shortly after the Northridge earthquake, my wife and I took a driving trip to San Francisco, going up Interstate 5 and returning on Highway 101. At nearly every bridge overpass were a series of three signs in each direction. These signs read "Earthquake retrofit," "Construction zone" and another had an image of a bridge. I can understand the construction zone sign, but rarely did we actually see anyone doing any work on the site.
What really struck me was they added hundreds of thousands of dollars to the overall project, just to let me know what they were doing. Did I really need to know that badly? How about holding a news conference and announcing the project and when it is expected to be completed?
More recently, I was doing some work for a local government agency, and the state wanted us to use a specific set of folders so that the report was organized in a manner they were familiar with when they came to do an inspection. I've got no problem with them providing folders that simplify their job, especially when it is free to the local agency. The issue was that the sender had included a business card (again, OK), but this card was inside a nicely embossed cardholder that had the state agency's seal.
I've been asked before why I sweat the small stuff. My answer has always been, "Because when you pay attention to the details, the big issues generally take care of themselves."
Cutting costs has to start somewhere, and our legislators in Sacramento -- and Washington, D.C. -- don't seem to be able to tighten their purse strings. It is time we started demanding accountability and put partisan politics and personal gain aside.
-- Gary Marshall, Santa Paula