“When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.†— Harry S Truman.
Dear City-County Observer:
When I told Evansville Courier & Press reporter Thomas Langhorne that “Government was not meant to be efficient. Government was meant to be fair,†during a recent interview, I asked him to make sure he put that comment into context.
In his weekend article, I feel Langhorne did exactly that, because he continued that quote with my full statement:
“There are departments in the Civic Center that exist as a check and balance for another department, to keep corruption out and keep somebody from running away with the kitty,” the Courier & Press article continued. “Davis cited as examples the county auditor and the county treasurer, the budget-writing County Council and the executive County Commissioners, and the two houses of the Legislature.
“If I have a whiz bang idea for the treasurer’s office, I’ve got to go in front of the council and get funding for it. I’ve got to tell them, ‘This is a really good thing,’ and they can go, ‘Great, here’s your funding,'” Davis said. “But I’ve also got to go in front of the commissioners and convince them it’s the right thing. And if they’ve got to sign a contract and they don’t, I can have all the funding in the world and it doesn’t matter.
“It’s a check and a balance to make sure that I as an officeholder am doing the right things for the taxpayer, regardless of party. “
As your Vanderburgh County Treasurer, I feel I have run an efficient office. For instance:
* After the county invested in a new property tax billing software, I felt that we didn’t need 13 employees to conduct business in the Treasurer’s Office anymore. When a co-worker resigned in 2009 to take a better paying job elsewhere in the county, I did not seek a replacement employee. Our office has managed just fine, and at a savings of $90,000+ total in pay and benefits to taxpayers so far since I made that decision.
* Your Vanderburgh County property tax bill was being produced in South Carolina under an agreement signed by the previous Treasurer’s administration – with a budget costing taxpayers $65,000 per year. Now we print those bills in-house at a savings of $50,000 per year – $200,000 total – and we buy our envelopes and paper from Evansville businesses, not in South Carolina. That keeps our property tax dollars in our local economy and not South Carolina’s.
* Because we now control the printing process, your property tax bill now gets to your mailbox an average of 83% quicker! From 2003 to 2009, Vanderburgh County taxpayers only had on average of 18 days advance notice from the postmark on their bill to the due date. We have improved that average advance notice to 33 days! Now THAT is efficiency!
My point during my comment about government is this: Why do we have a 435-member House of Representatives and a 100-member Senate? It would certainly be cheaper and more efficient to have just one house and not two, right? Why do we elect a governor and our mayors and county commissioners? Why can’t our President just appoint our governors, who then appoint our mayors and commissioners at the local level? Why go through the expense of campaign elections at all when we can just have powers that be appoint our local leaders?
The answer: Because government was meant to be representative and fair. As Harry S Truman said: “When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.â€
Our government was designed by our forefathers — a group of people who were truly oppressed — to allow for the rights of people and for our ability to own property. So in a sense, the fact that our local government doesn’t run as fast as we’d ideally like it to sometimes is because our oppressed forefathers actually placed these barriers TO PROTECT US from irresponsible decisions being made by our government. I don’t want to make it easier for our government to trample our rights. “Fast†government does not particularly mean “responsive†government.
I leave you with this point: The LAST THING we want for local government is to have the Civic Center run wild like a bull through a China shop – running roughshod over our civil rights and our property rights. And that’s what I meant when I said “Government wasn’t meant to be efficient. Government was meant to be fair.†As an officeholder I have a record of finding efficiencies. But as a government, our system of checks and balances is inefficient – but our forefathers put these checks and balances in place for a good reason, to keep government from being corrupt.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Vanderburgh County Treasurer
Very well put.
I stand corrected on any initial criticisms I made in regard to that statement.
Mr Davis, please compose and publish a similar rebuttal to the question of your arrival times at the Civic Center. If you are being scanned in in the morning by someone else’s key card, why do you allow that? Do you think that violates building security to do so? If not, please explain. Can you also explain why you would be swiping in at 10:00 or later on a consistent basis?
This is not an accusation. I have a genuine interest to hear your side of it in your own words. Your response could clarify a lot.
Thank you.
From a title searcher … “I think the question Linzy ought to be asking is why Kirk allows all 50 members of her staff to leave at 4 oclock on Fridays when the county ordinance says the office is supposed to be open until 4:30. 50 employees, 30 minutes each, is 25 hours a week of taxpayer dollars going for services we’re not getting. Multiply that by the 8 years she’s been in office. Kirk has has ruined public access in the civic center and gotten the wrong people arrested and the wrong people on the ballot. The title searchers can’t wait for her to retire.”
Here’s County Ordinance 2.90.105 Work hours.
All County offices shall open for business by 8:00 a.m. and shall remain continuously open until 4:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday. It’s Kirk’s job to make sure her employees are there until 4:30. She’s violating county ordinance.
Thanks Rick, there are a lot of posters that are eating CROW!!!
News Bulletin to Rick Davis: The citizens of Vanderburgh County want the Government to be both “fair” and “efficient”.
Wayne Parke
I thought you were “neutral.”
Just told on yourself.
I am neutral on city/county consolidation question.
I am not neutral on the Treasurer’s race. Two completely different issues/questions.
Wayne Parke
I think what you are not neutral on is Rick Davis. I have little to concern me about the way Davis has run his office.
Mayor Winnecke, on the other hand, thinks it is alright to withhold the fact from citizens for 9 months that the financial ledgers of the City of Evansville were not reconciled and had not been reconciled for 12 month previous to his taking office.
I think you a little house cleaning of your own to do Wayne.
Or, perhaps, why Kirk allowed someone on the school board to serve when he wasn’t eligible. Does Kirk not know how to read a map?
Rick Davis is an elected official who does not come close working a regular 40 hour week through out the year but he is receiving a full time salary ($63,000) plus benefits. If there is nothing for him to do in the office, he needs to reduce the number of people on his staff so he has something to do and save us taxpayers some money. This part of concept that government should be both “efficient” and “fair”.
The Mayor inherited the financial ledger problem from the previous administration. If he did not notify certain people on the City Council when he found out about it,he should have.
Wayne Parke
Wayne Parke – YOU ARE scared to death of Rick Davis. It is very obvious. Why? What are you afraid of? Hiding something? And on the consolidation issue, is it true you sent a letter to all your Repo’s telling them NOT to respond to the questionaire concerning if they were for or against Consolidation? Are you ashamed to admit that you are for or against consolidation? You have to be! That tells the voters one thing – if any person won’t admit if they are for or against something so important as consolidation, THEN WE THE VOTERS, NEED TO VOTE THAT PERSON OUT! You should be ashamed! Rick Davis does have my vote and I am voting NO for consolidation!
Not defending Mr Parke in anyway but it is easy to understand why Republican candidates were told to remain neutral on the consolidation issue. It is the single biggest issue to come to ballot in years and would fundamentally change our government it is in essence more important than any race going on, no point in tainting a Republican candidate in a primarily Democratic voting community when keeping silent will increase their chances with both political groups of voters.
It’s just another classic example of having people watch the left hand while the right hand is doing all the magic tricks (dirty work)…..same principle different context.
Again it’s JMHO
You do not hasve the facts. Several months ago a representative of CORE requested the Republican Party remain neutral on this issue. I agreed to do that. It is my understanding the Democratic Chairman has done the same.
While being neutral on consolidation, it does not mean I am neutral in the Treasurer’s race. I support Susan Kirk.
Duh! Geese Mr Parke you wouldn’t be much of a chairman if you didn’t throw out all the stops to support your candidate…come on’ that’s a given.
But it’s interesting that you say that when asked by CORE to remain neutral you obliged, do you feel the issue of consolidation is not important enough for your party to have a stance?
If it passes it will change the representation and power structure in a lot of ways, to remain silent you must feel it will give Republicans a better chance or bigger stake in governing the metro council, honestly I don’t see it but I’m sure you have good reasons to remain silent on a very important local issue.
As one of your parties constitutes I would really appreciate a answer as to why the party is mute on such a important issue, and obliging CORE isn’t a sufficient answer.
JMHO
Did you not read his letter?
This is actually in response to Wayne Park;
Wayne, are you that scared of Rick Davis and his ability to run an efficient office without breaking an ordinance (like Susie Kirk)? The time keeping method that you have chosen is useless, pretty much like you are.
Rick Davis goes above and beyond to find ways to enhance the Treasurer’s office, whether it be to invest money with another bank, find ways to save money with the printing, ASSIST other county offices with their printing needs to save their office manpower and time, etc. I could go on and on.
The ONLY reason Winnecke won the Mayoral campaign was because Rick did not go along with the BS the Democrat party wanted him to. Rick Davis stood up and bucked the system because the system was extremely torn.
Rick Davis is an honorable man, a man with integrity, a man with common sense, a man with compassion for his employees and the customers. Rick Davis is a HELL of a Treasurer and Vanderburgh County is extremely lucky to have him as their Treasurer in this time of economic hardship.
So to Wayne Parke, who in the world cares what you think because everything you say is nothing but false accusations with NO meaning!
Who cares what he said? He misspoke. It happens to everyone doesn’t it Dick Mourdock *wink*. I think Davis was simply misquoted. Cut him some slack. There was no need for him to have to clarify what he said. Anyone who would base their vote on something this silly shouldn’t be allowed to vote anyway. I voted for Suzie Kirk but nothing as frivolous as this would have impacted my vote.
Man, I am a died in the wool Republican and that is one honest reply!
You’re dead? Are you still gonna vote?
She won’t be the only one but that is hilarious. Died does not equal dyed. Good one.
Look, regardless of your partisan affiliations, your logic, your good or bad record, your best intents, or whatever other elements one wishes to inject into campaigning or serving in office, there is one overriding reality in politics: Someone will always take your public comments out of context in an attempt to discredit or belittle you. Furthermore, if they can’t find a comment to misquote or misrrepresent, they will make some shit up. Anyone who dips their toes into politics better get used to that right off the bat.
+1
I must admit that when I first heard Rick Davis talk about the idea of government being designed more to be fair than efficient, I was flummoxed.
But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Efficiency is about process and function. Which are all business concepts about keeping costs down to the lowest possible cent. This makes sense when you have free commerce, certainly not what you have with government.
With free commerce if you don’t like the service you can go somewhere else, trade with a different vendor, or not make a purchase at all. Consumers have the power. With government you are required to do business with them, on their schedule, and with their vendors. You are mandated, taxed, certified, licensed, and have no choice but to comply.
When government service is provided, we go as petitioners, hoping for service, for information, or assistance. We have no choice.
Efficiency is about doing what is required at the lowest possible cost, to satisfy the most minimal need. THEY HAVE NO COMPETITION! You can’t take your business someplace else. So if offering the minimal service thru the internet instead of personally, or you cut hours for your convenience and not your customers, well, who’s there to complain to, and will they care. Even if you choose to vote them out in four years, you have to use your money and time to accomplish that task. And as you will see, influence usually trumps individual concerns.
Consolidation and Special interest groups go together great. Who will get special assistance? Who will have their needs met at the expense of other less “valuable” customers? Who will be the ones who are the beneficiaries of fast track, special rules, and less scrutiny?
In most communities it is those entities that make campaign contributions, carry extra influence for future donors, and can curry favor with important people. Closed door activities that no one sees, contracts that are written so that only certain individuals qualify, and most importantly ARE PAID FOR BY ALL THE CITIZENS, BUT BENEFIT THE ELITE FEW.
Efficiency is a business term that has value, but individual citizens have no choice but to use the service and adhere to government rules, which are often obscure, frequently difficult to understand or follow, and next to impossible to keep track of and all the while the power is in the hands of mid-level bureaucrats.
As tax-paying citizens we have the right and the obligation, to demand decent service for all citizens, consistent treatment of all citizens regardless of their expertise with government, and to know that it consistently and FAIRLY administered. That takes scrutiny, transparency, and open doors.
My take on what Rick Davis said.. ‘efficient government should not trump fair and responsive government’. I hope you agree and VOTE NO on consolidation.
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