The way it works, or doesn't

Sometimes city governments run smoothly, but as they operate with humans in a democracy, rough patches happen.

Balancing human needs, egos, ambitions, desires, skills, or a lack of them, all within the confines of public perceptions, budgets, legal restrictions, and politics sounds like the kind of idea that might cause many stalwart business pros to run screaming from the room where it was suggested. But that’s exactly what it takes for a city, or any municipality that serves us, to operate.

It’s natural when tensions rise, and they can be seen as an opportunity for all sides to come together to gain understanding of each other’s fresh perspectives. From some comments made at Tuesday’s Grand Coulee City Council meeting, it sounds like that may not have been happening for some time.

If so, that fits recent history, too, when a key, hard-to-replace employee announced last summer that he would retire within a couple weeks, tired of getting little or no time off while leaders debated hiring a replacement for another key employee who had quit.

The cascading effects of poor morale are hard to predict and harder to calculate. Last night, longtime public works director Dennis Francis said that, after weighing his options, he had decided to retire at the end of May.

Finding new people to fill roles in any organization is currently challenging and expensive. Waiting to do it can be far more so — something that city leaders, residents and especially taxpayers all need to understand.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher