The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Jumping to Conclusions Through Ignorance

I once overheard a public conversation in which one person was complaining to another that her small township Local Tax Authority was only open 12 hours a week, except for a few occasions when it was open 16 hours a week. And as they had discovered that the Treasurer was being paid $60,000 per year, they thought that this was wasteful spending for the township, so there must be some shenanigans going on in the township and possible nepotism (even though the Treasure is an elected official). As this was an overheard conversation, I decided to bite my tongue and not say anything to these people. Instead, I will say it here.

Not being familiar with the operation of a local tax authority, I cannot definitively say what may go on behind the scenes, but I can make some intelligent speculations. The Treasure must ensure that all tax records are accurate and up to date. While there are computer systems to assist with this duty, I can attest from my own computer experience that database entry, validation, and maintenance take human effort and time to properly achieve. Given that there are several thousand tax parcels of personal properties in the township, as well as taxable business properties and local taxes not property-related, I would expect that several hours a week are required to accomplish this task. The Treasure must also prepare accurate and up-to-date reports to the taxing authorities (Township and School Board) on a regular basis, then present these reports at the Township and School Board meetings. The Treasurer also must prepare regular, accurate, and up-to-date reports to the County, State, and Federal regulatory agencies for review. I'm sure that all of this takes some time on their part. The Treasure also must interact with the spending agencies of the township (in this case, Administration, Finance. Police, Public Works, Code Enforcement, Fire Marshal, Emergency Management, and Sewer) to keep track of their records of spending, as well as interact with the bank(s) where the monies are deposited and withdrawn. The Treasure also must be involved in all taxing disputes and the time needed to resolve the dispute. If a dispute goes beyond administrative proceedings into the legal arena, the Treasure must interact with the township lawyers and testify at court proceedings.

And the Treasure is in legal jeopardy if they don't perform all these duties properly and in accordance with County, State, and Federal laws and regulations. They could face severe jail time and large fines if found guilty of not performing their duties properly, as well as the legal fees to defend themselves. Given all the above, I would be surprised if the Treasure worked any less than forty hours a week, and I suspect that they regularly work more than forty hours a week.

This is not an excuse for bureaucrats and bureaucratic efforts. There is waste, fraud, and abuse in all bureaucratic efforts, and much can be done to make their efforts more efficient and cost-effective. But until you understand what is occurring behind the scenes, it is difficult to identify this waste, fraud, and abuse and the cause of it. Just remember that waste, fraud, and abuse are part of the very nature of government bureaucracy, and it always has been, and always will be, due to the very nature of government and bureaucracy.

A few more illuminations of this topic are the example of the U.S. Air Forces' $120 toilet seat for an aircraft. Many, many years ago, it was discovered that the U.S. Air Force had purchased some toilet seats for an airframe fleet at the cost of $120 per seat. As the cost of a toilet seat at the local hardware store was about $5 per seat, there were charges of waste, fraud, or abuse in this procurement. What most people didn't know and was not widely reported was the reason the toilet seat was so expensive. Space aboard an airframe is very important, and the toilet stall and toilet were smaller than what was commercially available. Additionally, it is very important that wastewater not spill over the toilet bowl during flushing, normal and excessive turbulence, and maneuvering of the airplane. Therefore, the toilet seat had to be modified and fitted to meet all these requirements. And that is why the toilet seats cost as much as they did.

Another story, related to me by a person who was involved in it, was the aircraft engine toolkit. Back in the 1950's GE Aircraft Engines Division was contracted to modify one of their engines to meet the requirements of a classified aircraft. This division had the knowledge and experience to do so, and they proceeded to do so. Near the end of the contract, they realized that the contract had made no provision for the creation of a toolkit that the ground crew could utilize to make in-the-field repairs to the engine. They suggested to the government contracting officer to modify the contract to have GE provide a toolkit for this purpose. The contracting officer went back to the government agency to do so, and the government agency ordered 100 toolkits to contain various tools that met specified requirements. When GE received the contract extension and analyzed it, they realized that all the tools but one could be purchased at a regular hardware store. The one tool was a claw hammer. The specified requirement was different from a commercial claw hammer by a few ounces, a small difference in the length of the claw, and the gap between the claws. GE went back to the government contracting office and suggested that they modify the specification so that they could purchase the claw hammer at the hardware store. The government contracting officer, being a consummate bureaucrat, refused to do so, stating that if that is what the government agency requires, that is what they are going to get. Therefore, GE was required to set up a manufacturing process to produce a claw hammer that met the specification. The claw hammer was designed to meet the specification, molds were produced, and a manufacturing line was created, and 100 claw hammers were produced, at the cost of about $300 per hammer as the overhead of the previous activities had to be accounted for in the cost. As this was a classified project, the cost of the hammers, or anything else about the project, was never revealed to the public. But you can imagine the hue and cry across the land of waste, fraud, and abuse if this had been revealed. As an aside, GE also suggested that 150 hammers be produced, as you could expect that loss or damage would occur during the lifetime of the toolkit. The government contracting officer refused this request stating that if 100 claw hammers are what the government agency required, then that is what they are going to get. Of course, several years later, GE was requested to provide additional toolkits due to loss and damage. However, as this was a classified project, at the end of the initial toolkit production GE was required to disassemble and destroy the mold and manufacturing equipment that produced the claw hammer. Therefore, GE was again required to again set up a manufacturing process to produce a claw hammer that met the specification, at the cost of $300 per hammer. The major point is that GE was trying to do the right thing and reduce the costs by having the government change the specification. It was a single government bureaucrat that threw a monkey hammer (no pun intended) into this process that caused waste, fraud, or abuse.

So, when you hear of waste, fraud, or abuse in government or government contracts, be very wary of who was responsible for the waste, fraud, or abuse, and try to obtain the facts as to why this happened. Obtaining the facts before reaching a conclusion is not restrictive to governmental issues, but also applies to any contentious issue in your private, public, employment, or any other arena of life. If you are ignorant of all the facts of what is going on behind the scenes, then you will most assuredly jump to an incorrect conclusion. Therefore, you should not jump to conclusions and instead get all the facts before you reach a conclusion. Consequently, you should also always remember that:

"There are three sides to every story: one side, the other side, and the truth. And it is always best to determine the truth before voicing an opinion."
- Mark Dawson