Public Service
Three years ago after I was elected, I stopped by the City
Clerk’s office to fill out some paperwork and set up my email account.
I sat down at Diane Burkemper’s computer, and I noted that
most the letters on the keyboard had been completely worn off.
Diane said that they had been making due with what they had for so long,
they were just used to touch-typing all the time.
Not long after, when Director Ron Colangelo took me on a tour
of the Public Works facility he showed me some of the trucks that have been in
service for so long that the baseboards were rusting out.
In one of my discussions with Ray Roberts, who took over as
Public Works Director upon Ron’s retirement, he showed me the GIS (Geographic
Information System) that is used to map the city’s infrastructure like water
mains, sanitary lines, and storm sewers. The system is also used to document
when repairs are made, but the software is so old it cannot be updated and
transferring the data to a new system would be a huge and expensive
undertaking.
Two years ago, on New Years Day I spent several hours with
the Ray and the Water Department crew at the scene of a collapsed manhole that
had created sewer backups blocks away.
The crew had brought over five or six of the portable emergency pumps to
the site, just in case, because some of them were not reliable, or wouldn’t
start at all.
A year to the day later, the crew was working in my alley
trying to find the cause of a backup in a neighbor’s basement. They showed me the robot camera system used
to inspect pipelines. The system has been in service since 1997, and the
software can no longer be updated.
The Finance Department uses Accounting and Payroll software
that is over fifteen years old, and needs to be upgraded.
More than once, I have stopped by City Hall in the evening
on my way home from the train and found Barbara Fitz-Henley still working in
the Finance Office after everyone else has left for the day. I have found Sheryl
Spooner the City Clerk staying late prepping for a Council Meeting, and David
Knabel, the City Administrator regularly comes in to work on the weekends.
I have spoken with Firefighters and Police officers working
overtime to cover shifts because of under-staffing, and supervisors doing extra administrative
work because of years of staff cutbacks.
I have ridden with ESDA (Emergency Services and Disaster
Agency) volunteers patrolling the neighborhoods during Halloween Trick or Treat
hours, just making sure everyone is safe.
I have seen them respond at all hours of the day or night, often in the
worst weather to help secure an accident scene or direct traffic. Often, they
are using hand-me down vehicles and equipment, or even buying their own.
I wanted to share these few examples out of many to
illustrate what I have found in my three years as Commissioner; that overall,
our city employees are conscientious and dedicated public servants.
They regularly find ways to innovate and economize, make due
with old and outdated equipment, and stretch every tax dollar as far as
possible in order to provide the services we demand.
This is especially evident during this current crisis that
even with the restrictions needed for both their protection and the public’s,
they are still doing their jobs.
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If you have questions or comments about the City of Zion, you can email me at christopherf@zion.il.us
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