If it ain't broke, don't fix it

There’s an old saying that goes: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ It came to mind after I read today’s item about County Council’s railing and what they plan to do with it. Seems the old one – which has been in place for 30 years – is creating some access issues.

From all accounts, there aren’t enough openings to suit the present council and they’ve instructed staff to prepare a report detailing three options: leave it as it is; remove the top rail and install a decorative rope; or remove the rail completely.

The rail is in place to provide separation between the councillors and the gallery. That’s probably a good thing since some council decisions are unpopular and a little distance might make the difference between reasoned argument and an all-out brawl.

The rub, councillors say, is there are only three entrances to the horseshoe and if someone’s late they have to either duck under the rail or disrupt the session by accessing one of the entrances and move furtively to their chair.

So the three options are off to staff for consideration and recommendation. At this point, I stopped and asked: is this what we pay for?

And when councillor Chris Parker noted that this particular topic required more discussion than the accountability report, I asked again: what’s going on here?

County councillors are tasked with managing the operations of Kings County at a very fundamental level. We buy what they sell during an election campaign, put them in the chair around the council horseshoe and entrust them to take reasonable care of our tax dollars. In fact, let’s go one step further and suggest we commend to them our good faith in the hope they’ll be responsible and accountable.

So why is something as ridiculous as this taking up valuable time in lieu of other, more pressing matters?

If a councillor is late for a session, he or she shouldn’t be able to slip in unnoticed because that’s our tax money at work, kids. And if council is in session, the councillor in question should beg the pardon of all concerned, step up and take a chair. That should take no time at all unless councillors are late so frequently that total chaos would reign if such protocol were to be observed.

And the notion of a decorative rope? Are you kidding? That’s an open invitation to mayhem.

I could imagine a spectator going ballistic after a contentious decision, grabbing the rope and wrapping it around somebody’s neck. Or, worse, trying to toss the councillor over the top rope a la WWE.

I don’t have a problem with removing the railing, but for how much? Remember, it’s your tax dollars at work, folks, so it’s a question well worth asking. I would think the floor would need some rehab after the job’s done, there’s a disposal element and such work would probably require, say, three or four guys at minimum 20 bucks an hour…. Oh, yeah. Can you say cha-ching?

Councillor Eric Smith hit the nail on the head when he said this venture would be a waste of money. Fool that I am, I have to agree. Haggling over what to do with a railing around the council horseshoe? Get real, people.

There are legitimate issues in Kings County and not enough time to address them. Don’t diminish their importance with frivolous and self-interested proposals that fail to serve your constituents and fritter away valuable opportunities for decisions that will really make a difference.