Driving Ahead .. Taking The Lead in Bad Management

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/16/05BY BOB CULLINANESTAFF WRITER
A new inventory of Monmouth County vehicles reveals the county has 1,049 cars, trucks and buses, which makes it the largest county vehicle fleet in the state.It is an increase of 188 vehicles over the inventory the county reported five months ago.... (full article here:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051016/NEWS/510160427

There have been times I am discounted or shunted aside as just a grouchy old curmudgeon. Well, I am older than some (60 this year, the start of middle age, yes?) and I probably am a curmudgeon, but that doesn't make my ideas any less valuable.

There are about 3200 counties in the United States (Parishes in Louisiana and Boroughs in Alaska) (and 10 or so equivalent subdivisions in each Canadian Province) and a great many of them are operating no better than Monmouth County, New Jersey. Imagine personally not knowing where 118 vehicles are .. not being able to count your personal or business assets within a hundred or so when asked for an official inventory? If it were your personal bank funds you'd probably be filing bankruptcy, or your business would be in tax court.

On average the managers of these entities earn on average over $68,000 a year to take care of your tax dollar.

It's time now that you, as an individual tax payer to take a stand and demand better. It's no secret that I sell GPS services to counties, other political sub-divisions and individual businesses. This is not, however, a sales pitch for my services.

If your county (city, state, etc.) doesn't know within a hundred or so vehicles how many they spent your money on, if they are furnishing take home vehicles to hundreds of government employees, then they don't need GPS ... at least not at first ... they need a good swift kick in the you-know-where to get them earning their $68K per year.

It's up to you, as individual citizens .. no one curmudgeon can handle 3000 plus counties. (If you want to know my reputation with the manager of my home county fleet ... just call him ... he doesn't want to manage or be manged... what about yours?