ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE: GOVERNMENT

BAFIELD CITY HALL

ZONING APPEALS BOARD...DON, SHERMAN, HANNA, ART, HOWARD...

Tuesday, 8:30 AM.  34 degrees F at the ferry dock, 32 on the back porch.  Wind W, gusty.  The sky is partly cloudy and clearing, the humidity 68%.  The barometer is rising, currently at 29.75".  Highs today in the low 30's and very windy, dropping tomorrow to the upper twenties and cloudy with snow showers; teens and twenties and cloudy through Christmas.

   To wrap up my retrospectives on life these past nearly eighteen years in Bayfield, I will write a few words on the advantages of its government.

   I like living in a community that is small enough and uncomplicated enough that I feel comfortable  walking into the police chief's office and asking a question or making a complaint directly to the boss.  I like being on a first name basis with the public works superintendent and the city clerk.

   I like knowing that the mayor may live across the street (he does).

   I like being asked my advice directly concerning something I may have expertise in.

   I like public meetings that are small enough that they actually accomplish something.

   I like the basic services of government being where I can see them on a daily basis.

   I like being able to keep track of how my property tax dollars are being spent.

   Small town life has its hidden agendas, its pitfalls and sources of corruption even as large communities do, but it is easier to exert the power of democracy the smaller the population and the size of the area. 

   I like small town life.