The Ragged Edge Starting Points Your Suggestions On How Government Can Be In Touch With Citizens Revolve Around Attitude And Communication

Jane Kirby is a government employee with a tough job. She garnishes people’s wages and does home foreclosures.

As a civil deputy in The Boundary County Sheriff’s Department, Kirby meets men and women every day who are in crisis. But in her 11 years of civil service in Bonners Ferry, Kirby has not once been the target of anyone’s anger. Not once. Is this a miracle? Not at all, Kirby says. It’s simply a matter of attitude.

“I treat them like people who have a problem and need our help. I’m frank and honest with them. I say, ‘I’m really sorry this happened to you, but let’s get through this the best we can.’

“It’s easy to be crabby in my job; it’s difficult to be happy. But I figure it’s only eight hours a day, five days a week. I can give them a good attitude.”

Kirby attended a Spokesman-Review sponsored community dialogue in Bonners Ferry in September as part of The Ragged Edge reporting project. Part three of that project appears in today’s newspaper and the series concludes Monday. Many of the dialogue participants also sponsored Pizza Papers discussions with other community members.

Today, we’re including some common sense ideas that surfaced during the dialogues and discussions. Ideas for bettering the relationship between government and its citizens. And ideas for strengthening communities.

Government workers who interact with the public should have good people skills.

It’s easy to hate the government, but difficult to hate a friendly person who treats you with respect. Several dialogue participants suggested that the workers selected for “public” government positions - such as post office window clerks and driver’s license renewal officials - be selected on the basis of how well they get along with others. That means picking employees who aren’t moody or prone to taking their stress and frustrations out on others. And selecting extroverts who genuinely enjoy people.

Why is this important? People often form their opinions about government based on the bureaucrats they meet. A nasty encounter with one worker can lead a person to paint all government as nasty and rude. Likewise, a pleasant encounter can generate a positive impression of government.

People expect the same courtesy from government as they do of any service that they pay for. And they sometimes feel they are paying a lot in taxes and receiving rude service in return.

Staying upbeat on the job isn’t easy for government workers. Some members of the public are angry, demanding, ignorant and crabby. Kirby, for instance, says she goes home each night exhausted. But her effort pays off.

Her advice to other government workers? “Be civil servants who are known as civil.”

One of the Pizza Papers discussion groups in Colville listed this as something that would improve their community: “More sheriff’s deputies that wave to people!”

When government workers come into a community, they should treat community members with respect.

Though some individual federal agents were respectful during the Ruby Ridge siege, many were not. They patronized locals and acted arrogant. They also gave the impression that community members had little to offer in terms of information or expertise.

Ron Smith, who was a Boundary County commissioner at the time, said that if agents had listened to locals “things might have have turned out differently.”

Mike Weland, a Bonners Ferry journalist, also offered this advice: “Pay your bills on time.” Some Bonners Ferry eating and lodging establishments waited months for the federal government to pay its sizable bills from the Ruby Ridge siege. Federal agents insisted on reimbursing volunteer firefighters for their time, but the firefighters waited TWO years for their money. Those kinds of delays hurt the economy of any small community.

And one more suggestion: After federal officials leave a community, they should write thank you notes to the locals who helped them.

Community members should take the time to sit down and listen to one another.

At the Colville dialogue, community members with VERY different ideas sat side-by-side and listened, with great respect, to one another. Afterward, two of the participants commented that they never would have talked to each other were it not for the dialogue.

In the Pizza Papers discussions, community members in Bonners Ferry and Colville took time to tackle questions that usually don’t get discussed in the course of a normal day. “What do you value most about your community?” “What would you like to see happen in your community in the next five years?”

To stay emotionally healthy, individuals need time to meditate, pray and ponder the big questions in life. Communities need the same.

One Pizza Papers group in Colville came up with this solution for community unity: “Have regular weekly, monthly discussion groups and functions in our neighborhoods and larger community…(Have) community salons and town hall meetings, with music, potlucks and other entertainment.”

These discussions do not have to cost much nor do they require much organization. It simply takes one person to say, “Come over for coffee, cookies and conversation.”

Lunell Haught, a Spokane County worker involved in many community activities, once said: “All the easy problems in our society have been solved.”

So we are left with complex problems that take time, energy and honest discussion to tackle. A starting point is to listen to one another without judgment. Then remember common courtesy and respect as community members muddle their way through these complex problems.

These seemingly simple suggestions won’t solve the problem of government dissatisfaction and distrust. But they are a beginning. Let the dialogues continue.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 staff illustrations by A. Heitner

MEMO: We’d like to hear your thoughts and your reactions to the Ragged Edge project. You can call Cityline in Spokane at 458-8800 or in North Idaho at 765-8811. Punch in category 9882. Or you can send e-mail to Richardw@spokesman.com or write: Ragged Edge Reaction, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

This sidebar appeared with the story: WE HEARD YOUR CONCERNS As part of the Ragged Edge reporting project, The Spokesman-Review sponsored two community dialogues - one in Colville and the other in Bonners Ferry. About 35 people participated. We also sponsored “Pizza Papers” discussions in both communities. About 100 people gathered in small groups and ate pizza they bought with $15 certificates provided by the newspaper. They discussed government and community life.