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— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
One in the bucket, two standing and one kneeling
A Quincy Quarry Citizen Photojournalist image
Four!
That and two City of Quincy rides …
This week a Quincy Quarry News Citizen Photojournalist took arguably the money shot of the year for at least regional Pulitzer Prize consideration.
The photo?
Four city workers changing the LED light elements in questionably effective flashing yellow crosswalk traffic lights.
Amazingly, even more city employees were not standing around as the City of Quincy is not required to retain a police detail on projects on Quincy’s mean as well as sorry streets.
Even so, tasking four to changing light bulbs does do a good job of making work for koched-up staffing levels.
Ineffectual pedestrian crossing light signals
image via Goggle Maps
Further troubling, the city employee in the bucket on the cherry picker remained in the bucket while the truck banged a U on busy Washington Street even though the lights were changed via the use of a ladder.
Apparently, lessons learned from a fatality of a city worker while working in cherry picket bucket have gone unlearned.
That and so what also for the fact that this tragic event gave rise to donations which funded a Department of Public Works memorial fund that was originally designated for safety training for city workers but was later tapped for other things.
The answer, my friends, lies somewhere between a Kafkaesque nightmare and a Monty Python sketch.
First, you’ll need a permit, naturally. But don’t worry, the Department of Red Tape will handle that for you—just give them 6-8 weeks and a pint of your blood. Once the paperwork is done, expect a team of no less than five city employees: one to supervise, two to hold the ladder, one to actually change the bulb, and another to document the process for future bureaucratic reference.
But wait, there’s more! A safety inspector will need to sign off on the ladder’s placement, and a public relations officer will be on hand to ensure the community knows the city is hard at work. And let’s not forget the post-change inspection, which requires yet another team to verify that the light bulb is indeed functioning properly.
So, to answer your question: it takes a village—or, more accurately, a small army of city employees—to change a light bulb in Quincy. At least we can all sleep soundly knowing that every step of the process is being handled with the utmost care and inefficiency.
What is more concerning is the number of cops on their cellphones and “Road Closed” signs in Quincy. In other cities the cops on details direct traffic. Here in Quincy the Police Chief just closes the roads with no detour signs and lets the cops sit on their cellphones. Ask yourself next time you drive by a police detail why they are there? “Who are they all talking to on the cellphones?” Meanwhile, the citizens are funding the Taj Mahal on Sea Street aka the new police station. No need of a police station that big for a city of 100,000 people. Cops belong out on the street. Investigators need space? Delegate them with offices in our schools. It will make our schools safer having cops in and out. What a complete waste of taxpayer money. But then again, look at what we will soon be paying a mayor with no education beyond a high school diploma! Taxpayers are just being fleeced.