Government does work.
April 21, 2010
Government does work. by Frederick County Commissioner President Jan Gardner
Every day we get in our cars and we drive to work, to school, to visit friends or to run errands. We take for granted that we have the ability to readily travel wherever we want! We are able to get from one place to another using a road network provided by government. Depending upon where you live and where you are going, you are likely to drive on some combination of municipal, county, state, or federal roads. We get where we want and need to go because we have a functional network of well maintained roads and bridges. While our transportation network is not perfect, we do have the ability to travel just about anywhere at any time because of our road and highway system.
Each and every day, over 40,000 children in Frederick County attend our public schools. Most are picked up near their homes by a school bus and are delivered back home later in the day. Our children are provided the opportunity to learn and have access to a wide variety of educational choices including advanced placement classes, foreign languages, calculus and physics, agriculture education and much more. We are fortunate in Frederick County to have excellent public schools. Our children have the opportunity to excel and are well prepared to attend some of the best colleges in the country.
If you have a medical emergency, a fire, or another type of emergency, you can call 911 to access help. A well prepared 911 call taker will answer the phone and will dispatch law enforcement or fire and emergency rescue staff who will respond quickly to provide needed assistance. A few weeks ago, one of my friends called 911 at two o’clock in the morning because her husband was experiencing chest pain and thought he was having a heart attack. The 911 operator calmly provided instructions. The ambulance arrived, first responders provided care and quick transport to the hospital, and hospital staff was ready and waiting in the emergency room. This timely and professional response resulted in a positive outcome and a good prognosis for my friend’s husband. This government service works well for many people in need every single day.
Most of us feel safe in our homes and in our community and go about our daily activities with little thought about our personal safety. Crime in Frederick County has decreased 13% over the past year due to the efforts of our Sheriff and all the members of the Sheriff’s Office. These statistics reflect positively on the work of our men and women in law enforcement. We are fortunate to live in a safe place.
Calls for service to 911 have increased steadily over time. In 2009, total calls handled both inbound and outbound were 345,541 calls with 199,556 dispatches to all agencies including law enforcement, fire and EMS dispatch, and animal control. This compares to 88,823 dispatches to all agencies in 2000. The calls for service have increased as the population of the county has increased. County public safety agencies do an outstanding job of providing responses to all of these calls for service. Public safety agencies provide an essential government service that works.
Many residents in Frederick County are connected to public water and sewer provided by the county or one of the municipal governments. For those of us connected to public water and sewer, we do not worry about whether the water is safe to drink and we take for granted that we can cook, do laundry, take a shower, and flush our toilets every day for a relatively inexpensive cost. Public water and sewer is one of the few utilities that work continuously even when there are electricity outages. Public water and sewer systems protect public health and extend longevity. Water and sewer is a government service that works.
These are just a few examples of government services that work well. In our current economic climate, there has been a lot of public debate about what services government provides, the ability of government to provide these services, and whether these services are valued by the community.
The next time you visit the library, see an ambulance or fire truck drive by with its sirens on, or pass a local school, take a moment to be thankful that we live and call Frederick County home.
Government does work!
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