Leadership must live within its means

Submitted, letter to the editor
Published: October 15, 2008

Last year, the voters of Waynesboro were asked to vote on putting a fire station on the west end (“Fire station’s exact scope still on table,” Oct. 15). Perhaps the question was misstated. Perhaps they were saying they wanted to be sure of good fire protection. What will the costs of a new firehouse, the equipment to put in it and the personnel to man it through their retirement be? How many tens of millions of dollars? Does anybody know?

There is another possibility. The latest GPS systems know what the light is doing and where the vehicle is and where it is going. No line of sight required. The system turns the light green before the truck is there so traffic is flowing, or gone, when needed. This system is being used in other cities to great acclaim. They say we were about to build a new firehouse, but didn’t need to. The cost savings are monumental.

As a business owner, property owner and taxpayer, I am concerned about all the money Waynesboro will need in the near future to repair and improve its infrastructure. We all have to live within our means and that means deciding how to get what you need in the best, and least costly, way. Isn’t this something worth looking into?

Leadership is about solving the problems of those you lead. Let’s hope the new administration realizes that it doesn’t have to literally follow the dictate of an oversimplified question. But it needs to make sure everyone can feel that good solutions are solving real problems.

Barry Schmidt
Afton