Love the Buracracy, the Buracracy Loves You

"Is anyone listening to me?" 

Today I got to leave the office and truck on down to the Capital City’s City Hall for a legislative hearing. The legislative hearing is the precursor to a formal hearing before the full city council. It a pretty relaxed affair, I get to wear jeans.

The hearing officer sits at the center of a U-shaped table, her assistant next to her, then me, my boss – head of vacant buildings, and Harold the supervisor for code enforcement. All hearings I will attend, deal with housing issues of some sort. These break-down into two main categories 1) We're trying to tear some house down; or 2) “Why is the city charging me for cleaning up my property?”

Today’s proceedings were the latter. People contesting a property tax assessment bill for city parks department clean up. Usually either yard work/brush removal, removing an inoperative vehicle / appliance, or boarding-up a vacant property. Let’s just say, not your favorite kind of neighbors.

At one point today I actually heard this sentence “They took my cow planter, you could tell just by looking at it that it was a cow.” (Said with a quivering voice) Or how about, “I think the city should not make me pay this.” (A guy wearing a tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-shirt, holding his assessment high with his left hand and being as animated as one can be while remaining seated.) The hearing officer replies to Mr. Tie-dye, “So you think the city tax-payers should foot the bill for this?” “Ya…, I’m a tax-payer too,” he smoothly retorts.

How can you argue with logic like that?