It is always painful to watch bureaucracies turn easy decisions into a long drawn out process. It happens at every level of government but is easier to see with local governments where reporters are at every meeting.

Today gave us two great example of local governments making easy things hard. The first is in Hampshire County where Court Clerk Sonja Embrey appeared at the Hampshire County commissioners to get a contract with a local shredding service. The court currently just throws all the files away and Sonja was seeking a better solution. Unable to make the decision that protects their constituents, they tabled the topic. They want to buy an industrial shredder and if they can hire people who work for free they will be able to save money.

The second, and even more painful, example is Muskogee County. They have tons of medical files that need to be shredded and they can’t decide if watching a mobile shredder take care of the problem is secure. I wonder if they will let low level employees take the files to the basement with a small shredder and simply hope for the best.