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my--" Bcugog Citizen -- Tuesday, A 30, 1994 -- 9 a Federal bureaucracy 'top heavy' says MP by Alex Shepherd. MP Durham The federal civil service is paid, on average, a salary 20 per cent higher - regardless of the job - than people in the private sector doing the same job. What is it civil servants do at work that is any different than you or me working in the private sector? From my vantage point Canada's federal bureaucracy is top heavy with aged management and outmoded ways of doing things.While industry has been forced to seek new and innovative ways of looking after customers, the bureaucrats just plod along. What's worse is that this stifles innovative managerial ideas at the lower level of the civil service.. The younger talent gets fed up and leaves for the private sector. And of course the younger civil « servants who are going to end up as the future dead wood, hide underneath their desks shuffling the paper work (and your problems)on to the next desk, satisfied they have done a good days work and deserve their accumulated sick days, their 20 per cent higher pay - cheques, their flex hours, their Fridays off in the summertime and their professional development time while you, who pays for all of this, still doesn't have your problem dealt with. Do I sound too harsh...perhaps. There arethany fine people in the civil service 1 recognize this. I deal with them every day. True civil servants, not professional obstructionists. But the civil service has become too large and resistant to change and is 5 VIEWPOINT "by John B. McClelland A WORD OF ADVICE A lot of Scugog Township young people are heading off to college or university this week. ' I'm sure their mothers and fathers have been harping at them all summer about the do's and don'ts of being away from home for the first time and to make sure they keep their noses to the grindstone. The last thing in the world they want to hear at this exciting and special time in their lives is a few words from a grumpy newspaper columnist. But I'm going to give them some free advice, anyway. Take it from me, 1 speak from experience. When I went away from home to attend my first semester at college, it was one big party from September on. In fact, it was party, party, party. Hit the books? Forget it. This is first term. I've got all year to hit the books. When I finally gave my head a shake and woke up early in November, I was almost over my head in term papers, required reading, and the Christmas exams were looming on the horizon. Panic, total panic started to set in, not just for myself but for all the party animals I got to know in September and October. In fact, there was so much panic that several dropped out--unable to get caught up. I would probably have dropped out, too, were it not for a late night phone to my Mom who convinced me to "hang in there" even if I flunked every course at Christmas and the college turfed me out on my ear. From the first week in November until the start of Christmas holidays, this party animal was nowhere to be found except in the library getting caught up. It wasn't easy. It was a tough lesson. So, you first year students on your way to the halls of higher learning, by all means, party it up--for the first week--and then get down to business. Take it from an expert--you'll find it a lot easier in November if you hit the books in mid-September. And one more thing: good luck to all of you. SUZY AT THE FAIR: If you missed the media milking contest at the Blackstock Fair last Saturday, you missed the debut of our very own "Suzy Citizen". Dressed in her bright yellow t-shirt, blue shorts, red high heel spikes and a brand new hair-do, Suzy added a certain amount of spice to the milking contest. In fact, for the first time in memory MC Harvey Graham was (almost) at a loss for words when Suzy made her way onto to the track in front of the grandstand. Harvey has always enjoyed watching the media types trying to coax milk from a cow. Not only did Suzy leave him near speechless, she was no slouch when it came to milking, either. In fact, our Suzy helped the ladies team to a clear victory over the guys. It was all in good fun, of course. And yes, just in case you are wondering, Suzy really does work here at the Citizen. You don't think we'd brihg in a ringer, do you? But Suzy warned me if I ever reveal her real identity, she's quitting on the spot and then she'll bop me right on the nose. Thanks, Suzy, for a great. effort. Talk about above and beyond the call of duty. Of course, you have to go back to the Blackstock Fair next year to defend your title. Speaking of the Fair, don't forget that Port Perry is staging its three- day Fair coming up this weekend at the Fairgrounds. It's always worth a visit. (see the ad in this week's Citizen) IN CLOSING....Best of luck to the four members of the Port Perry Arm Wrestling Club who leave for Sweden next week to compete in the world championships. Mike Gould, Garth Carlson, John Roberts and Pat Mastrangelo will be wearing Port Perry on the jerseys in this competition. These four have been with the club for years. Fans may recall their participation in the Festival Days tournament each summer. Even though this is a recognized international event, these guys get no government assistance to compete for their country. They figure the trip is going to cost in excess of $12,000. If there is anyone in the Port Perry area who can do some fund-raising or come up with sponsorship funds, give John Roberts a call a#/721-2291. And yes, all four of these guys have more than a good shot at bringing home a medal against the best arm wrestlers in the world. failing to be responsive to the needs of the people it is there to serve. Government should introduce practices which would remunerate civil servants based on ability, achievement, results and most of all public satisfaction. This doesn't mean government departments should have to make money. They're not there to do that. But public satisfaction, ability, achievement, results these are goals no business would reject. Yet public servants seem to have long deemed these goals irrelevant. In every aspect our government system is governed by sets of rules and regulations. And from my vantage point these rules and regulations become the objectives for civil servants. Consequently it is irrelevant how inconvenienced a taxpayer is, in say trying to get his UI cheque; as long as several clerks at the UI office have been unable to deduce that the paper work was not filled out properly. This is a costly system. If a department gets bogged down trying to interpret rules to the public, then the civil services' answer is to hire more people to interpret them or get a machine and a 1-800 number that doesn't answer the questions when you finally get through. Wouldn't a system based on public satisfaction be a lot cheaper. Curtailing civil service costs using acroes the board freezes in salary has served to further stifle innovation within the bureaucracy. The civil service itself decided to curtail incremental increases and cost of living increases. Since senior managers would have only modest cost of living increases, the major brunt is carried by junior members who have recently chosen this career path. This creates less incentive for them tq stay with government. Programs like Total Quality Control "and Civil Service 2000 where attempts by the civil service to put ability, achievement, results and public satisfaction into the system. Point of fact they have been unacceptably slow to do this. It is time to demand our civil service be more responsive to your needs. And demand they be remunerated based on' ability and not tenure. The way the civil service operates now is unacceptable. Not until the civil service regards you as a customer - which you are - will Canadians get what they are paying for. Remember they are there for you not for themselves. i I will be working during this term of Parliament to instill some of these ideas in the minds of MPs and cabinet ministers. - Jay Thibert and Bill Brock look over the landscaping they have done around the super mailbox In thelr Port Perry neighbourhood. See story below. Sprucing up around the super mailbox Those super mail boxes that dot the street corners may be functional, but the appearance leaves a bit to be desired. Two Port Perry neighbours, both avid gardeners, have .enhanced the appearance of the super box on their block just by planting some flowers and keeping the grass cut. ; Without a whote lot of effort and virtually no expense Bill Brock and Jay Thibert have spruced up the super box at Alma and Gibson Drive and they suggest that others take on similar projects in their own neighbourhoods. "We just starting putting in a few plants and shrubs and it went from there," said Mr. Brock. The grass is neatly trimmed and the ground around the box is a-blaze with colour from numerous different of plants and shrubs including California poppies, sunflowers, lilies, lilacs. And they are considering a few spring bulbs for next year. ) Mr. Thibert said there is very little work involved in keeping the grounds around the mail box looking attractive. But if anybody decides to take on this project in their own neighbourhoods, the key is to start now to dig up the soil and have it ready for spring planting. Not only do the bright coloured shrubs and flowers please the eye of people when the get their mail, if enough neighbourhoods in the Port Perry/Prince Albert area did the same thing, the community might get a positive reputation for having the smartest looking super boxes anywhere.