Why 'The Good' Matters

From the beginning, the role of the commissioner's court has been the functional well-being of the people. While dealing with the day to day issues of roads and bridges, infrastructure, public welfare services, budget, policy and taxation may seem tedious, the failure of any one of these greatly impacts lives of the county residents. We all know, because we have all experienced it, that when our world is out of sorts, our physical, mental, and spiritual lives can follow suit.

There are a couple of ways we can do tend to the functional wellbeing of the people, each has strengths and weaknesses. Each offers a different path to a common goal, but in the end we all want the same things.

The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number

Our community has certainly changed over the past several decades. From smaller populations with more person to person connections, common experiences and similar values to larger populations that are more anonymous with diverse experiences and different values, communities in the US have changed in response to the needs of an economy focused on growth and profit. Tight-knit communities pose challenges for national and multinational firms who need mobile employees who have greater connections outside the community in which they live. The success of these operations depends on a certain flexibility and capacity of employees to work with different people in order to meet the goals of the organization and maximize profits for shareholders.

In our local, day to day lives, this means we have to work to find common ground in a common good. The source of our differences tend to be the product of our adaptations to the world we live in. Our world requires us to be more connected up the chain of command than connected with our neighbors. So, when we look at the common resources available - tax dollars, state and federal monies - the challenge is how do we utilize these resources to positively effect the functional well-being of the county residents.

One of the main challenges in this context is understanding that the common resources are for the common needs of the county, not a personal resource to meet a personal need or desire. We will personally benefit from the use of these resources, certainly, but only as a member of a community whose common needs are the first priority of the commissioners. That makes our conversations essential to forming the plans of action to address the issues that impact all the people or greatly impact a portion of the people.

To execute their statutory responsibilities, commissioners not only have to look at the broad needs of the county, but also the particular needs of each precinct. For example, Parker County is not only geologically diverse, but demographically diverse with needs that change based on the type of land and the number of people on it. The engineering that builds the roads in Precinct 2 is not the same as that which builds the roads in Precinct 4, because as odd as it may seem, the dirt on one side of the county isn't the same as the dirt on the other side. And the type of dirt matters when you build a road or a house. But, whether Precinct 2 or Precinct 4, it is all Parker County.

The Greatest Good through Diffusion

A second model of governance to address the needs of the county focuses on the needs of key elements of the county that have the greatest impact on the remaining elements of the county. It is a structure more like a pyramid than a broad integration of needs. The assumption is that, if the needs of the top of the pyramid are addressed, the resources to meet the needs of the remainder of the people will flow down.

For example, Parker County has a traffic problem, especially in the growth corridor that runs through the eastern part of the county and through Weatherford proper. While the traffic greatly inconveniences the citizens, it poses a significant risk to the profitability of business in the area, and to any new initiative that might look to Parker County as a possible site for operations. The logic goes that without these businesses' successes, we could lose tax revenue, possibly jobs through downsizing or departure, or the loss of housing resources as developers look elsewhere to build.

So, the driver for the solutions to our traffic problems are the needs of these groups of businesses whose success depends on the smooth flow of people and goods to and from their location. County resources are focused on the congestion points that surround these areas to reduce the traffic strain, and in the process, the roads are developed and repaired from those central areas benefiting the peripheral areas of the County. It is an outflow model that addresses the needs of a few key players with benefits that diffuse into the rest of the County.

The Greatest Good in Real Life

In reality, county governments use a fusion of both methods to accomplish their responsibilities to their citizens. But in both cases, their shortcoming is that they are always reactive. Whether responding to the needs of the people or to the needs of the key economic drivers, it is always a response. Many times, responding is all we can do because crystal balls are not really budgetary items. To turn this around, we have to be better at planning which requires that we have not only a sense of where we are as a community, but where we are going. And ultimately, where we want to go.

'Chance favors the prepared mind,' as Louis Pasteur said, more or less. The better we understand our community and our location, the more we can know about the resources available to accomplish our goals as a community. From that understanding, we can choose a model to meet the needs of the community for the greatest good that best fits the situation.

Just as one size doesn't fit all, one idea doesn't fit all situations. We have to think differently about ourselves, our community, and our potential. The best use of our resources is for the greatest good - the common good - so that we all have the opportunity to thrive, now and in the future.

I know this was long. And if you made it this far, thank you. It is in my nature to think deeply about issues that face us and to explore as many options as possible. But I also know that, when we have to respond to critical situations, we don't always have time to mull around ideas and debate. Chance does favor the prepared mind, so planning and preparation reduces response time and we can take responsible action to meet the needs of the people in everyday situations and in every critical situation.