Disconnect: "to sever the connection of or between" (verb)
"a lack of or a break in connection, consistency, or agreement" (noun)
This word came to mind while reading the Sentinal story about the Town of Verona's disagreement with New York State over street lights. The State plans to install 22 lights to improve the intersection of Rts 365 and 31 -- but expects Verona to pay to light them.
So we have a disconnect between people making a decision (State), and the ones expected to pay for it (Verona). The result: Unhappy People because they are made to pay for something they don't believe they need.
Several people commented that the intersection already was well lit.
"What if we don’t sign it?" asked Highway Superintendent James Weisbrod.
Waller responded that it is his sense that the state is going to insist on the proposed arrangement no matter what.
How about more "disconnects?" ...
- NY setting Medicaid benefits, but the Counties paying for them.
- Local school districts going on building binges (e.g., Utica for $300 million, Syracuse maybe a billion), but NY State paying 90+% of the cost.
- NYRI powerline sending 'cheap' power to Downstate but negatively impacting Upstate.
- "Growth" policies in one municipality imposing costs (direct, environmental, social, or economic) on people in neighboring municipalities.
- Legislators who rubber stamp what their party bosses tell them, rather than determining what is best for their constituents.
In the horse-and-buggy days, municipal boundaries represented the limit of people with common interests. But when you can now travel by car through 5 jurisdictions in 5 minutes, that is no longer true. Some of the assumptions when our government was organized are no longer true.
Maybe it's time to look at the assumptions, and change things to reflect reality. Maybe it's time to "reconnect" -- to reorganize and realign how we govern ourselves -- so that the people who make our decisions are representative of all stakeholders -- and exclude the disinterested.