A Spirit of Charity and Cooperation

An Editorial By Dave Freneaux

     After seven months of hard work Central has a new company, IBTS, poised to take over City Services on July 1, two short weeks from now.  I say short weeks because I know from talking to city officials and the management of IBTS that there is a great deal of work going on every day to prepare for this transition.  David Ratcliff and his team at IBTS are putting in long hours preparing the new City Services office at Sullivan and Greenwell Springs Road.  I am certain they are equally hard at work preparing computers, equipment, systems and people to spring into action on July 1, with the goal of uninterrupted and perfect service for the City of Central.

    I, and I am sure all of us, hope that everything goes off without a hitch.  In a perfect world none of the computer hard drives will crash, none of the mowing equipment will break, none of the employees will miss work for illness, and none of the phone lines, cell phones and data lines will fail.  In a perfect world the number of permits and work orders will be exactly as anticipated and there will not be a major rain storm, flooding ditches and knocking down trees.  But, let's be realistic.  Some time, and to some degree, in the first days, weeks or months of our partnership with IBTS, something will go wrong.  It will likely be things no one saw coming, and it will likely inconvenience people.  At that moment, consider taking on a Spirit of Charity and Cooperation.

    I encourage everyone to remember that we have just entered into a five year partnership with a company who has shown themselves to be capable and professional.  At each opportunity to show frustration, choose instead to look for the best outcome in a difficult situation and show a Spirit of Charity.  At each opportunity to stand your ground, insist on getting it done your way and be inflexible, choose instead to find compromise in a Spirit of Cooperation.  I am not advocating that IBTS be allowed to provide less than excellent service.  I am suggesting that there will be bumps in the road as this relationship is geared up, and that we make the best of each opportunity with a Spirit of Charity and Cooperation.  If IBTS does less than an excellent job, I strongly suspect that their management team would like your feedback so that they can avoid making the same mistakes in the future and so that they can improve their processes.

    The measure of the success of Central's relationship with IBTS will not be taken when all systems are working well, nothing has gone wrong, and everyone is happy.  The measure of the success of this relationship will come when people have a right to be dissatisfied and choose to do so with an even temper and an expectation of a good resolution.  So, as this new venture is launched in Central, saving our taxpayers several million dollars over five years, let's all approach the inevitable problems with a Spirit of Charity and Cooperation.  THAT, would be Good News for a Great City.