Sucking Up at Taxpayer Expense

Maybe Steve Beshear is getting a clue. From the Herald-Leader:

"Perception is always the problem with these kinds of things," Beshear said Thursday after the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the cabinet's approval process for the turn lights near (Transportation Secretary Joe) Prather's Elizabethtown home got started on Dec. 12, the first day Prather and Beshear were on the job.

Let’s break this down.

Was the stop light needed? - No.

The directional arrows went up last week despite an agency review that found they were not necessary.

Did it cost a lot of money? - Not really, in the Transportation Budget this is chump change.

Cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe said the turn arrows cost $5,450 and the money came out of the Elizabethtown highway district's traffic operations budget.

Did Prather want the change made? - Yes

Prather told reporters Thursday that he had been talking with Elizabethtown officials for more than a year about the turn arrows because of increased traffic on the road and had asked them to recommend the signals to the state Transportation Cabinet.

So what happened?

Simple, the guys at Transportation fast tracked a questionable expenditure to make the new boss happy. Who is really going to care about a few bucks if it makes Joe happy? Consider this sucking up at taxpayer expense; it happens all the time in Frankfort.

But the real issue isn’t just Prather’s stoplight; it’s an administration wide lack of sensitivity to what they are doing. The voters are sick and tired of corrupt politicians and anything that even smells slightly will raise their anger and media will be happy to capitalize on the slightest screw up.

Prather new about the change and didn’t stop it. Public servants need to understand they are in the public eye.

I don’t believe Joe Prather is corrupt, unlike his predecessor, but he has been out of the game for a while. I hope this hit will jar him back in to shape.

Prather said the ordeal has taught him that he must be mindful of the weight his recommendations carry.

"I have learned from this and I will be more careful as I move ahead," he said.

If he really wants to show some integrity, Prather should pull $5,450 out of his six figure salary from the Transportation Cabinet and put it in the Elizabethtown highway district's traffic operations budget. Even at more than $5,000 it would be a cheap education.