Pretend it's your money

It's always easier to spend somebody else's money.

That's true in both the private and the public world. Conscientious managers must constantly ask themselves, "If I were paying for this out of my own pocket, would I go ahead with the purchase?"

Public employees are held to a higher standard. They aren't just spending somebody else's money; they're spending money that the "investors" have no choice in remitting. Elected officials are held accountable, certainly, but in most cases they aren't evaluated more than once every two or four years - usually by a small percentage of potential voters.

So when you see public officials handing over huge chunks of your hard-earned money for questionable purchases, it's harder to swallow than if Mr. Toystore Owner buys an untested product line that fails. If Mr. Toystore Owner loses, that's his tough luck. If the public official loses, you feel that pain - perhaps even more than does the public official.

We're pounding this drum of accountability in light of recent stories about local governments signing off on substantial sums that could have been much lower if they'd been handled more diligently earlier. In fact, some of the bombs would never have exploded had they been defused when the threat was initially perceived. The lawsuit involving an attorney in the county prosecutor's office is just one such case.

We agree with Commissioner Dan Green that public employers should adopt and follow rigorous, fair employment policies and procedures with the idea that they're putting their own money on the line. In some instances the county's elected leaders and managers are being caught cleaning up messes of others' making, and they have little choice but to mitigate the aftershocks of personnel earthquakes. In fairness, we also think the county has made strides recently in improving its human resources department. But until elected officials at all levels become expert in employment matters and invested like it's their own money at stake, big payoffs and public black eyes will persist.

There isn't much solace in knowing insurance covers many of these cases, either. The insurance is paid for by taxpayers, and in the county's case, the premium alone is more than $600,000 a year and rising.

Employment lawsuits might be an unsavory aspect of conducting the public's business, but that doesn't mean taxpayers have to like them. Taxpayers should abhor them - and hold the responsible parties accountable.