My Turn: City staffers really know their stuff

The first day I worked for the city of Greenfield as the chief of staff, I had the privilege of sitting in on the Licensing Board. I cannot begin to describe how much this board made me appreciate our wonderful city, but municipal government in general. The women and men of this board were thoughtful, caring, and gregarious during this meeting.

We got to hear from an optimistic young entrepreneur who was starting a skateboard building business and a young woman who was working on building up her business with some controversial issues at hand. The board cheered the new entrepreneurs while working with the controversial topics to make the business work moving forward. It was frankly right out of an episode of “Parks and Recreation,” where it would have been tagged #wholesome #MunicipalGovernment.



This first day is the same first day I would wish on anybody who ever took a job in municipal government, but it would be incomplete without talking about the incredible education that the rest of the municipal employees have given me over the past two months. In my first days, the mayor met with me and told me about all the department heads and the fabulous work they were doing. Each department has pages of notes about the projects they are involved with and the creative solutions that continue to make Greenfield better every day.

Seeing the faith the mayor had in the department heads and the employees of the city gave me the foundation I needed to start out knowing I could trust each of these people to continue to be the heart of what makes the city function. I quickly understood that I didn’t need to have a deep understanding of what assessing is, or how to make sure our drinking water is clean, or how to inspect buildings to make sure they are safe because every department in the city have experts who run those departments and keep the city moving in the best way possible. I am able to do my job because the experts in these departments know their departments inside and out.

Municipal government employees are honestly heroes, and I’m not being hyperbolic. The city of Greenfield has been lucky to have employees who are invested in this city, working in the government itself, because they want the city to continue to grow and improve. From the police to the DPW to fire and schools, not forgetting the health inspection, the library, and so many more departments that are critical to the city, these men and women work tirelessly for the benefit of all of us.

I am not sure I’ve ever been so collectively impressed with a group of people nor have I learned as much as I have in such a short amount of time. Thank you to the municipal employees of Greenfield for the work you do and the investment you are making in the lives of the people in Greenfield. Article continues after.

.. Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Erin Anhalt is chief of staff for the city of Greenfield.

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