Who’s Regulating the Regulators?

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of the APWA Reporter.

When I was in elementary school, the highlight of my week was waking up on Saturday morning and going to work with my Dad. Sometimes I was lucky enough to dig with the backhoe in a stockpile before we went home.

As a child, I often heard my father say, “I can’t believe we are doing this, but that’s what they want us to do.” He believed engineers could draw beautiful designs on paper but often did not understand how construction worked in real life.

Years later, I still doubt that I will ever convince him that a perfect engineer exists, but I never stop trying.

The Reality of Regulation in Public Works

Fast-forward a few years and it’s Déjà vu. It seems that when a group of Public Works Professionals get together, inevitably you will hear a story that starts with, “I can’t believe we are doing this, but…” I have a few of those stories myself. If you dissect each story, you will find one common element: Regulation.

I work in the private sector as a Public Works Professional. I work for a great company, if something doesn’t make sense; you don’t do it. As a matter of fact, if I repeatedly do something that does not make sense, I will be looking for a new job. I think everyone, publicly or privately employed, can relate to that concept. Why is it then, when we do things that do not make sense, it usually involves compliance with a regulation not in our control? I often ask myself, who’s regulating the regulators?

As Public Works Professionals, we are trained problem solvers; I believe it is in our DNA. When Officials ask us to cut our budgets and do more with less, we do. When the public has a concern with an intersection, we optimize it. When Mother Nature hits us with a disaster, we clean it up and restore basic services. When asked to design or manage a project for less, we cut costs and provide more services. We think in black and white, requirements/regulations are not for interpretation but for compliance. Somehow we comply without complaint, because non-compliance is not an option. Is this mentality hurting our Industry?

Communication With Elected Officials

Throughout my life I have sat through various meetings with elected officials. Our elected officials want nothing more than to get it right. As a matter of fact, some are terrified of getting it wrong. I once had a local official tell me, “We got it wrong last time. We will not be doing that again. If we do, we won’t be re-elected.” Needless to say, the outcome changed the second time. I have sat down in Washington D.C. with members of both major political parties and have noticed something very important: when it comes to protecting life and property there are no political parties, we are all on the same team.

Effective Advocacy Strategies

The vast majority of our elected officials are not Public Works Professionals; they openly admit they do not know the difference between TSS and MGD; we should not expect them to. We must become the go-to source for help when it is time to create, delete, or modify regulations. We must arm our elected officials with facts. These facts should include our stories of success and failure. Elected officials love stories that start with, “I can’t believe we are doing this, but…” they enjoy of pointing out where regulations do not make sense, have been wrongfully applied, cost the taxpayer more money, impeded job creation, or slowed progress. That is what they promised to change and what will get them re-elected. The question is how do we become that source? Should we all walk into our elected officials office and start screaming about new regulation X, which is going to cost Y, which requires Z dollars we do not have? We could, but it probably will not work. The following tactics have worked for me:

Become an APWA Advocate

Sign up and become an APWA Advocate through the Legislative Action Center. APWA has an excellent staff in Washington D.C. tracking regulations pertinent to Public Works Professionals. When action is required you will receive an email; if you follow the link in the email, APWA will send a message to your elected official on your behalf. It takes less than 30 seconds. When I started using the Legislative Action Alert System, I thought, “No one reads this, I am wasting my time.” The System works, people are listening, and they do care about Public Works and our side of the story. In the past two (2) years, I have received multiple responses from my Congressman and Senators, mailed to my home address, as a result of participation in APWA’s Legislative Action Alert System.

Encourage Infrastructure Caucus Participation

Encourage your Representative to join the Public Works and Infrastructure Caucus. Last year, APWA Government Affairs staff worked to create a Public Works and Infrastructure Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. Through this caucus we can provide the facts and our stories to our elected officials in Washington D.C. You can use APWA’s Legislative Action Alert System to do so.

Build Relationships With Government Staff

Get to know your elected officials’ staff. Have you ever walked into an elected official’s office and said, “Hello”? Last year I did just that. I walked into a Nevada Congressman’s office and said, “Hello.” I did not have to fly to Washington D.C. to do it; it was at his local office. I talked to his staff, found out what they were working on, told them what I do and what matters to me, and told them that I was available to answer questions regarding public works and I was willing to be a resource.

Public Interest in Infrastructure

Infrastructure and infrastructure funding are becoming hot topics in Federal, State, and Local governments. If you get a chance, watch John Oliver’s special on Infrastructure, found on YouTube. I have watched it multiple times, I cry from laughter every time. It reminds me that what we do is important but rather boring to the general public. The public’s interest in infrastructure and infrastructure funding should be welcomed by Public Works Professionals. This gives us additional ways we can become the known resource to our neighbors and elected officials.

Community Communication Matters

In 2016, Clark County, Nevada had a ballot question to raise fuel taxes for infrastructure spending. Raising taxes is always a fun topic. I had the opportunity to explain to my neighbors, dentist, postman, etc. what Public Works Professionals do and where the revenues were going. I reminded them, “You get what you pay for.” After a few minutes of conversation, the majority of the people I talked with agreed it was a good idea to raise taxes for infrastructure. The question passed, because every Public Works Professional became a known resource for the industry.