It was predictable, that when the R.I. Department of Transportation announced it was creating eight new positions and reclassifying six others as part of a new organizational structure, there was much gnashing of teeth in the public sphere.
It is important that public expenditures be scrutinized carefully and justified scrupulously. But it is just as important that public officials be given the right tools to carry out important – and in the case of the rebuilding of the state's crumbling bridges and roads, vital – work.
The jobs that raised such a fuss were largely project-management positions – that is, individuals who will be given responsibility to bring specific projects in on time and on budget, as well as to the correct specifications.
Today's political climate assumes that government is guilty until proven innocent. But that attitude can yield to paralysis, and in this very specific case, extremely unsafe bridges.
What those protesting the new RIDOT hires need to understand is, demanding good government is a must. But no government is not an option. •