Elizabeth Althoff
This week, Missouri is celebrating Local Government Week. Outside of a high school civics class, many of us probably don’t give much thought to the role local governments play in our daily lives. And while it is easy to go about our days taking for granted many of the things local government makes possible, can you image what the world would look like without it?
Imagine waking up in the morning and flipping on the lights, only nothing happens – without local government, you may not have any utilities. That means no lights, no brushing your teeth, no taking a shower, and no flushing the toilet.
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Then imagine getting in your car to start your day, except when you pull out of the driveway, you blow a tire because your roads are in disrepair. Without local government, we don’t have safe, drive-able city streets.
As if your day couldn’t get any worse, image pulling up to your child’s school to drop them off, only to find, there are no teachers! Without local government, we don’t have public education.
And since you now have your kids to entertain all day, you think, maybe we’ll go to the park or the public library- think again! No local government means no safe, clean parks and no libraries.
On your way home, you come upon a vehicle crash, so you instinctively dial 911- but no one answers. Without local government, there’s no public safety dispatching. And even if there was, who would they call? No local government means no police, no fire rescue, and no EMS services. You are on your own.
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As you return home exhausted, you set your trash out on the curb for weekly pickup – but who is going to pick it up? Without local government, your trash will pile up with nowhere to go.
At Missouri LAGERS, we think our world is a much better place with strong local governments. During Local Government Week, we ask you to join us in thanking all of the men and women who make our local government tick, and our communities great places to live!
