Mending Fences

A couple of months ago the police smashed through our fence in hot pursuit of a burglary suspect. They told us that the Parks and Recreation Department would repair the damage.

After two weeks of silence, I wrote a polite letter to the Chief of Police. (I wasn't angry, or even irritated, because my expectations are always low when dealing with any government agency--saves me a lot of needless anguish.) A lieutenant called the next day and asked me to fill out a claim form. Done. Claim form mailed.

Next, the City risk manager called to say that the City would not perform the repair after all but would reimburse me for the expense. Of course, said expense had to be "reasonable", which meant that I had to get two pre-approved estimates from reputable contractors. Call to All-Fence, who had rebuilt our fence after the gale winds of 1994 blew it down, appointment scheduled, estimate delivered for $350. Fax to City risk manager, with accompanying phone call pleading that she waive requirement for a second estimate because of small size of claim. Request granted. Now we're getting somewhere, albeit 45 days after the incident.

Call received from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)in Oakland. Gentleman says ABAG processes claims for all Bay Area governments. Could I please send him materials on the claim? Done. Can I tell All-Fence to begin work? Only if I sign a release form with a witness's signature. Done. Release form mailed. I send a $35 (10%) deposit to All-Fence, along with a note to make an appointment for the repair.

Now for the unexpected good news. When we returned from our long weekend in Salt Lake City the fence was fixed! Our contractor had been in the neighborhood and had taken it upon himself to do the task without making an appointment or otherwise asking permission.

Everyone we dealt with was perfectly nice--we just got our $350 check from ABAG--but the difference between public and private efficiency could not be more plain. Individuals aren't inherently better because they work in the private sector. It's the system, as we used to say in the sixties. © 2004 Stephen Yuen