Jim Miller wrote,

"From experience with our state government here in Florida, I can tell you
that the classic equation of 90% of the work being done by 10% of the people
is quite true. The rest of the people create more roadblocks and pitfalls
than contributing anything useful. Sadly, the people who are most qualified
to make long-term decisions on things like our environment are the ones
least qualified to do so."

My heart goes out to the people of Florida. I am sure that they think that
90 percent of the work is done by 10 percent of the civil servants. However,
I would be amazed to hear this said by anyone who actually works in the
Florida state government. Other than that, there's a good deal of truth in
Jim's words.

In the neighboring state of Alabama, staff and state support have each been
reduced by almost 50% in the past 15 years in my agency. As a result, we are
now reduced to working for specific projects mandated by contracts with
various federal and state agencies to earn the part of the budget that the
state does not supply. This has resulted in our work becoming more applied,
and also more uneven, since these projects are generally for specific parts
of the state, such as the coast or a particular city. At present, we still
conduct a few "unfunded" statewide projects such as monitoring water quality
of groundwater at the same sites each year. But every year they're brought
into question all over again, and most such projects have been placed on
hold or abandoned. Meanwhile, the employees get older and we have no
opportunity to train replacements, since the number of staff continues to
spiral downward. Salaries are capped at a level well below that of industry
(and even below that of academia); job security and benefits, once
considered to be a partial compensation for lower salary, are both
threatened. Under these circumstances, no long-term planning is possible at
the employee level except for personal goals accomplished on one's own time.
Ambitious people tend to leave and the agency becomes less motivated and
imaginative; meanwhile, academia continues to train more young people than
can possibly find work in the field.

My agency is not atypical in Alabama, nor even in federal government. Some
agencies have a better working environment than others, and some are even
expanding. Some maintain a spirit of togetherness during times of trouble,
while others become toxic.

In the long run, change will have to come from the voters, who are
ultimately responsible for decisions about how to spend money in the United
States. I'm not holding my breath. Instead, I spend my free time doing the
science that I used to be paid to do. I pay my own way to meetings, using
vacation time, and find that I'm hardly the only one living this way. Some
things you just have to do.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama

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