Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said “less is more.” He meant that sometimes simplicity is more beautiful and effective than something that is overdone or complicated.

“Less is more” does not apply to engagement rings or sports cars engines. Let’s face it, no ring is really too big, and what guy would turn down an Audi R8 with a 510 HP V10 instead of a puny V8? I digress …

County Council Chairman Richard Fralick reported last week that this county needs to cut $500,000 out of its budget next year. Luckily, I have a plan! The plan is getting rid of “Home Rule.”

Remember four years ago when this new way we run our local government was going to give us more control and be revenue neutral? Well, it didn’t and it isn’t. It now takes eight people to do what three did. I have been told this costs around $500,000 more than the old way. This does not take into account the $1.5 million that was spent on the new building to house the extra staff and the extra million that was spent on the renovation. This also does not take into account the gaggle of legal doers that had to rewrite our county code and retype the whole thing. I bet that was not cheap, and lucky I wasn’t typing. I hope someone kept the old code, but who wants to bet they didn’t?

Bottom line is our local government is bigger, costs more, and still fails to get the job done in a timely cost-effective way. Have you been to the Transfer Station lately? That, along with the ”three touch rule” — which is when the council discusses something, then revisits it again, then again, before acting on it — is a cash burner. It is amazing anything gets done before rigor mortis sets in.

We used to do it with three, we can do it again. Because less is more.

Paul Le Baron
San Juan Island