By Ashley Brown, on June 19, 2013

Greetings Blogosphere,

This is my third blog posting – which has to be a record for me. In my youth, I had many-a- Xanga site dedicated to different topics, but I am sure this is the first time I’ve made it past the second post. But I digress; I’ll get back on track. Speaking of track, let’s talk running. Every morning before work, I go for a run (don’t worry, this stays relevant). This morning, as I was running, I noticed all of the Police Officers and trash collectors out and about. I checked my watch and it was 6:15am. 6:15am! A great time to run, but to work? That’s too early. But that’s the cool thing about local government, it’s always going. Someone is always working to keep me safe or to repair the road before morning traffic. This is something I did not think much about before my internship

But since my internship, this ever-present nature of local government is something I think a lot about. One of the projects I am working on is creating more formal policies for putting on special events in Carrboro. I’ve talked to all the department heads to learn more about what their department is responsible for when an event like the Carrboro Music Festival or Fourth of July parade occur. And what I learned is that they are all responsible for a lot. I’ve attended many of these events, and employees at the Town of Carrboro make it seem so seamless. But what you don’t see is that behind the scenes the fire chief has strategically placed his equipment so that he can get anywhere in town without having to go through the middle of the event. Or that extra police officers come in on their normal day off to help make sure all the pedestrians are safe. Or that Recreation and Parks has been working with the event organizers for weeks or months to ensure that the vision for the event comes off without a hitch. Or that public works has to shut down streets and install all the signage. Everyone in local government plays an important role, and we as citizens get to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

And working behind the scenes is not just part of special events. It’s every day. Local government is running at all hours of the day – even on my 6:00am runs.

Cheers,

Ashley