Mayor Menino Uses Taxes to Remind Us About Winter

As I walked the streets of Boston this past weekend, I noticed something that was attached to doorsteps all across the city.

Upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn’t a restaurant menu; rather, it was a tri-fold pamphlet from the government that alerted us to the impending season change.

Along with the requisite branding of “Thomas M. Menino, Mayor”, that seems to be on every square inch possible throughout the city, it includes directives such as, “Make your resident parking sticker visible within 24 hours after the end of a storm.”

When exactly is the end of a storm anyway?  Will it be announced?  What is the penalty if you don’t?  I’m sure it is a ticket.

It also reminds us, “don’t over exert yourself while shoveling.”  Thanks.

The companion to that advice is the directive to make sure the path you shovel is “42 inches wide”.  41inch path?  Ticket.

But don’t worry, the city website allows for easy reporting of sidewalks that aren’t up to code – so we can anonymously run to government to solve our “problems” rather than just talking with our neighbors.

The point here is this:  Do we really need to spend taxpayer money on producing these publications?  It was especially troubling when I noticed that these were the “2012-2013” edition.  Is the intent to change these every year?

I would argue that instead of spending time, effort, and money on designing, printing, and delivering these pamphlets (among other things), the city should give the money back to the taxpayer.

That way we can afford to buy 42inch wide shovels for the sidewalks and stopwatches so we know when to expose our parking stickers.