The Little Government That Did

(A true story, pretty much, but told in the form of a bed time story)

- by Glenn Koenig

Much has been said over the years concerning the idea 'smaller government.' Some say, "the less government, the better." Others say that government should be run more like a business, with those with a strong business background elected to run it. These proponents are often countered by others who say that government cannot be much smaller than it is because part of it's job is to regulate the activities of very large businesses, political organizations, and other entities that would otherwise dwarf its power.

But much less is said about quality government. In fact, describing what quality government is, how it is achieved, measured, monitored, etc. is suprisingly difficult. It is much easier, it seems, to quip about the size of government and ignore the questions of its quality.

So here we have a story about quality government. Specifically, how a problem was perceived, a 'typical' solution was proposed, implemented and tried, and how a change was made

Once upon a time, ...

... there was a town in Massachusetts called Arlington. It came to the attention of the town meeting members (the town's elected unicameral legislature) that certain persons in town were having frequent sales on their front lawns, in residential neighborhoods. It appeared that these people were not just selling accumulated "wealth" in the form of items from their attics, basements, garages, etc., but rather were newly purchased 'flea market' goods, such as toys, gadgets, etc. Some sales occurred every two weeks, it seemed. As these neighborhoods were not zoned for business, and these sales caused a lot of traffic, streets crowded with extra parked cars, and some noise in otherwise quiet neighborhoods, some citizens sought to have them limited.

So, some time in the 1980s, they passed a by-law to limit yard sales. From then, on, residents would have to obtain a permit to have a yard sale. Only two permits would be issued, per address, per year. The first permit would be no charge, the second one would be $10.00. Anyone found holding a yard sale without a permit would be required to close the sale and remove the items or face a fine of $200.

(to be continued)

You can find the result today (hopefully) on the town's web site, in the Town Bylaws section, wherein, it says:

Title V - Regulations Upon The Use Of Private Property

ARTICLE 10: YARD SALES

ART. 28, A.T.M., 5/3/93

Section 1. Policy
It is the intent of the Town that no more than two yard sales per calendar year or garage sales per calendar year per address are permitted.

Section 2. Reporting
The police will investigate all complaints of yard or garage sales and file a report according to established standard police department reporting procedures.

Section 3. Time Certain Discontinuance
No sale shall continue in operation after 4:00 P.M. All unsold items or other objects associated with the sale will be stored out of public view by said time. Violations of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $50.

Section 4. Enforcement
If it can be substantiated by said police records that a person or persons are attempting to conduct a third sale at a given address, the police will order that the sale be shut down immediately. Persons who fail to do so or attempt to re-establish a sale at a later time are subject to a fine of $200.

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