Lots of folks on here know that I worked in the Land Office (Div of Mining, Land and Water) at DNR for over 30 years. There were good times and bad, but here is a quick story that will explain what JR and others are up against...
For many years I managed the "front counter" (Public Information Section) in the Norther Regional Office off Airport Way here in Fairbanks. I tried to be helpful and always had glowing evaluations. But one year I was called into the Regional Manager's office and stood at attention while I was lectured. The RM and assistant told me that I was being moved off the front counter and back into a cubicle somewhere deep in the bowels of the bureaucracy. I was told that the reason for the move is that I was being "too helpful" and that I "needed to remember that I worked for the STATE and NOT those people coming through the front door!"
That came as a surprise to me, since I considered the Alaskans coming through the front door to be whom I actually worked for. I thought my job was to use the statutes, regulations and policies to actually get citizens what they requested. Turns out, according to the managers, I was instead supposed to comb through the statutes, regulations and policies to find reasons to DENY applications.
That did not sit well with me. It was the moment in my career when I knew I had "irreconcilable differences" with my bosses. I poked around for a few days and found a way to transfer over to Div of Forestry (still within DNR) where I worked until my retirement.
I did not make a very good bureaucrat.....!
Pete
