PERSONAL SERVICE PROVIDED – Voice Of The Township

I have always prided myself in being open and accessible to our clients and the residents of Wayne Township. Almost every morning, I greet all of the persons in our lobby with a handshake and smile of encouragement. Many times, as I make my way around the lobby, clients tell me their stories of hardship.

Listening to them makes me more aware of the problems so many of our clients have to deal with on a daily basis. They speak of lost jobs, illnesses, the lack of health insurance, not enough money to pay rent or utilities, or eviction. The stories vary from person to person.

In this electronic age, I often have been frustrated when I need to straighten out a problem involving a business or governmental agency. I’m sure you have experienced this too. You call and after pressing several numbers, a computer person tells you, “Your call will be answered in the order it was received.” You wait and wait until you finally hang up. Or, when you call a business or agency, the computer person answering your call advises you to log on to the organization’s website and e-mail your question. How about the computer person telling you there are too many calls waiting and hangs up on you? This one really frustrates me.

This lack of good service is all too common these days both in the public and private sector. Yet, I continue to be surprised by this type of treatment especially from a governmental agency. Government, more than any other organization, should be responsive to the public. After all, it is you, the taxpayer, who pays the bills to support the agency and for whom all government employees work. This is why I regularly stress to my staff the importance of good service to the public.

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If you call my office, your call will be answered by a real person, not a computer. We receive hundreds of calls a day at the Trustee’s Office, and you might have to be placed on hold for a few minutes. But, we will make every effort to answer your call quickly and route it to someone who can address your concerns. You also can contact us through our website www.waynetownship.org.

If you need Township Assistance, you will be asked to come into our office and you will meet personally with one of our investigators. The investigator will listen to you, assess your needs and make a decision regarding assistance based on our Eligibility Standards. If you are not eligible for Township Assistance, the investigator might refer you to our Resource Specialist, who will meet personally with you and work with you to find other programs to help with your needs.

Our Township Board meetings are open to the public, and we always take public comments at the close of the meetings. The meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at our office, 320 East Superior Street. I make myself available as often as I can to take phone calls from Wayne Township residents and make sure their questions are addressed.

I pride myself in the personal service we provide at the Wayne Township Trustee’s Office. We want to do the job the taxpayers have hired us to do, that is respond to the needs of our constituents and make Wayne Township an even better place to live.

Richard A. Stevenson, Sr.
Wayne Township Trustee
www.waynetownship.org