A small, but telling occurrence from the city of Ketchum: In May, a letter was sent to all businesses stating that henceforth a business license would be required, ostensibly to know which businesses were operating in the city. First off, how did they know to whom the letters should be sent?
Being the good citizen, I promptly filled out the form, enclosed the required $25 fee and waited for my license. When the check still hadn't cleared by early September, I called city offices and was told that "We're trying to get it done soon." Lo and behold, on Oct. 24, my long-awaited license arrived, all pretty and official looking. Only problem, it expires on Dec. 31, 2007.
As I said, it's a small item, but it makes you wonder how badly they mismanage much larger, more important and costlier matters?
Christine Bender
Ketchum