<div dir="ltr"><h1 class=""><span>Plain-language inititative simplifies Whatcom government without cost</span></h1>
<p class="">By RUD BROWNE</p>
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<span class="">COURTESY TO THE BELLINGHAM HERALD </span><span class="">August 14, 2014</span> <span class=""></span>
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<p>
The first time my daughter signed an email LOL, I tried to
think of all the endearing things that she meant which started with
"love" like "love, of course" or "love our lives" or "love on line." You
can imagine my surprise when I learned it was "laugh out loud." She
wasn't showing her dad her eternal love and respect, she was laughing at
some of my sage advice.</p><p> And there were times when I sat there
staring at "brb" wondering what on earth she was saying and not
answering my important question (she, of course, meant: be right back).</p><p>
It's one thing when your young adult daughter texts you with an
acronym and you try to figure out what she means. But it's another when
the government that serves you does the same thing when you are trying
to get a permit, figure out what your tax dollars are being spent on, or
understand the rules you are required to follow.</p><p> One lesson I
learned early in my computer industry career is to be successful at
serving my customers I had to communicate using the "language of my
customer." I had to become educated on the complex aspects of my
customers' business. It also included basic stuff and common sense --
such as using "plain language" when we drafted our advertising and
marketing materials instead of filling documents with industry acronyms.
</p><p> When I took office in January, the first packet of material I
had to read for my first council meeting the following week was 220
pages. The second meeting it was 949. In addition, I received agendas,
minutes and other material during committee presentations and public
hearings. While I expected that my new job would require a lot of
reading and new information, I had not expected the amount of time I had
to spend on simply finding explanations for the "alphabet soup" of
acronyms in almost every document. Things like PIC, NPDES, WUCC, CWSP,
FCZDBS, WCHD, ASR, and my personal favorite MS4 (municipal separate
storm sewer system).</p><p> The good news is we have fine county
employees, all of whom were more than willing to take the time to tell
me what the acronyms meant. The bad news was I had to frequently
interrupt their presentations to ask them to explain the meaning behind
the acronyms. Worst of all, I found the general public -- our
governments' "customers" were struggling to understand the same
documents unless they also happened to be an expert in that particular
topic.</p><p> We hear all the time that if we tried this idea or that
idea, businesses would hire more people. What I know for certain is that
rules that are difficult to understand or costly to comply with have a
very real impact on job creation. As someone who has built and operated a
substantial company, I found it frustrating and disheartening to have
to hire lawyers and accountants simply to have them translate some
government rule or regulation. Sometimes even our professional advisors
would misinterpret what the rules meant. That invariably resulted in
some additional expense and more frustration later, which we could have
avoided if the rules had been better written. </p><p> I am confident
that by following plain language policies in Whatcom County that local
government will become more accessible to the citizens we serve and more
attractive to employers. I am very pleased and impressed to say that
the moment the draft resolution was released that many county employees
began embracing the idea; they saw the value to our "customers" and
started writing their documents accordingly. The more the language of
government resembles the language of the people they serve, the more we
will appreciate it. More importantly, the less time county employees
have to spend each day just explaining how government works, the more
productive both business and our government can be.</p><p> The really
good news is that implementing a plain-language policy will give us many
benefits without any additional expenses, new taxes, or new rules our
citizens will have to understand and follow. </p><p> Finally, this
resolution received universal support from across the political
spectrum, a refreshing change in today's world of opposing objectives
and partisan politics. </p><p><b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></p><p> Rud Browne
holds the at-large position on the Whatcom County Council. Previously,
he founded a company that employed 360 people across five countries.
</p></div></div><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/08/14/3796385/plain-language-inititative-simplifies.html?sp=/99/122/">http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/08/14/3796385/plain-language-inititative-simplifies.html?sp=/99/122/</a><br>
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