When government flouts its obligation to us, we question the entire operation.

Monday was an astonishing fall day; warm and colorful. While running noontime errands, I stopped at Stone’s Pet Supply on Cedar Street and saw a Fire Marshal’s car parked out front.

In my unconscious I tucked away the fact that someone was likely doing a safety inspection in the mill. Good. I like the pet store, and it deserves that security.

On my way out of the shop, I was followed by a woman carrying a large bag of pet food. She was followed by two exuberant children, clearly happy to have Columbus Day off from school.

The three of them got into the Fire Marshal’s car and buckled in.

My unconscious suddenly became conscious.

I’m a taxpayer, and I care how my money is spent. Every penny of it.

How could, I wondered, a pet food purchase be proper use of a state-owned car, a car that I – as a taxpayer – own, too.

It isn’t.

The vehicle is registered to the Department of Public Safety and assigned to a local woman employed as an inspector with the Fire Marshal’s Office. According to state policy, only law enforcement employees are permitted to use their state-owned vehicles for personal use. The inspector I saw is not entitled to that privilege, and the Fire Marshal’s Office is looking into my complaint.

We have a unique and strange relationship with our government, a government of which we are whole and part. A government that represents us while also being us. The money we reluctantly pay into government is spent providing services for us, and we have an utter expectation that our money will be well-spent.

Is it going to break the state budget for this fire inspector to spend a couple of dollars in gas to run an errand? Absolutely not.

It isn’t the gas money. It isn’t whatever portion of insurance might be activated if this woman were to have an accident with her children onboard while driving home.

It is about being repeatedly told by government officials that it is strapped by bare bones budgets and, if citizens expect to maintain services, government always needs more money. It is about credibility and accountability, both of which took a hit as I watched this happy family drive out of the parking lot in a Fire Marshal’s late-model Impala.

What I saw was a tiny example of improper use of state equipment by a state employee, but – at least in my mind – it casts doubt on the entire government operation. It makes me wonder what else is happening – beyond the headlines – that doesn’t preserve my tax dollars or match my personal sense of accountability.

Does it make you wonder?

Judy Meyer is the Sun Journal managing editor/days. Her e-mail address is: [email protected].