The Arizona Republic Phoenix Community edition features a monthly column written by Fire Chief Bob Khan

City of Phoenix Public Information Office - News Clippings - azcentral.com - January 12, 2008

Staff Keeps Services Running

With the passing of the New Year it is a good time to take the opportunity to appreciate living in a city like Phoenix.  Having traveled to developing countries, I have gained a new appreciation for our hometown.  I, like most folks, take many of our urban comforts for granted – running water, paved streets, trash pick-up, recycle collection, and last but certainly not least public safety. 

Obviously in my role as a City department head I get to see first hand how this machine works.  I am familiar with a number of my colleagues who help manage nearly 14,000 City employees and a billion-dollar budget.  At the end of the day the grass in the parks is cut, a fire truck shows up when someone gets hurt, and if there’s a bad person around the police will come.  My hat goes off to those City employees who are directly connecting people who live in the Phoenix to all these critical services.  There are water mains, mountain trails, airports, graffiti, and traffic lights that must be accounted for. 

I guess in some ways the city has a life of its own.  And if you look at what it takes to connect City departments to the schools, to the hospitals, and to the neighborhoods it can be an amazing entity. 

To personalize it, when I put my first grader on the school bus in the morning, I’m shipping her off down a City street.  She’s going through traffic lights protected by police and firefighters.  She’s driving past a city park and down a busy thoroughfare until she finally lands safely in her classroom.  Then, magically in the afternoon Mr. Chavez and his school bus drops her off safely on the street corner and I walk her home.  That, my friends, is a small miracle and most of the time we just don’t take the time to see what it takes to make that happen. 

It’s not easy.  I believe working in the public sector is truly a labor of love.  It takes a lot of folks in the municipal system to create an environment that is second to none and our own special little paradise.  From the Phoenix Fire Department to everyone who has a hand in making the City of Phoenix operate, we wish you the best this New Year.  Thank you for all your hard work.  Be safe!

Send comments to Bob Khan at firechief.pfd@phoenix.gov or call (602) 26-CHIEF.