The biggest thing I learned from helping lead Waupaca’s enhanced wake ordinance debate had surprisingly little to do with boats. It was this: How do people behave when they know they probably will not get caught?
In many small towns, ordinances depend on voluntary compliance because there simply are not enough resources to enforce every parking violation, boating infraction or other local rule.
As the ordinance took effect, a clear pattern emerged. To their credit, many wake boat operators complied. A few continue to ignore the ordinance because the likelihood of enforcement is low. That is when I realized this was about far more than enhanced wakes.
As more than 90 Wisconsin communities adopt enhanced wake ordinances and others consider them, one reality will remain the same. Their success will depend less on enforcement than on the willingness of everyone to respect community standards.
Every community depends on something more powerful than enforcement. It depends on citizens who respect shared standards, even when no one is watching.
Character is revealed when consequences are unlikely.
Brian Fielkow, Waupaca
Tips for getting your letter to the editor published
Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:
Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wake boat ordinance success depends on voluntary compliance | Letter
Reporting by Letters to the Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Letters to the Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
