Doyle Heffley was right: It’s time to get to work.

He said one of the reasons that the Carbon County state representative voted for Berks County lawmaker Mark Rozzi as speaker of the House was so lawmakers could get a quicker start on pressing matters for the residents of Pennsylvania.

Now there’s something we can all agree on.

Our 203 state representatives need to start having frank discussions and coming to compromises on how to make life better for every resident in the state.

They will each start the new session with a list of items/issues that are of utmost importance to the voters they represent. Here in Carbon, Heffley heads into a sixth two-year term with what should be a long ledger of topics that impact the residents of the county, ranging from blighted properties to retention/attracting teachers and police officers to the traffic woes at Beltzville State Park on summer weekends.

And there’s more that should be on his plate - drug addiction, military veterans well-being and growing business in the county. The list isn’t endless, but it’s also not short.

He’s right: It’s time to get to work.

The new year did not get off to a good start Monday when a special session of the House called by Rozzi, designed to speed passage of a two-year window for letting some victims of child sexual abuse file otherwise outdated lawsuits, floundered. According to an Associated Press story, the lawmakers got nowhere over the course of several hours with Rozzi naming a special group - three members from each party - to work on that issue and begin the overall process of working together.

We are made promises during campaigns and told when lawmakers are appointed to committees that they are concerned about x-y-z. And in some cases, things get done - blighted properties in Schuylkill County are getting monetary attention in Harrisburg and investment is being made in roads and bridges, but more is needed on that front.

We have big issues in this state - people are struggling to make ends meet despite having jobs (now think about folks who don’t have jobs), crumbling infrastructure, an education system that is failing too many kids and backbreaking tax rates for too many residents. And let’s face it, those are just a few of the issues that we can jawbone about over coffee at the local diner.

Here’s one suggestion our lawmakers should do, or in this case stop doing. Quit wasting taxpayer money and their time on naming bridges/roads after dignitaries or issuing proclamations to successful basketball coaches.

Years ago in Monroe County, they officially named the bridge that goes over Interstate 80 on Seventh Street after two county sheriffs. No one has stopped calling it the Seventh Street Bridge in favor of the official name - Sheriffs Forest B. Sebring and Todd A. Martin Bridge.

Like Heffley said: It’s time to get to work. ... Real work.

Anyone who thinks the tone of this column might be a tad bit harsh, consider this: Rank-and-file lawmakers will earn almost $103,000 this year after a 7.8% pay increase. And that figure doesn’t include a per diem - roughly $200 - when they are in session.

With 203 representatives, we are paying House members more than $20 million in salaries alone each year. Toss in 50 state senators (more than $5 million in salaries) and ... well, you get the point.

Incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has a long list of things he wants to accomplish, will make almost $230,000 a year. He needs to figure out a way to appease all parties and get the executive branch working with the legislative branch.

But the inaction in Harrisburg isn’t totally the lawmakers’ fault. It’s easy to point the finger because of their lackluster performance, but we also must look at ourselves, the voters.

We must hold our elected officials - on the state and local level - accountable.

It puts a smile on my face when I edit meeting stories and the content is centered around a lively discussion of what is happening in that school district or community. It tells me people care. Whether I agree with them or not, is not the issue. To me, it’s they are engaged and they want to see the process work.

We, the voters, have to keep caring and keep asking informed questions. It’s one thing to complain, another to ask questions of our elected officials that solicit thoughtful discussion and then action.

Let’s hope lawmakers remember us, the voters who pay their salaries, but if they don’t then we need to remind them that we want action, not lip service.

To paraphrase Heffley: It’s time for all of us to get to work to make our communities and state a better place to live.

tdeschriver@tnonline.com