To the editor:

Item: “The city spent $45,411.72 to buy work boots and jeans for public works, parks and utility department employees.” (Journal-World, May 26)

Comments: 1) Back when I was working for a living (last century), it was customary for the worker to supply his own boots and jeans. Has the custom changed, or was it merely my misfortune never to have worked for the city? 2) Even at Vanderbilt’s, one can get a pair of boots and a pair of jeans for, say, $100 (well, maybe not Carhartts but plenty good enough). That’s 450 pairs of boots/jeans. I suspect that, had the workers been buying their own clothes, they would not have needed quite that many.

The new city auditor has his work cut out for him.