The patriotic month of July is a good time to remember all American governments were founded of the people, by the people and for the people.

Politicians and government employees lose their way when they don’t make serving the public the highest order of business.

El Paso County government kicked off July by improving service to the public. It remembered it is funded by the people, for the people.

Years ago, El Paso County relocated the Citizen Service Center from east of downtown to a west-side building in the 1600 block of Garden of the Gods Road.

The transaction involved the wise acquisition and repurposing of vacant commercial space. As an unintended consequence, the new location made access to county resources more difficult for residents already facing tough challenges.

We heard stories of low-income parents spending hours on public transportation, just getting to and from county offices.

That will change this fall for new and pregnant mothers in the city’s southeast region. The county plans to open a satellite office, for the Women, Infants and Children program, at 2948 E. Fountain Blvd.

“Some of these people hopefully won’t even have to drive a vehicle to get there on nice days,” said Dan Martindale, El Paso County director of public health. “Hopefully, they can walk to the facility.”

El Paso County Public Health will lease the building for $1 a year from Harrison School District 2.

Four WIC educators will move from the program’s main office to the new location to manage about 2,300 WIC appointments a year. The facility will include space for community meetings, immunizations and back-to-school clinics.

Colorado Springs has long been known as a compassionate, faithful, family-friendly town.

Dozens of religious organizations and other nonprofits provide an enviable social safety network of food pantries, shelters and other essential services. Those combine with government programs to ensure families are fed, sheltered and clothed.

Just as our community is judged by its most successful individuals and businesses, we are held accountable for how well we care for the people most in need.

By opening a branch office in an economically challenged area, county officials showed they are listening to their constituents and responding to their needs. They are making social service about service to the public.

It is a refreshing contrast to the chorus we hear from state and federal bureaucrats who constantly assure us they cannot do better unless we give them more money.

Politicians and public servants at all levels of local, county and state governance should look for ways to do more for the public.

Do as El Paso County and Harrison School District did. Ask not what the public can do for you, but what you can do for the public. In doing so, everybody wins.