Whose money is in the commissioners' hands?

     Now watch the county commissioners closely.
     It's getting to crunch time, when they will try to live up to their own hype about cutting spending AND the tax rate. The danger is they will do something rash to make themselves look good, instead of eating a little crow.
     The truth is, while there are cuts that can be made, they don't add up to any significant savings, and might just be the wrong thing for a good conservative to do.
     What's the difference between good conservative government and most of the rest we're seeing these days?
     Conservatives understand the value of good investments in commodities and business. They can talk costs and return in dollars and cents. Good conservative government understands that, plus the value of investments in the human condition.
     The predominant rhetoric today in conservative government circles is simplisitc: Run government like a business, be true to your investors. The reality is that while you can apply many of the principles of good business practice to running a government, there is a difference between Wall Street or the local bank and local government -- any government: Government money is not just from the investors who financed an election. Government money is to be used wisely to invest in all the people who are affected by the decisions elected officials make.
     If this board goes beyond what their staff and directors recommend, it will be showing off for the folks in the grandstand, pure and simple.
     Already, some of the "savings" that board president Doug Howard is claiming are the result of unspent remnants from projects already completed, or delayed on the advice of directors, from the budgets of previous commissioners. Some savings are simply the money that will not be spent, was not going to be spent, but was available if needed through bond allowances from last year, or earlier.
     The heavy lifting has already been done.  The best thing these commissioners could do would be to go slowly, listen to staff, and try to not mess things up.
     In other words, be truly conservative, and not radically political in their decisions.