Commissioners and the budget: Cheap gets expensive

     Headlines: The Carroll County Commissioners have a real budget problem, as in not enough money.
     True to their breed, these good conservatives thought they'd impress everyone, particularly the dimmer witted amidst their base constituency, by simple making cuts in programs.
     By golly, they got so full of themselves that they even cut the tax rate before they knew what their budget needs would be for the coming year.
     That's like turning down your paycheck because you want to show off for the boss. Problem is, you still have to pay the rent, car payment, insurance, gasoline, heating bills and groceries.
     Now what.
     First of all, blame a liberal. That always plays well in Duh-land.
     Budget director Ted Zaleski is competent and conscientious, and he bends over backwards to keep politics out of his job and the recommendations he makes to elected officials. He plays the cards he is dealt, and he got a bad hand after the last election: A group of five brand new commissioners -- well, one warmed over retread who didn't learn anything in her first term years ago -- who were committed to cuts but no revenue enhancement, as in increased taxes.
     Robin Frazier was committed to no new taxes in her first term, too, and along with her colleagues and predecessors, dug themselves into such a hole that in 1998, they had to increase taxes by something like 28 cents in a single year.
     Steve Powell, chief of staff and former boss to Zaleski in the budget department, is as frugal a money manager as any you'll find. He and Zaleski have tried to lay out a six-year budget plan that allows those elected to office to plan ahead and lay out a strategy for stability. The idea is to reduce spending where you can, spend wisely where you can't, and make any increases in taxes and fees as gradual and minimal as possible.
     Compare that to the recklessly negligent philosophies of the rabid right, who would not invest a dime in a bucket to bail out a sinking boat.
     The county was in good shape just a couple of years ago. By going on the cheap with a false conservatism, these commissioners will cost us more in the long run, and the long run gets shorter with every passing day.