Time to put differences aside

This is a note to all county leaders...it is time to put your differences aside. You need to address what could be a financial crisis in county government.

The county council has detected what could be a significant downward shift in the amount of money in the county reserve. They are actively pursuing the answer to an important question, "Where is our money?"

Although the council is the fiscal arm of the government, this is a problem that must be met on all fronts. The problem might not be a small, insignificant issue that will go away simply by everyone in county leadership wishing it so.

If a problem truly exists, we urge county commissioners to participate in the solution.

Council members are due the respect of the commissioners and all other county leaders when they request that "all spending be halted until more facts are known."

We urge just one commissioner to ask to take part in the upcoming state board of accounts audit, along with the council's finance committee.

We urge the council to extend that invitation.

If commissioners become part of the investigation they will assume joint ownership of the solution.

We urge council president Rob Baker and commissioners' president Loren Hylton to sit down together, put the differences of the two groups aside and act as one for the good of the taxpayers and citizens of Carroll County. We urge the two to meet and discuss how to proceed in a positive manner with the goal of creating a healthy county fiscal plan when the dust settles.

As the song from the 1960s goes... "United we stand and, divided we fall…"

County leaders...please don't let Carroll County fall.