Sheriff Tony Burns and his crew have been righting a wrong over the past year and the effort has resulted in additional income for the county coffer. This is an excellent endeavor for a department head to be doing and other departments are encouraged to follow suit and find "lost money."

What bothers Burns about this good deed is that the money he has been collecting went into the general fund and not directly to the sheriff's department.

We must not forget nearly ALL county departments give some money to the general fund. One incomeproducing department which contributes to the general fund is Carroll Manor. Another is EMS (the ambulance service.) But so do the assessor, clerk, recorder, treasurer, auditor, extension office (with 4- H building rent), transfer station, park board, surveyor and yes, even the courts in varied amounts. In some amount, each and every one of these departments put money into the pot informally known as "county general."

Departments submit claims to be paid out of county general (the highway department is one exception.) Yes, money collected by an individual department goes into the pot and not into the department's individual coffers, but then the same departments are funded out of the pot. And their claims are for much more than their income. It has been said that when a department gives the county a dollar, they get two in return.

So they really do get the money back…and much more. It would be a disservice to suggest that this particular teeter-totter is balanced because it is not. And if you factor in that the county is running up a significant debt at the bank while receiving department incomes, it is easy to understand that all money received is taxpayer money and must be considered as such.

Burns has had the best interest of Carroll County in his heart since he took office and before. However, it takes all departments to do their best to contribute to the good of the whole. All should be commended for any effort in this. Departments must remember that what they put in comes back to them, plus much more.