United mice: County, city, schools could forge a new direction for future

If you give a mouse a cookie, he will ask for a glass of milk, the children's book warns.

And, for decades, taxpayers have felt that way about handing politicians more of their hard-earned money.

They come by the fear honestly.

There are numerous stories of how bloated bureaucracies, eager to save their budgets, have paid ridiculous sums for goods and services, all while complaining about any budget restriction.

So why would anyone voluntarily agree to hand any government body a blank check?

We wouldn't, of course.

But there is a delicate balance to be reached here -- a cautionary tale of what can happen when tight-fisting a budget becomes a recipe for stagnation.

The world is a competitive place, where business investment is courted by towns and counties of all sizes.

The decision to bring jobs to a community is a complicated one with many variables.

So, to get a leg up, a community has to think about more than just a low tax rate. It has to think about what its residents need and want.

And that is where our elected officials come in.

For Goldsboro and Wayne County to be successful, each has to be a partner in the other's success.

A so-so city won't make Wayne County a destination to consider, and wild spending that makes the county a debt risk won't pave the way for a better future for Goldsboro.

So we come to a crossroads, a moment when there might be a new decision to consider -- one that is an unspoken goal, but that is not a formal endeavor.

Imagine for the moment that Goldsboro and Wayne County officials decided to get together to talk about the future -- what to do, how to pay for it and what the possible advantages and disadvantages might be.

Call it shared experience or call it a learning process, but it could be a powerful tool as this community heads into its next steps.

There are some good ideas -- and some bad ones -- on both the city council and county commission's agendas. Mistakes have been made on both sides of this government coin.

But there is potential, too, if both boards open their ears and minds to new voices, new ideas and the kind of discussion that results in big steps forward.

And if this process is going to work, it should also include school leaders, who also have a necessary expertise and perspective.

How interesting would it be for all three of these groups to gather, to throw out concerns, ideas and possibilities, and then to offer up a plan, a shared plan for accomplishing some of it together.

Now, this is not to say that there are not already partnerships in this community -- and there are many that are not only successful, but profitable.

It is just an intriguing thought to think what might happen if individual interests became a shared goal, if only for a moment.

The agenda does not have to be mammoth. Perhaps one issue could be chosen, or one shared goal.

Think of the power that could come from the ideas that would be generated.

New personnel means a new start -- and there are new faces on several boards around town.

So why not try something different? Why not set a new course?

Why not see if working together could create something special?

Will it work? We don't know, but it would be interesting to try.

Published in Editorials on July 29, 2014 10:24 AM