I have been reading about the "Pay As You Go" bill which our county commissioners are so exited about this voting season. Since the vote has already taken place on Tuesday, I will not know the out come until after this editorial is written but I can say that as great an idea of this "Pay As You Go" amendment, there is still a problem nagging in the back of my mind.

It was reported in last week’s paper that there is a money shortage in the county of $14 million, which is based on infrastructure needs. Now I don’t know if that means there is an actual $14 million amount that is short or we are backed up in $14 million projects for our infrastructure to be done. It is not very clear but regardless of which way it is, our county commissioners need to be mindful of the budget for these projects. Just like our own responsibility to stay within our yearly family budget, being $14 million in debt in the county budget is a priority we need to take care of to avoid getting too deep in the hole.

I can’t think of anything more important to our county’s well being than to free ourselves of debt and then take on all those road improvements. Just like my budget at home, if I over spend on credit cards and bank withdrawals I can do a lot of damage to my financial stability. If we over spend the funds for the county in road repairs without paying off what we owe first, we can run into financial instability and end up bankrupt. We are a prisoner to our own wallet when we over spend and if those commissioners overspend our good hard earned taxes, there will be trouble down the road and eventually we will have to pay more taxes to alleviate all the debt. Yes, repaving the roads is important to the infrastructure of our county but over spending our budget for the year can be a dangerous feat.

It will be interesting to learn how our county leaders will spend the tax dollars we pay them to keep our communities running smoothly. Careful spending of all tax money is just as important in keeping taxes down as repaving old roads that are in disrepair.

So with the vote on this past Tuesday, let’s hope our county commissioners pay attention to what we owe first, and then decide which roads to improve upon. It’s much more financially sound.

Loxley resident Valerie J. Steimle is the author of two books, “Home Is Where The Heart Is, A look at strengthening the American Family,” and her latest book, “Home Is Where The Learning Is” (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1403379637). Contact her at valeriesteimle@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.stengthenyourhome.com.