It is time for area towns to start paying the tab.
That edict from Chautauqua County, which this year has transferred the cost of workers' compensation to the municipalities, is reasonable. Why should the county worry about paying the bills of other governments that often criticize how the county is being run?
In the past, the county was making it easy on the towns by taking care of the tab. In our overburdened region of government, that just does not make sense.
Besides, adding the comp bill to the towns gives residents a real idea of total costs of running a potentially unneeded government. Why sugarcoat the number without the comp bill?
Making towns override the tax cap proves their spending is just as out of whack as other entities of government. So as area town leaders scramble to exceed the 2 percent tax cap law, remember that workers' compensation is a part of doing business.
The towns all have employees. The entities should have been paying the bill all along.
