Just because the current board of commissioners in Carroll County is considered "lame duck" doesn't mean its decisions should be "lame brained." Last week's decision to postpone the purchase of a 114 1/2 -acre parcel on Cranberry Road outside Westminster for a future high school was nonsensical, irresponsible and not in the public's greater interest.
While the election may have changed the composition of the board, it did not mean that county government operations grind to a halt. County agencies continue to process subdivision approvals, building permits are being granted and the county's school-age population continues to grow.
Given the immediate need for new schools, it is in the interest of every Carroll resident that the commissioners acquire land on which to build them. Delay means that others might purchase the best sites. Delay also means the land -- when the county government does get around to purchasing it -- will be all that more expensive.
Land purchases, particularly for schools, are not controversial. There are instances where elected officials try hurriedly to buy property or grant a contract to political cronies before leaving office, but this transaction seems totally above board.
Why the delay? "Let [the new commissioners] earn their salary," said a petulant Elmer C. Lippy, who lost his re-election bid.
If buying this property is the standard for determining whether the next board earns its keep, then the current board ought to refund this month's salary for failing to reach the decisions it was elected to make.
If the commissioners were afraid of tying the hands of the next board, they were terribly mistaken. Buying land is not analogous to making an appointment to the planning commission. A planning commissioner makes policy decisions that restrict the flexibility of future commissioners, but land sits until it is used. Even if the purchase turned out to be a mistake, land could be sold and the money returned to the county treasury.
We can only hope that the new board doesn't suffer from the same decision-making paralysis that has afflicted this one. In December, when the board reconsiders this purchase, it shouldn't take much deliberation. Buying this school site is a "no-brainer."