The Harford County Council has every right to ask plenty of questions about County Executive David Craig's proposal to give a $1,250 bonus to all county government and school system employees. With this we have no quarrel.

After all, it's the council's statutory duty to scrutinize any expenditure, especially one for $11.3 million like this one, and to ask how the executive branch came to have a $32 million budget surplus in the first place.

Unfortunately, the council's posturing on the bonus plan defies its typical approach to its duties. Or, in words the council president certainly will understand from his horse racing background, the council's reactions to the bonus plan bear no relation to its past performance form

Here's a group that couldn't be bothered to question the wisdom of waiving taxes on a massive commercial development called The Gate in Aberdeen; nor, did six of its members bat an eye when Craig asked to underwrite a special bond deal on behalf of a housing development also in the Aberdeen area.

The same council president that claims Craig has failed to communicate about the bonus plan, didn't seem to be concerned when the county executive and his administration gave what amounted to a $190,000 rebate to another developer on a road project the county participated in mainly for the benefit of the developer.

Nor, was any accounting requested when the administration signed a memorandum of agreement with a private organization that could have the effect of obligating the county to provide substantial funding for a community arts center. And, where was the council when the administration decided to give away two shelter houses to a private charity, explaining it would be cheaper than maintaining the houses? Go ahead, said the council, even though the property is worth several hundred thousand dollars.

We could go on and on about the council's lack of oversight when it comes to spending the public's money or protecting the public's resources, but suffice to say it's very clear there's a high degree of selectivity in how the council under the leadership of Billy Boniface approaches its sworn duties. Such selectively in our opinion is dangerous and hardly in the best interest of the people these seven council members have been elected to represent.

While the Craig bonus plan may or may not make good fiscal sense - and regardless whether you agree or disagree the public employees should receive this money - we can say without equivocation that the county executive has been upfront about his objectives, the bonus program's costs and the likely fiscal impact for taxpayers.

We can't say the same for the council, which either hasn't been paying attention or whose members simply have no concept of the word consistency. Probably some of both.