Preliminary discussions are under way to consider whether or not Adams County taxpayers could save money by having a single law enforcement agency patrolling rather than the two existing ones.

We encourage the city and county to continue their research and perhaps take it a step further by seeking an outside group to look at how a merged police and sheriff’s department might work, and more important, how it might save taxpayer money while maintaining top-notch law enforcement.

Having an impartial, third party help create a potential plan makes sense.

Seeing the things in our lives and work that need changing can be difficult for many of us.

People coming at the issue with a bit of distance between themselves and the status quo can often see the potential beauty in a revamped system and the warts in the existing structure in an instant.

Such a plan might be similar in function and approach to the structure that was put in place to help revamp the joint economic development authority.

Hiring someone to help create a consolidated law enforcement plan may seem wasteful. The common logic may include the belief that such a restructuring can be done on the back of an envelope. In reality, however, a more fully developed, well-considered plan would need to be worked up first to ensure all options are considered.

We’re happy that county supervisors and city aldermen appear willing to think out of the box and consider a creative solution that could benefit all citizens by more wise use of public funds.