A detailed plan is half the battle, and county supervisors are suited up and ready to wage war on debt.

An analysis of the county’s existing $11 million debt shows that it could be nearly gone by 2016. That’s great news, and we are happy county leaders are talking about this.

The board of supervisors has a plan to pay off certain types of debt in certain chunks each year until existing debt is 76 percent gone.

Sure, more debt will likely be added in the meantime — natural disasters, a recreation project or any number of other things could warrant taking out another loan — but having a plan in place now is step one.

With national government spending on the rise it’s great to know that our local government is aware and attentive to its debt.

Closely managing debt opens doors and ignoring it can slam a few shut, too.

Supervisors learned in the last year that it’s easy to lose a good bond rating by simply allowing bad accounting practices.

The board is now straddled with a less-than-satisfactory bond rating for another year, and needed roadwork had to be delayed.

Fortunately, the county’s current debt is manageable and the bond rating wake-up call appears to have shocked all five supervisors into working together to ensure that such a momentary panic doesn’t happen again.