It’s difficult to predict when a health scare will pop up, but not impossible to budget for one.

No scientist has stepped out to explain exactly why the Southern states are experiencing a spike in reported cases of West Nile Virus this year, but a little Mississippi common sense makes us wonder if the problem is attributed, at least in part, to a warm winter. On top of that, portions of the South experienced a once in a lifetime flood of our biggest waterway just a year ago.

Maybe the two freak weather occurrences had an impact; maybe not.

Either way, the disease carrying mosquitoes have left residents and governments scrambling for solutions.

Some area governments already had routine mosquito spraying programs in place, while others did not.

Finding the money and the time mid-year to start a program isn’t easy, as the Concordia Parish Police Jury has expressed.

The jury will only be able to accomplish what it can this year, but going forward, all local governments must have a discussion about how they’ll fund an unpredicted health problem.

Like taxpayers with family budgets, governments must realize that it’s shaky ground to live paycheck to paycheck. Budgeting the finances so there’s a little left for a rainy day never hurt anyone.

At the same time, we hope local government will fully examine the effectiveness of mosquito spraying before spending public monies on it.

Let’s have a plan for future years that won’t bite us.