We applaud the Adams County Board of Supervisors for saying, “Hold up,” to Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield.

The sheriff clearly wants a new office and has made every attempt to disparage the current law enforcement complex on State Street, including keeping a portion of the sidewalk in front of the facility roped off long enough that the orange cones and yellow plastic tape are currently memorialized on Google Maps’ street view of the jail. The sidewalk roping is necessary, the sheriff says, because a brick fell from the building’s upper floors.

Further, the sheriff has suggested that the county consider building and entirely new jail complex.

While that’s probably not a bad idea, particularly if doing so could serve both city and county needs, now may not be the appropriate time for the county to take on more public debt. The hospital sale is likely to cost the county a couple of million dollars in the short run, thus borrowing more for a new building probably isn’t wise.

Sensing the new building seems unlikely, the sheriff recently proposed having taxpayers rent a building for this purpose — to the tune of $4,000 to $6,000 per month.

If taxpayers were going to spend that kind of dough, we’d prefer that investment yield something more tangible — like another deputy rather than simply nicer offices.

If the offices — and the jail — are truly in horrendous shape, why doesn’t the sheriff’s office start spending a portion of its budget on maintenance and repairs?

The sheriff’s office has increased its spending by more than $600,000 in the last five years. It seems baffling that little to none of it seems to have been invested in improving the public building that taxpayers already own.