President Ronald Reagan once famously quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

That may still be true, but near the top of that list must also be, “I’m a consultant, and I’m here to save the government money.”

This week a consulting firm approached the Adams County Board of Supervisors with a plan that would save the county tens of thousands of dollars each year on utility costs by upgrading several buildings in the county’s inventory.

Of course the consulting company would not make the proposal if it were not seeing a profit for itself in the project.

The consultant tried to suggest the county’s decision was a no-brainer, asking supervisors, do you want to keep paying too much for utilities or spend the money on other things.

We view another option.

Take a different approach to government. Rather than simply continuing to do the same things we’ve always done until a wise, out-of-town consultant group comes in and smells opportunity, could the county realize some, or all, of this savings on its own?

A little common sense and some leadership could go a long way here.

Has the county taken a serious look at energy consumption on its own?

Updating light fixtures, centrally controlled thermostats and replacing outdating heating and cooling equipment makes common sense and should be on the county’s radar already.

We may very well need outside help, but the county should work the problem on its own first.