Adams County Supervisors are working a plan to borrow another $3.15 million for roadwork.

For elected officials in the county, the cry from citizens for better roads is almost an annual plea. The challenge always seems to be that supervisors are a little hard of hearing, until elections approach and suddenly they kick into gear.

We applaud the supervisors’ collective plan to become serious and methodical about roadwork. For far too long resurfacing of road has been a haphazard, at best, function of county government.

But we’d suggest rather than swallowing a big gulp of debt, the county might be smarter — and taxpayers served better — by taking a sip of common sense instead.

Rather than perpetuating the cycle of borrowing that often becomes a burden down the road when something fundamental changes, what about simply saving the funds into a rainy day, pave the way fund.

Money put into that fund could be used for either proving a tax break for residents, if it were to build large enough to allow for a large safety net for the county or to routine pay for annual maintenance and upkeep of county roads.

Most taxpayers when nearing the end of a debt’s life — house note, car note, etc. — they celebrate the freedom coming.

Elected officials seem to celebrate the ability to spend on something else.

We fully support efforts to keep county roads in better shape, but let’s consider doing so without additional debt.