As a private citizen, I’ve always believed in being conservative with my spending and working to increase cash reserves.  If it’s my family’s money, earned by my wife or myself, it’s always been in our best interest to spend as little as needed to prepare for tough times ahead, such as the inflation we have recently had to deal with. 

In one sense, conservative financial leadership in government expresses a parallel philosophy — I’m saving my family’s money, government officials are saving taxpayer money. However, piggy-banking isn’t always the end objective of government, nor should it be. Budget frugally, and hold onto the amount needed to run government (with enough reserve to handle a crisis). Then, good financial stewardship provides the means to capitalize on opportunity. 

So it’s great to see the state and Park County governments are going down that path in regards to a new Powell Library. They’re set to spend taxpayer dollars on a project that will have a big impact to people in the area. 

Last week, after receiving word that the library board is in line to likely receive $8.4 million from the state via a federal COVID-19 era grant, the commissioners agreed with no opposition to chip in $3.2 million from its own federal funds — even more than had been recommended  — to ensure a new library can be built. 

Now I would call that a great use of our taxpayer dollars. 

Libraries are a bedrock of community life in towns, and Powell ought to have one that can accommodate a growing population and maybe even convince former Powell residents with families who had to move elsewhere to come back. Personally, I want Powell to be a place my two boys want to come back to someday after college, and as avid readers, a nice library may just be a big piece of the puzzle in convincing them to return (although having their parents nearby would, I hope, also be seen by them as a decent reason to return). 

Spending this chunk of money still leaves the county with a few million of its $12 million in federal funds left unspoken for, and while these funds don’t need to be spent anytime soon, I hope the commissioners don’t plan on holding onto the money long. While there’s certainly a good argument that could be made that the county getting so much money from the federal government in the first place is a sign we’re being taxed more than we should, since the county already has the money, the best thing that can be done is return it to the taxpayers by way of more projects in the county that will affect large numbers of the population.