Family feud

Spats among relatives are pretty much par for any large family. And city officials in Jackson and the Cape Girardeau County Commission are, in a way, part of the big family we call government. So it is not surprising that Jackson officials and county officials might disagree from time to time.

But it's hard to tell if the most recent dustup over city inspection of a new rest room building in a county park is just a bureaucratic disagreement or an escalation in the growing divide between the county seat and the county.

If it's a matter of red tape, it's probably good for the city and county to hash out the inspection issue. The county, like state government, says it's not subject to city building codes and inspections. The city says it incurs potential liability if it signs off on county projects that don't meet city codes.

There are couple of factors to consider:

One is the fact that a city inspection of the county's remodeling of the old jail found some things that weren't up to code. The county corrected them. Having the city do the inspection appears to have helped the county.

The other is the fact that utilities for the new rest room facility at Klaus Park must come from Jackson, which says it won't allow the hookups until it's satisfied the toilets meet building-code requirements.

But if it's a matter of legal blustering, then the latest face-off is probably an extension of the ongoing dispute over the portion of county road and bridge taxes Jackson believes it is entitled to. That matter is being resolved in court.

It would seem that issues like this could be hammered out through negotiation. If not, that's what judges are for.