NEW COURTHOUSE REPRESENTS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Mississippi County Commission's decision to build a new county courthouse rather than repair the 100-year-old courthouse that was heavily damaged by arson on Feb. 10 makes fiscal sense.

The commission was faced with spending $2.5 million to build a courthouse and $3.5 million to repair the fire-damaged courthouse in Charleston. The county got a $1.4 million insurance settlement. Voters will decide in August whether they want a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for the balance of the cost. The tax would generate $390,000 each of three years and then expire.

The Mississippi County Commission was faced with a dilemma that many counties will be faced with in the years ahead: whether to replace aging courthouses that were built a century or more ago. The commission is responsible for overseeing county government, and that includes sound fiscal judgment.