As part of a plan to modify Washington County's formula for collecting excise taxes, the county's General Assembly delegation agreed to a plan that would allow the County Commissioners to spend less on agricultural land preservation.
We understand why the commissioners made the request, but now is the time to spend as much as possible on this program.
The county government is currently required to commit $1.8 million from state, federal and local funds each year to agricultural preservation.
Commissioners James Kercheval and William Wivell asked the delegation to drop the requirement to $1 million.
Their reason? If state and federal funding sources dry up, they said, then the county would be forced to cut some local programs to make up the difference.