The cuts are local, why not the benefits?

With the county facing a $2.1 million deficit for the 2010-11 budget and the prospect that a larger gap between income and revenue may be coming in 2011, we believe the time to knuckle down on costs is now.

The April 1 commission meeting has at least one item that might be considered an April Fool's Day prank, had it not been agendized.

Most obvious was a request from AIG Baker for an early payment of the last $271,000 for Carson Valley Plaza. Under the contract with the county, the company must maintain at least 6,000 square feet of commercial space in order to qualify for the final payment.

We're not sure what benefit to the county there could be to call the contract good 10 months early, with the exception of some savings on interest. County staff was instructed to go back and see if they can get a better deal. We think that AIG Baker should wait for its money until it's due in January 2011.

Meanwhile the county approved what is essentially a three-year $105,000 contract with a Reno firm to develop a social marketing program.

We accept the value of a county presence on a variety of social media as a marketing tool.

And we recognize that the county can't just hire only Douglas firms.

But with 15 percent unemployment, and a budget deficit, it occurs to us there might be a better way to handle this issue.

We would expect commissioners to ask questions like, "Is there someone on the county staff that can do this?" or "Have we done enough to advertise for this service locally?"

We believe that marketing is an important function in bringing back prosperity. We'd just like to see folks who live here benefit when a contract they're paying for comes along.