Friday's edition of The News featured a Personal Mobility Unit on the front page. The mayor and city of Covington police chief reviewed this Segway-like unit and asked questions of a representative of the company that manufactures them to discern whether this would be a valuable resource for officers to have at their disposal.

 These units are zero-emissions vehicles and designed to be used by officer patrolling community events in small areas similar to Covington's square. Each unit cost approximately $10,000 and would be used by officers who would have patrolled on foot. They are not designed to replace patrol cars, although officers and city employees could trade using them for short-distance errands.

 Even though new technology adds an air of cutting-edge glamour to any public safety department, sometimes that is all it adds.

 While we always promote increasing police presence and saving money and reducing our carbon footprint by using less fuel, we encourage officials spending tax-payer money to carefully review the cost of such purchases to their benefits.