It was announced last week that Newton County has spent $300,000 less on legal bills so far this year compared to 2010.

We realize that some of that savings is due to an absence of major lawsuits or other need for legal work, but a lot of it was saved because of the efforts of county officials and County Attorney Tommy Craig.

We appreciate those type of efforts, especially in these tough economic times.

It's encouraging to see this effort and cooperation between elected and appointed officials. We are looking forward to even more responsible, conservative care of our county tax funds.