The city of Oxford made a decision this week to pay Newton County to handle its fire service needs.

 Mayor Jerry Roseberry said the move will save the city money and will provide better services to its citizens; we agree.

 Newton County contains several delightful and independent communities like Oxford.

 We recognize there is a great deal of pride and autonomy that has been a part of these communities since their foundation.

 With the economic times being as they are today, it only makes sense to consolidate services wherever possible.

 We would like to see all of our independent cities take a hard look at their budgets and, if they have not done so yet, explore the possibilities of sharing their fire and police protection with others in Newton County. This would be in lieu of raising taxes to cover such services.

 Newton County leadership also has a major responsibility during these consolidations to see that the services of each community that partners with them do indeed improve so community pride is continued.