Newton County employees breathed a sigh of relief as the Newton County Board of Commissioners voted not to cut manpower or hours at a special called meeting Wednesday.

This is a result of the efforts of departmental managers cutting nonessential, non-personnel expenses.

We applaud this action by our county managers.

This, however, does not mean that the county is out of the woods. The county’s finances will be reviewed again soon for the beginning of the next budget cycle beginning in June.

To that end, there is a need for county officials and employees to continue to search for cost-saving measures and to pinch every penny to ensure that the Board of Commissioners will not have to either cut hours or cut the work force of the county.

This is an example of positive results from elected and appointed officials caring about people first and pet projects second.