Island County commissioners are putting on quite a show as they struggle to adopt a 2010 budget in dire economic times. The Great Recession made this year’s budget painful and next year’s worse, with more cuts coming on top of those already made.

The new commissioners, with a combined five years’ experience among them, have made some mistakes and reversals during the long budget-setting process. The most recent occurred earlier this week when it was decided not to lay off the Emergency Services Director, because the scope and importance of his job became more clear. However, this may require laying off at least one deputy sheriff, an action which always comes with a strong political backlash.

But to the commissioners’ credit, the budget process is exceedingly difficult and, by and large, they’re doing it entirely before the public. Part of that is due to the open public meetings law. There are only three commissioners, and any time two of them get together to discuss something, it’s a quorum and therefore a public meeting. So, in effect, they can’t discuss anything among themselves outside the public eye.

In contrast is the Oak Harbor City Council. With seven members, it takes four to make a quorum and necessitate a public meeting. Therefore, a subcommittee of three can discuss financial issues endlessly. To their credit, finance committee meetings are announced in advance, but few if any members of the public attend. It’s also legal for two or three city council members to just sit around and talk about public issues, because they do not constitute a quorum. Therefore, an informal consensus can be reached on controversial issues before they have to take their deliberations before the public at an official meeting.

Meanwhile, the county commissioners are holding open meetings with staff, explaining their reasoning to the public and sometimes changing their minds, all in the open. In the process, the public learns a lot about each commissioner, how he or she thinks, and become better informed voters.

In short, the Island County budget process is messy, but great for the public and our democracy. Agree with their decisions or not, the commissioners are making a budget the way it should be done — entirely in the open.