Combining the City of Butler's streets and parks departments would make sense, if the change would save money and pave the way for more efficient use of the departments' workers.

Councilman Mitch Ufner was right in bringing up the issue at this time. Since such a change might have union contract ramifications, the time for dealing with the proposal is this year, when new contracts are due to be negotiated.

According to Ufner's proposal, when the supervisor of one of the departments retires, the other would become head of the combined department.

Even if spending by a combined department were no less than what the two departments currently spend as separate entities, merging the departments would be a good idea if the change enabled the city to make better use of the departments' workers.

Ufner said he believes efficiencies would come from having more teams of workers working on projects such as filling potholes or cutting grass. Councilman Joseph Bratkovich agreed that the change could provide better service.

This is a good time of the year to recognize that potential benefit - when huge potholes are hindering travel on city streets.

Each department currently has four employees plus a supervisor.

For a city of Butler's size, one supervisor should be capable of overseeing the work currently handled by the two departments.

A question, if the change were to take place, would be how a combined setup would affect the responsibilities of city council members.

Ufner currently heads the streets department, and Councilman Charles Savannah, who is not seeking reelection this year, is in charge of parks.

While Mayor Leonard Pintell expressed doubt that the change would save money and told the council the change would be an issue for contract negotiations, the council should not shy away from giving further consideration to the issue simply because there would be hurdles to overcome.

City operations need to be carried out in the most efficient and cost-saving way possible. Considering the municipality's far-from-resolved fiscal issues, every proposal put forth should be examined closely and with an open mind.