The Butler Eagle's series of articles dealing with the county's mayors, which began Dec. 28, reconfirmed that these individuals deserve much respect from the people they were elected to serve.

While they have no more power than other members of their respective governing bodies, with their title comes additional visibility and, thus, the likelihood for them to be the liaison between the public and other members of the governing council.

A mayor who is respected by the people can go a long way toward alleviating residents' concerns when controversial issues arise. At the same time, he or she can be a public relations vehicle in regard to visitors or those otherwise coming to the community to do business.

As the series of articles made clear, those who serve do so because of their dedication to their community's best interests and the people who live there. The articles made clear that they're not in their mayoral positions because of the pay.

Mayors in some of the county's boroughs are paid annual salaries of only $300 or $500, and others get no pay at all.

There's Harrisville Mayor Jere M. Donovan, who is authorized to receive an annual salary of $500 but does not accept the money.

Even Butler Mayor Maggie Stock, whose annual salary is $10,000, is paid well below what a mayor in a city of Butler's size should be paid.

It is a spirit of public service that guides these people, some, like Cherry Valley Mayor Ron Lockwood, for many years. He was first elected in 1970.

"Being part of the future" is the way Connoquenessing Mayor Harold Rader explained his commitment.

One of the main dislikes of the mayors featured in the articles is new and changing state and federal regulations with which their communities are required to comply.

But Mayor Ken Harris of Slippery Rock pointed to another frustrating aspect of the job: people who urgently, but mistakenly, believe a borough mayor has the authority to command anything to happen.

The fact is, a mayor can make recommendations on issues, but it is the borough or city council, as a whole, that wields the power to make something happen or keep it from happening.

Borough ordinances are adopted by the borough council, and in cities such as Butler, it is the city council that is the law-making body.

In the boroughs, the mayor casts a vote only to break ties; in Butler, the mayor does vote, but the mayor's vote has no greater weight than the votes of the other council members.

Meanwhile, a question asked for the series of articles was, "What is something a mayor does the public might not know about." The answer was mayors' power to marry people.

But some people also don't know that mayors' primary duty is to oversee the police department in those communities with a police force.

Slippery Rock's Harris characterized getting to know the police very well and helping to shape police policies and practices as being one of the best aspects of being a mayor.

Regarding his community's police, he said, "They are truly competent and committed public servants. We are in their debt, far more than we know or say."

Meanwhile, Eau Claire Mayor Bruce Toth, who was first elected in 1988, listed "not enough power to gain help from the state and federal levels" as the worst aspect about being a mayor.

However, a mayor, along with other council members, can help their community by establishing and maintaining lines of communication with state and federal lawmakers and agencies — which, unfortunately, many communities fail to do.

Some mayors try to make themselves visible in the community, such as Zelienople Mayor Thomas Oliverio, who said, "I feel honored when I walk down Main Street and everyone says hello."

East Butler Mayor Richard Day also noted the respect he as mayor gets from people.

Twenty-four communities in Butler County have mayors. One of the communities with a new mayor is Valencia, where Joann Wamsley, who has lived in the borough for 51 years, took office on Monday.

She said she is committed to making sure that state and federal regulations work in the best interests of her community and its residents.

Readers who followed the mayoral series have a perspective of the office that they might not have had previously, but just as important is the newfound knowledge they might have gained about the quality, committed individuals who occupy that office.

Butler County is lucky to have these people and their service.