It's true that Butler County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton exercised bad judgment when, at a public commissioners meeting on Feb. 3, he stated how many sick days a particular county caseworker for Children and Youth Services — who was in attendance at the time — had used.

Hopefully, an official complaint filed by the worker and her union that has been upheld by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board will remain instructive to Pinkerton as he continues in office.

The worker in question, who is a member of one of two bargaining units of the Service Employees International Union Local 668, had alleged at the meeting that the commissioners were not negotiating fairly in discussions regarding new contracts. Both bargaining units have been working under terms of a contract that expired Nov. 30, 2008.

After the worker voiced the allegation, Pinkerton, during a lapse in judgment, revealed the specific information about the worker's use of the sick leave benefit.

It is understandable that the worker in question and her union regard Pinkerton's action as a major wrong, although in the bigger picture it is not earth shattering.

It was embarrassing for the employee — as it would be for most people — to have her use of authorized worker benefits be put in the spotlight for all to see — when she didn't do anything illegal.

Pinkerton is guilty of a misstep in the way he presented the controversial information. However, what he was trying to accomplish — albeit, in this instance, in the wrong way — was laudable, and part of a package of information that needed to be reiterated. The point he was trying to make was that county workers are provided generous benefits by the county government — benefits paid for by the taxpayers.

He didn't have to focus on one particular employee to make that point, but should instead have presented overall statistics covering all bargaining unit members.

Such information is an important, necessary and appropriate topic of discussion, not only on the county level but in school districts, cities, townships and boroughs as well.

Meanwhile, such costs have been one of the important points on which the contract negotiations involving the two bargaining units have focused.

The state Labor Relations Board was right in the ruling it handed down and in the dictates it issued for compliance by the county. However, the ruling doesn't — and rightfully should not — address the financial pressures benefits such as sick leave time impose on units of government and school districts. Those issues must be resolved within the units of government addressing them.

But such information needs to be available to — and understood by — the taxpayers. The cost of all benefits, as well as what employees pay toward those benefits, must be part of the taxpayers' right to know.

That information can be compiled and presented in a way that doesn't spawn anger and an official complaint to the state, like Pinkerton's approach produced.

In fact, Pinkerton served the interests of county taxpayers by calling attention to the cost of county workers' benefits. It should be understood just how extensive those benefits are —and what they cost taxpayers.

Had Pinkerton opted for the right approach of presenting general data about union workers' use of benefits, the main issue would not have been overshadowed by the question and decision about whether a violation of labor law had been committed.

Unfortunately, he opted for the wrong way, despite his good intentions as a representative of the taxpayers.