If the bond underwriting company Janney Montgomery Scott wanted to meet with the Butler County commissioners to only gather information about possible construction of a building to alleviate county government’s space shortage, a Jan. 9 meeting outside the view of the public would not have been a big deal.

But when the commissioners allowed the meeting to continue after it became clear that Janney Montgomery Scott had come with a financing proposal, the county fathers made a mistake.

Prior to the Jan. 9 session, the commissioners had not committed to new-building construction nor had they voted to invite interested bond underwriters to present formal proposals. Therefore, the commissioners were wrong in listening to this one company’s proposal, and they were wrong in accepting the information from the company.

If the commissioners had been open to speaking with the company prior to any formal invitation to all underwriters, that dialogue should have occurred at a public meeting.

Even though the commissioners are not required to seek bid proposals for bond underwriting, they should hold financing discussions in public, not in secret.

However, seeking bids for such service has a better chance of getting the county the best financing deal available.

Melissa Melewski, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, told the Butler Eagle that even if there was no violation of the state Sunshine Law, the commissioners should have talked with the company during a public meeting to comply with the intent of the law.

By allowing the meeting to continue when the company’s intent became apparent, the commissioners demonstrated the kind of poor judgment that should not be repeated.

Cheer The Butler Transit Authority’s ridership figures for the third and fourth quarters of 2011 are proof that the agency’s improvements in recent years have been noticed by the public.That has made potential riders more confident in the service and, once they’ve tried it, to ride The Bus again.For the period October through December, there were 62,100 riders, a 14 percent increase over the same quarter in 2010, and from July through the end of September, there were 61,500 riders, translating to more than a 10 percent increase over the same quarter of the previous year.More-convenient bus routes are at the core of the authority’s newfound success. When potential riders take the time to check out the authority’s reworked schedules, more people who work, shop or have doctor visits in and around downtown Butler are learning the conveniences of the service.No doubt the authority also is being aided by high gasoline prices — also, possibly, by the cost of parking in the city, as well as the new, higher fines for parking violations.The authority’s $2 ride-all-day pass also is a great bargain.More and more, people are understanding that it makes sense to use bus transportation.Having the technology to compile data on where and when people are getting on and off the buses, the authority is building a database for future improvements.The authority is to be commended for its positive inroads in serving the public and should build on the recent successes.

Cheer The spirit of bipartisanship that Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators intend to project during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday merits praise.The Keystone State’s entire U.S. House delegation and federal lawmakers from the other 49 states should follow the two senators’ lead.“Pennsylvanians want their lawmakers to work together to solve problems,” said Democratic Sen. Robert Casey in a news release. “Over the past year, Sen. (Pat) Toomey and I have collaborated on a host of issues important to our constituents. I look forward to sitting next to Sen. Toomey at this year’s State of the Union address and to continuing our work on behalf of the commonwealth in the spirit of bipartisanship throughout the year.”Remarked Republican Toomey in the same release: “As the second session of the 112th Congress begins, sitting next to each other is a small but worthwhile step toward setting a civil and cooperative tone for the challenging work ahead of us.”A civil and cooperative tone has been missing from Congress for years.Despite the realities of politics, lawmakers should seek every opportunity to demonstrate that they are dedicated to working as a team on Ameri-cans’ behalf.As Toomey said in the news release, his and Casey’s decision to sit together is a small step. However, it is a worthwhile step, and a welcome change from the unbending, unproductive partisanship that people of this country have been witnessing on Congress’ part for much too long.