Butler County President Judge Thomas Doerr’s amended order on county government security is better than his initial order issued on Nov. 19. Instead of a sheriff’s deputy being assigned only to the commissioners office, beginning on Monday a deputy was assigned to roving patrols in the Government Center.

But as with the initial order, the amended directive should not be needed — and wouldn’t be if a confrontational atmos-phere were not now consuming the highest level of the county government.

That situation is troubling not only for the county’s leaders and people who staff the county offices; it’s also troubling from a financial standpoint for taxpayers.

Rather than performing some more important function, the deputy — who is paid about $37,000 and receives another $15,000 worth of benefits — will be wasting valuable time walking around the Government Center in what really is — or should be — a non-threatening environment.

Still, all considered, Doerr’s reasoning for assigning the deputy makes sense.

Referring to the confrontational mood in the commissioners’ office, the judge said, “I’d rather be accused of overreacting than be caught wondering what I should have done to stop an incident.”

During a meeting with the commissioners on Friday, Doerr detailed specifically his reason for his first order; on Nov. 19, he said only that he was reacting to the “volatile” climate surrounding the commissioners office.

On Friday he was not so vague. He told Commissioner Jim Eckstein, “Your conduct over time has become more agitated and aggressive to the point where I believe reasonable people around you may feel threatened and that physical confrontation is possible.”

Eckstein denied that there should be safety concerns involving him. However, Commissioner Dale Pinkerton requested that the judge consider the addition of a security camera monitoring the entrance to the commissioners office. That would be a questionable cost, however small, that the taxpayers would be forced to shoulder amid the already stated possibility of a 2-mill real estate tax increase for 2013.

The fact that all three commissioners said they are comfortable with Doerr’s modified security order doesn’t mean that the taxpayers should be satisfied. The working environment within the top county offices should not have deteriorated to the point where the judge concluded that special security is necessary.

The best security would be for the commissioners office to shed its current confrontational mind-set that is eroding efficiency and accomplishment while also bringing unwanted and unflattering attention to Butler County.