The two newly installed county commissioners, James Lokhaiser and Dale Pinkerton, took a positive first step by voting to reopen the 2008 county budget and, perhaps more importantly, by looking to an advisory committee to give them guidance.

By forming the budget advisory committee, Lokhaiser and Pinkerton are acknowledging that they don't know everything when it comes to county finances. They should not be expected to, but by bringing together former county officials, businessmen and other professionals, the new commissioners are enlisting expertise that should not only help with understanding the county budget and saving taxpayers money, but also could be helpful in other areas of county operations.

Government experience on the committee will come from Bill McCarrier, a former county commissioner; Jerry Andree, Cranberry Township manager; Bill Patterson, former county chief clerk and court administrator; as well as John Cranmer, former county controller. John Bonando, assistant vice president of student services at SlipperyRock University, will bring skills from working within a large institution.

Business experience from the private sector, with special financial skills, will come from retired bankers Jack Beiler and Jim Hackbart. Christopher Shelby, an investment banker with HT Capital Markets in Pittsburgh, also will bring financial expertise that might extend to an analysis of the fees the county has been paying for bond issues and the advantages of putting that business out for competitive bids, rather than repeatedly going back to the same bond underwriting firm.

Retired architect and former principal of Burt Hill, Richard Rittelmann, will bring business skills as well as construction-related experience that might be helpful in the troubled county prison project, even though the bulk of the construction work on that troubled project is nearly completed.

Subjecting the county budget and other operations to examination by people outside county government is a good thing. The nine-member committee can view the budget from a different perspective and might be able to ask questions that might not occur to Pinkerton, Lokhaiser, or even Commissioner James Kennedy, who was re-elected in November.

The advisory committee should be expected to challenge the status quo and ask tough questions about county government operations, refusing to accept the answer, "That's the way it's always been done." Anything and everything should be fair game in this process, and long-running practices should be challenged.

While examining the budget, the advisory committee should take an expansive view and look at ways to reduce the cost of county government — from centralizing tax collection to consolidating some row office functions. The group also should look at county staffing, from the commissioners office on down, and also review contracts with employees as well as the process used for bidding professional services.

The advisory committee is expected to give its report to the commissioners at a public meeting prior to the Feb. 15 deadline for finalizing the county's $185.3 million budget.

It is appropriate for the committee to focus first on the budget, given the time constraints of the Feb. 15 deadline. But beyond the budget, this same advisory committee, or another one, should look at every aspect of county operations and provide a report to the commissioners — and the public.

By enlisting an outside advisory committee, Pinkerton and Lokhaiser are acknowledging that they don't know it all. But with that admission, they are demonstrating a kind of wisdom that should help them do an effective job and most likely save taxpayers money.