"Road reality check," a front-page story in Sunday's Butler Eagle, left no doubt that Middlesex Township's current road problems are the result of decades of poor leadership — and residents' contentment with that leadership.

Leaders of that municipality over the years relied on shoddy decision making, all along ignoring the fact that the township would suffer horrible consequences as a result of their inability to realistically look ahead to the future. Meanwhile, residents didn't adequately challenge those decisions.

The township currently is at the crossroads of deciding whether the municipality's deteriorated roads should remain untouched or whether the township should eliminate or greatly curtail police service and use police-protection money for roadway upgrades.

Neither option is palatable.

Sunday's story noted the poor quality of road construction that took place years ago. Township manager Scot Fodi said the majority of roads either were built directly over dirt or on a thin layer of driveway gravel — neither of which provided the kind of strength and durability that became increasingly essential as the years went by and traffic, in size and number of vehicles, increased.

During the years when the federal revenue sharing program was in effect, the money wasn't allocated wisely to infrastructure issues like bad roads, which could have averted today's troubling roads situation and the upcoming police-versus-roads decision.

Compounding the roads problem are storm water troubles that are eroding the condition of the roads, just like today's traffic.

Meanwhile, lack of public water is discouraging growth — growth that would help the municipality's finances — exacerbating the pressures resulting from limited tax revenue, despite the township's 18-mill tax rate, the highest in the county. A greatly increased level of home construction would greatly bolster the township's coffers. Each mill of taxation currently raises only $34,000. A great increase in home construction could strongly impact that figure.

It's obvious that Middlesex' current problems stem from past officials' contentment to live in the past — and ascribe to the notion that problems would take care of themselves.

Many of the neighborhood streets in the City of Butler epitomize a similar mind-set. A motorist need only travel the full length of North Monroe Street to get a "taste" of confidence-in-the-future gone awry.

It's no surprise that plenty of opposition exists to the suggestion that Middlesex' police department be disbanded in favor of beefing up the roads. Residents feel a sense of security knowing that law enforcement is close by, rather than possibly having to wait an inordinate amount of time for the arrival of state police from Butler, especially if there is an emergency at the opposite end of the county.

The police-versus-roads decision isn't going to be easy, but whatever it is will make an important statement for the years ahead.

Unfortunately, either way, the township is destined to lose. The scope and seriousness of that loss is what the 2006 budget will determine.