In an October editorial on nuisance laws, the Eagle called on county municipalities to better publicize their rules and be more transparent.

At the time, we wrote that locating relative information regarding various rules and laws involved a fair amount of digging on a handful of township websites.

One of the communities mentioned in that editorial — Adams Township, in which a resident at that time complained of being cited for vehicles and trash on his property — plans on doing just that.

Although the effort doesn’t involve nuisance laws, Adams’ newly elected supervisor chairman, Russell Ford, announced during a meeting Monday that one of the township’s goals for the year is to improve transparency and communication.

In an era of partisan bickering and finger-pointing, the township’s goal is a good one.

Last summer, a Pew Research Center study found that 75 percent of Americans believe the public’s trust in the federal government is on the decline.

Gallup polls from the previous year found better results for state and local governments, but most studies in the past few years have shown that people trust the people who represent them in government — and even each other — less and less.

Adams’ initiative to increase transparency — as explained during Monday’s meeting — includes several important components: updating its website to give it an active presence, compiling goals regarding transparency and making them public, improving communication — especially between the township’s board and planning commission — and calling for more public input.

This last component is especially important. There likely is no better way to increase transparency and ensure that local government is working for residents than to get them involved in the process.

At the meeting, Ford called on supervisors, department heads and Adams residents to identify “top objectives” for the coming year. We hope all stakeholders in the community answer the call.

And the possibility of a survey on local issues was floated by a resident in attendance. We think this is a good idea.

“We want to make sure we’re getting all sides of the story,” Ford said at the meeting. “We want the public to be actually heard.”

We can’t argue with that, and look forward to seeing the results of the township’s initiative and whether residents believe it has improved transparency.

Leaders in other communities in the county should take note.