Last fall, Murray County Commissioners set a policy establishing fees for usage of buildings at the fairgrounds in Slayton. Thanks to action taken Tuesday, that rule might as well be taken off the books completely.
Following an appeal by the county's Relay for Life organization, county commissioners voted 3-2 to waive the $200 fee for the 2006 Relay. This action was taken after some commissioners acknowledged that organizations such as the American Legion and Hospice paid fees without contesting them. In fact, Relay for Life was the first to test the new fee structure.
While some may argue that such entities as Relay for Life and the American Legion shouldn't have to pay the fees the county mandates by law, that's not the issue at hand. The fact that commissioners, by a narrow margin, decided not to uphold a policy that had just recently been set in place -- on the first occasion it was contested, no less -- makes one wonder why last fall's action was taken in the first place.
Decisions made in any courtroom set a precedent for future cases, and the actions of local units of government are no exception. Now that the waiver of the $200 fee has been given for Relay for Life, who's to say another organization won't come forward and cite that example? And can one organization be given what amounts to preferential treatment over another?
At this point, Murray County Commissioners are in an awkward situation. They have no one to blame but themselves.
