We’re all in this together, but we still want to go our separate ways. That best describes our northern Chautauqua County community that allows the proliferation of government while population trends keep declining.

A most recent example was a potential partnership between the towns of Pomfret and Dunkirk. When Pomfret purchased the former Mormon church — with federal funds from COVID that we initially decried — an opportunity arrived for two municipalities to work together.

So much for that idea. The town of Dunkirk, with offices less than half-a-mile from the Chestnut Road site, wants to maintain its own identity and its own less than adequate facility.

At the moment, that is do-able. But when does this region finally comprehend the unsustainable path we continue to be on? It is very evident in the city of Dunkirk and village of Fredonia.

Even Arkwright is building a new community center. That’s not what the government was created to do.

But northern Chautauqua County has been contracting for so long that we believe any new buildings — even those taxpayer supported — are good things. While the structures will add some polish, they are not the answer for a shrinking tax base.

For decades this region has missed out on private investment. That is because the government — and school districts — keep growing larger in terms of buildings and employment while the numbers they serve keep dwindling.