If local builders hadn’t expressly supported a Mesa County proposal to raise the cost of obtaining building permits, would commissioners have raised fees anyway?

It’s an important question because it gets to the heart of our elected leaders’ feelings about the value of government services. There comes a point where undermanned government offices can’t meet demand for the services they’re supposed to provide.

Such is the case with the county’s building department. When the local economy took a nosedive in 2010, the department was cut in half. Reductions made sense at the time because building activity had dropped off. But now that construction is showing signs of a rebound, the department can’t process permits in a timely manner. Government inefficiency is a drag on growth.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.