One county commissioner wants to make the county’s economic picture a little more transparent.

Commissioner Les Boggs said he would like to see the county commission release an annual “State of the County” report much like other cities and some states do.

“It would include some of the things we talk about, some of our goals, things that are good and things that are not so good,” Boggs said Thursday at the weekly commission meeting. “I think the public would appreciate knowing.”

Boggs said the report would not have to be detailed but would allow the commission to communicate the county’s financial picture and what goals the commission has to improve that picture.

Money matters have been a much-discussed topic lately with the commission enacting a 15 percent salary cut for each general fund office in the new 2009 budget.

In other matters, some of Lawrence County’s ideas are being copied — or at least inviting attention— from government entities in other areas.

Lawrence County Treasurer Stephen Dale Burcham said he recently got a telephone call from a county official in Summit County, inquiring about the plans to have payroll deductions for real estate taxes available for government employees in Lawrence County.

Burcham said last week he had approached officials with the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization, the Briggs – Lawrence County Public Library as well as the county commission about allowing their employees to voluntarily sign up to have their real estate taxes deducted from their paychecks much like income taxes and other state and federal taxes.

“He (the Summit County official) said he thinks this is the way to go and wants to see how we will do it,” Burcham said. “This is something that’s getting out quickly.”

Dan Palmer, director of the Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District, said he has learned the Jefferson-Belmont Solid Waste Management District has adopted a Caught Green-handed program much like the one his agency initiated a couple of years ago.

Solid Waste employees make monthly, unannounced visits to one recycling container location in each of the two counties. They look for people using the agency’s voluntary recycling program and reward them with a gift certificate.