Committees can be where good ideas go to die. There's no question about that.

But sometimes work—quiet, behind-the-scenes, painstaking work—needs to get done. So a committee needs to be formed.

Oxford Borough's 2014 budget process hit a bump in the road when Mayor Geoff Henry vetoed the tax ordinance because of the proposed tax hike from 11.5 to 12 mills. Council subsequently overrode the veto.

With the arrival of three new council members on Jan. 6, there's a chance that the new council will reopen the 2014 budget. Maybe the budget will be reopened, maybe it won't.

Here's the larger, more long-term issue: Oxford Borough needs to increase its revenues.

Oxford's administrative staff is small and there are only so many cuts that can be made to the budget. At some point, the borough needs to find a way to boost its revenues. Maybe it's something small, like charging more to make copies. Or something big like annexing an adjacent parcel of land to allow for a big commercial development. Maybe the Borough can work out a regional policing agreement with one of the neighboring townships that will help offset the costs of operating a full-time police force. Maybe a community-wide event can be held each year to generate revenues. A committee of interested and skilled people should be working on this issue. The solutions won't come in a week, a month, or even a year, but why not get the work started?