We learned in the Thursday, Nov. 14, edition of the Butler Eagle that five municipalities in southeast Butler County are considering creating a joint comprehensive plan.

The five — Jefferson, Winfield, Clinton and Buffalo townships and Saxonburg — would share the costs involved with creating a long-term planning document. And for a small municipality, the costs, along with the time commitment, can be daunting.

But the people involved in pitching the idea, including Scott Docherty, owner of steel building manufacturer CID Associates in Buffalo Township; Butler County Planning Commission chairman Mark Gordon; and Joe Saeler, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County think that by working together the municipalities will be able to find more funding for projects.

Lois Rankin, a Jefferson Township supervisor, was at a recent meeting to discuss the idea.

“Joe Saeler was there, and he thinks he can get a lot of money if everyone would join together, and it would cost the township hardly anything at all to get in,” Rankin said at the Jefferson Township supervisors’ meeting Monday. “They were throwing numbers out there that maybe it would cost $5,000 or $6,000 for the township to do it.”

There’s some precedent for the idea of a joint comprehensive plan in the area already. In 2017, Buffalo and Clinton townships created a joint comprehensive plan.

The southeast corner of the county is growing, but the municipalities in the area are still mostly small. Working together to ensure a unified voice and a common goal is a smart move.

— JK