Wednesday’s Butler County commissioners meeting followed a tiring script similar to so many of the county leaders’ meetings this year.

The commissioners spent so much time debating inconsequential issues that much more important discussion — matters of importance to taxpayers — remained on the back burner.

Although to some county residents who watch cable-television replays of the meetings, the sessions are entertaining, the fact is that, as a result of the pettiness that has been in play at the sessions, county residents have been cheated, if only in terms of information they should be receiving on big issues.

Wednesday’s topics of disagreement were the selection of an engineering firm for a composting restroom project at Alameda Park and the ongoing issue of travel expenses.

Most units of government would be able to agree on an engineering firm in minutes, with minimal debate, based on proposals or bids submitted.

Not Butler County, where an inordinate amount of time was consumed on what should have been routine business.

Likewise, not very many county governments allow themselves to be consumed by travel issues, which should be handled at a level lower than the county commissioners office.

The right way for Butler County and any other county to deal with travel to conferences and for other purposes is to allocate a certain sum of money per department for travel. Only when a department reaches its allowable spending limit and wants more money should travel become a commissioners issue.

County department leaders are capable of monitoring and approving travel expenses. Whether a conference attendee stays at a hotel where an event is being held or at a cheaper hotel down the street or miles away should not be a commissioners issue.

Commissioner Jim Eckstein, who took office in January, has been the source of much of the friction and needless dialogue that has occurred over the first eight-plus months of the year. While Eckstein was elected for a strong purpose — to monitor county spending and to find ways to cut costs — there is a right way and a wrong way to carry out that mission.

Being a constant source of confrontation is the wrong way.

After briefly explaining his position without accompanying personal attacks on his fellow commissioners, he should accept the results of voting.

None of this is meant to demean Eckstein or his role as a public servant. His dedication and commitment to his job are laudable.

However, he loses his positive effect on government when he’s constantly embroiled in disputes with the other commissioners on unimportant matters.

He must come to terms with the fact that he is just one vote on the three-member board and that, in the end, the county’s voters will judge the performance of the commissioners on the important issues with which they’re involved. Some of those will be how the commissioners deal with budget preparation, how they resolve the office space shortage and how they help municipalities on issues involving fire and other emergency serv-ices that directly affect county residents’ lives.

Over the years, the county government has compiled a notable record of accomplishment, even though there were dissenting votes at times. But now this county’s government oftentimes has become bogged down by minutiae.

Eckstein and the other commissioners must commit themselves to working together, despite reasonable dissenting opinions. They should conduct their meetings in a professional, respectful way.

County residents are being dealt a potentially costly disserv-ice, despite the free “entertainment” they’ve gotten over the past eight months.