While the country has two Democrats taking shot for shot against one another, debate at the local level continues with the same furor. Our towns are facing serious issues — development, homelessness, economics and even leadership, among others.

On Wednesday, the weekly editors of North Jersey Media Group were invited to a meeting with Gov. Jon Corzine at our editorial office in Hackensack. Corzine presented the challenges the state faces in establishing a new budget and we were encouraged to ask questions.

Up close and personal, the governor showed off his business expertise and took a no-nonsense position that tough decisions must be made to pull New Jersey out of its financial quagmire. He even dared to say that we are indeed in a "recession," a word that most politicians are loath to admit.

"We have long since gone by the threshold where we can borrow," Corzine said. "We have to have cash flow in equal cash flow out."

Corzine stressed that the cuts and consolidations that have been made or are in the process of being made at the state level should be mirrored at the municipal level, especially when it comes to shared services. He admitted that in a state with a long tradition of home rule, proposals like consolidating police departments or even school administrative positions are not popular suggestions, but the financial health of our communities ultimately depends on a creative, eyes-wide-open, approach.

The towns in Central Bergen, which includes Hackensack, Little Ferry, Ridgefield Park and Teaneck, are already taking steps toward money-saving initiatives. Officials here have discussed shared services, such as how Cliffside Park and Fairview operate with one public works department, or the way one person oversees the Shade Tree Commission covering Paramus and Oradell.

And thanks to Executive Dennis McNerney, consolidation and mergers have become more than fleeting thoughts in Bergen County. In McNerney’s money-saving vision, merging smaller towns such as Bogota and South Hackensack with larger ones will ultimately offer much-needed relief to our emptying wallets.

But more can be done.

Even before the meeting with the governor, we were well aware that because belts will have to be tightened at all levels of government, the ability to make difficult, perhaps unpopular choices is what’s required of our local elected officials. With this in mind, we will in the coming months ask our council candidates to address specific issues in their boroughs. We also urge all voters to get to know their candidates and make informed decisions.

Elections might be well into the future, but the decision that voters ultimately make is too important to procrastinate on.