Governments are not perfect. They are, of course, entities created and operated by human beings, imperfect human beings.

We all make mistakes, however, some of those mistakes are difficult to fathom sometimes.

A few of those have occurred lately in the transition of leadership in the Town of Vidalia.

First was the sudden realization that the town was in dire need of cash. The former administration for years had told residents, effectively, “All is good, no reason for you to worry your little heads about any of this government stuff.”

Current leaders are rallying efforts to borrow up to $3.5 million on a temporary basis to cover immediate needs.

Residents quickly learned that was not true as the town planned to invest heavily into a land purchase venture that the state’s bond commission challenged as speculative at best.

That development deal was among the factors that caused voters to oust nearly the entire town leadership team.

Later we learned that the town’s health insurance policy was briefly canceled because the town failed to pay its bill.

Someone in the town’s government noticed the bill and simply ignored it, or perhaps the reminder notice.

While the matter was quickly resolved, a system of checks and balances needs to be in place — and checked monthly — to ensure important matters are not dropped in the future.

The new administration remains in the “honeymoon” period for many residents, but the shine will fade quickly if rapid progress isn’t made to correct flawed systems and restore citizens’ confidence.