Spotting government problems is almost an American pastime. Sometimes, however, government functions well, break the stereotypical bad practices.

Such was the case this week as the Adams County Board of Supervisors illustrated how elected officials should handle the boring, mundane, but important tasks of local government.

County supervisors have narrowed down the county’s options for selecting the county’s next garbage hauler to three companies.

All of this is four months before the county’s existing agreement ends.

With solid bids in hand, supervisors can further negotiate with the companies to potentially get the best deal for taxpayers.

Contrast that with the utter debacle the City of Natchez had last year when it canceled its waste collection process, but failed to follow through with finding another provider quick enough to avoid big problems.

The city, with its back against the wall, was forced to accept a less-than-ideal option for months while it sought to work a better deal.

Then, to complicate matters worse, city leaders chose to negotiate with potential vendors behind closed doors so the public will never know what was said — or promised — in those negotiations.

We hope the supervisors will continue to show taxpayers how good government should work by negotiating with the remaining three garbage collection companies in public.

We offer our thanks to the county supervisors, the county administrator and county attorney for working the public’s business efficiently and in a timely fashion.