Four years after the city of Hewitt was ranked by Money Magazine as one of the top 100 places to live in the United States, fireworks have erupted over whether to invest in this city’s future or hold steady till post-recessionary times end. Matters reached a boiling point this week.

About 40 residents filed into Hewitt City Council chambers Monday to convey anger over a proposed 4.5-cent hike in property taxes. That’s not a good sign for the bond package that some city officials want to put on the ballot later this year to provide for a new municipal complex for city, police and fire departments.

First off, let’s pray all parties cool off. Remember the civic spirit and attitude that only a few years ago commanded the attention of a national surveyor of great cities to champion. If Money Magazine saw the rancor of late, its editors might forsake the place for good.

That said, both sides in Monday’s dispute have genuine points to make.

Conditions now endured by police and fire officials do rate this community’s attention. Trib staff writer Regina Dennis informs us of cramped, leaky police quarters and fire department facilities so restricted they can’t even accommodate most of your standard firetrucks. Facilities have been added to and remodeled enough to have this fractured, crazy-quilt aura about them.

Residents of Hewitt who believe that police and firefighters are also their neighbors, who believe in law and order and protection from fire, flood and crime, surely must have some reservations about these accommodations.

While the council is split about a $7.9 million bond election to provide for a municipal complex, almost everyone agrees current facilities are bad. Unfortunately, some city officials have chosen an awful time to seek pay hikes of 5 percent for city employees when they so desperately want voters to approve a bond issue this year.

Is anyone getting 5 percent pay hikes these days? Most raises we’ve heard of — assuming local governments can even afford them — are in the 2 percent range, sometimes less. Reason: Taxpayers are also struggling, the economy may well sink back into a recessionary black hole, unemployment in our area isn’t improving, and now food prices are going up.

We suggest city officials consider further re-evaluating their budget for the coming year. It’s not that most residents of Hewitt can’t afford another $30 to $50 a year in their property taxes to ensure that city employees get 5 percent pay raises; rather, it’s the principle of the thing in uncertain and unstable economic times. Adding an important bond issue atop all that might well test the limits of civic pride and sacrifice.