The beauty of a tight-knit community, such as Waco, is that we tend to have a good read on the character of those neighbors whom we know.

That is why we believe unequivocally that Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, does not have a larcenous bone in his body.

But that only makes it all the more difficult for us to understand how Anderson allowed himself to be put in a position in which the Internal Revenue Service attached a lien against him for failing to pay more than $58,000 in back taxes.

The lien, for failing to pay federal income tax over three separate years, marks the third time that Anderson has been hit with such problems — the first two now resolved — compliments of the IRS.

For an elected official charged with representing our region’s interest at the state level, this is simply unacceptable.

Are we holding Anderson to a higher standard because of his public position? Unequivocally, yes.

And, we believe, rightfully so. A healthy democracy is composed of several essential ingredients.

Key among them is the concept that a citizenry bestows on one of its own a covenant of trust that gives their representative extraordinary power to influence the regulation of our society.

It’s not hyperbole to suggest this covenant has been repeatedly baptized by the blood of our troops over the course of our history.

In return for bestowing such extraordinary power, the electorate should expect a certain level of decorum from our representative — key among them are honesty and integrity.

This latest debacle involving Anderson should not necessarily impugn either his honesty or integrity.

We believe we know him well enough to know those two attributes are beyond reproach.

Which leaves us to conclude that carelessness is the only explanation for such a pattern with the IRS.

But if Anderson has this much difficulty keeping his own financial house in order, we must wonder how careful he is as a steward of our tax dollars.

We implore Anderson to work out the necessary arrangements to satisfy the IRS and to set up a system that would preclude the IRS from having to take the drastic measures that it has been forced to take on three separate occasions.

In his relatively short tenure as a public official, which began in 2005, he has built a lot of good will among the local electorate. But his pattern of difficulty paying his taxes is beginning to tax the patience of all whom he represents.