Whether it’s federal, state, property taxes, or from a levy, it’s all your money they are spending to provide you services.

Right now, officials in the Lebanon Community School District and in City Hall are busy trying to balance the budget and still provide services to the residents and youth of Lebanon. With a lingering recession, I don’t envy the job.

Government budgets have multiple funds, and pay for things out of each of those funds. Some funds are set aside for specific things; some are used for just about anything.

I try and understand it by relating it to my home budget, because let’s face it, I have no idea what millions of dollars looks like, and that is the kind of money these agencies are dealing with.

Perhaps the main fund is General Fund. This is spent for lots of things. For the school district, most of the salaries of employees come out of this. For the city, the entire police force comes out of it. Other things come out of general, too, but those are just examples.

The school district gets its money based on how many students attend the district.

The city has various sources of revenue, including building permits and water and sewer fees.

Join me as we head into this budget season, and I will try and explain more about different funds and how the district and city are doing financially.

Times are tight, and they all have difficult decisions to make, but somehow they manage to do it and still provide services for Lebanon.

Budget meetings will start in force in mid-May.

Because, honestly, all that’s really keeping us safe are some lights, signs and a line of paint on the road.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a bright young man who broke his neck because he was driving too fast, and is now quadriplegic.

A few weeks ago, an officer was taken to the hospital because he was rear-ended by someone following too closely.

Last month, I was involved in what we at the paper would call a “two-vehicle, non-injury collision.” A young man was on his cell phone and ran a red light. Thank goodness no one was hurt, but our car was totaled.

Every day on my commute I see drivers swerving about in their lane, often driving halfway between the emergency/bike lane and their lane. I see drivers interpreting a yellow light as a challenge to see if they can make it through.

Or playing leap-frog down Highway 99, whether or not there’s a double-yellow line, or a blind corner approaching.

More often than not I see drivers following so close to the car in front of them they have to swerve if the need to brake arises.

Driving is one thing that shows an enormous trust in each other: We trust each other to stop at red lights and stop signs, to yield right of way, to stay between the lines.

We’re not invincible. And even when with a non-injury collision, accidents are traumatic and expensive.

Give the guy in front of you a break. Pay attention. Think before you use your cell while driving. Stay between the lines. And for heaven’s sake, if you must go out drinking, call a cab.