The Warren County Council of Governments’ period of soul-searching is a good exercise for any organization to go through.

Some good ideas have bubbled to the surface during the group’s recent discussions.

Lobbying state government on the county’s behalf, taking on a role in a possible property reassessment, helping with the ongoing EMS crisis, creating a more formal organization to generate additional interest among Warren County’s townships and boroughs and doing more to help with blighted properties within the county are all needs in our county.

We’d caution members not to spend too long searching for the council’s identity, however. The needs in our community are pressing ones, particularly the looming shortage of emergency services in our rural areas, and the Council of Governments could play an important role in getting Warren County’s local governments on the same page.

One area of discussion last week was the council’s “loosey goosey” approach, according to County Planner Dan Glotz. There isn’t firm consensus on creating a structured organization with a formal director. Doing so would cost money and time — and hefty pricetags are something many in government are trying to avoid as government deals with uncertain revenue levels because of COVID-19.

We would counter, though, with this thought. If the status quo has left many Council of Governments’ members unhappy, isn’t it worth the time and money to change the status quo? There certainly seems to be more dissatisfaction with the council’s place right now than satisfaction.

The fact that the council’s soul-searching period has taken this long should be a sign to members that significant changes are necessary to the way the council operates. In our view, the council should change — and relatively quickly — so that it can have a greater impact in solving our region’s issues.