St. Lawrence County legislators Monday voted down support for the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, something that could be a shot-in-the-arm for the news industry that has seen 43% of New York State weeklies close since 2004.

I’m not dismayed by the decision.

I personally believe supporting the measure would pay dividends socially and economically, but I wasn’t elected, nor did I run for office and it’s not my decision to make.

The truth is, New York State’s budget is already bloated and a tax break for an industry that holds elected officials accountable wasn’t likely to find its way into a budget that’s already past the deadline.

More importantly, the vote was preceded by a solid discussion. More than half of legislators who voted on the measure discussed their reasons. That’s appreciated. It’s true that the newspaper industry needs support. Most of the legislators who spoke acknowledged that.

[img_assist|nid=337679|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=150|height=209]Legislator Ben Hull, who voted against the measure, went as far as telling his fellow legislators to “encourage the community to donate, subscribe, read, discuss, write letters to the editor, be involved” and I couldn’t agree more.

Legislator Rita Curran, who supported the proposal, pointed out that losing local news coverage has a cost. That’s something that’s been proven true in communities where papers have died.

Legislator Joseph Lightfoot was against the bill and pointed out that there are many other areas the state should invest in first and focused his arguments on public safety. To his point, in recent years St. Lawrence County’s seen a definitive increase in homicide investigations.

Legislator Glenn Webster, who voted in favor of the measure, noted that the state spends a lot of money on things he sees as less valuable than tax breaks for newspapers. I’d agree to that point as well.

The point I’m trying to make is legislators didn’t just toss the measure out with a quick vote along party lines.

They took the time to think about, discuss and debate the matter. And that’s important.

It’s also important for people like me to report on the meeting, so people like you can find out what took place. That’s a point made by Legislator Jim Reagen, who asked the legislature to support the LJSA.

So I’d like to thank our county legislators for considering a measure that could help make our community a better place.

I’ll also offer appreciation for their past support in choosing to run legal notices in all of St. Lawrence County’s papers to ensure that more St. Lawrence County residents have access to news.

It’s not lost on me that our legislators care about local news. Some communities aren’t so fortunate.

So to all legislators, we appreciate your recognition that news is valuable and we hope you act on Legislator’s Hull’s words in encouraging the community to donate, subscribe, read, discuss, write letters to the editor, and be involved.

We need you and others to continue recognizing that local news is a worthwhile investment and is value-added not value-lost.