Commissioners from the two counties met this week in ongoing talks to determine how to redraw the border delineation. Just where the line of demarcation rested became a fuzzy factor over the years as markers from days of yore -- tree lines, outbuildings and rocks that were used by surveyors to denote where the county borders were -- evaporated over time.
There was some movement at this week's meeting that, on the surface, appears to be positive. The commissioners agreed to have their county managers and planners collaborate on a newly advanced plan that would transfer 413 acres from Alamance to Orange and 890 acres from Orange to Alamance.
A simple swap-out may not end up being so simple. At stake are such things as where children go to school, where taxes get paid and, in a less tangible dynamic, where allegiances lie. Then there's the cost, expected to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, to alter the border line, and the need to get several layers of local government on board to convince members of the General Assembly from the other 98 counties to allow the switch to be made, as required by law.
Taxpayers, homeowners and business operators need to be involved now as this process goes forward, and not wait until the train has left the station to complain about the final fix.
