It is with a good degree of pleasure that we congratulate Mexico’s residents and public officials today.

Make that Mexico the town, not the country.

Congratulations are in order because Mexico – this week – was able to announce its town budget is not only balanced, but also holds a $200,000 surplus on the ledger.

What makes this particularly remarkable is that this is an overall half-million dollar improvement from November 2004, when this same town slashed its budget, canceled pay for selectmen, implemented a hiring freeze and canceled an order for a new police cruiser after discovering a $300,000 deficit.

The financial difficulty was so stressful, one of the selectmen resigned. It was a confusing time for residents, and the general sense was that it would take several years to dig out of this hole.

Town Manager John Madigan and the current board of selectmen deserve tremendous credit for turning the town’s financial health around, and doing it much faster than anyone anticipated.

What’s more, town officials also announced that the local property tax rate would decrease.

Yep. That’s right. A decrease.

Property taxes in Mexico are going down in 2007, not up. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $12 less than this year. Granted that’s no windfall, but it’s far better than paying $12 more.

In an era when the reverse is true in other regional towns named for countries – Poland and Norway come to mind – Mexico has, indeed, distinguished itself.

Mexico residents can feel comfortable that the money owed the town is coming to the town and that the guardians of those public resources know where that money is. And, unlike other towns where public officials have gone on wild, sometimes criminal, spending sprees, Mexico officials have safeguarded the public’s money.

In a town that is often the brunt of regional jokes for its name, residents should be proud. Proud because they’ve elected leaders who take seriously their responsibility to manage the people’s government and the people’s money.

Our biggest wish is that the situation in Mexico was the norm and not the exception to the disturbing trends in other parts of western Maine.

Viva! Mexico. Municipal leaders have found a way to put some pesos – make that dollars – back into the pockets of the people they serve.