I assume that our political leaders saw the latest bad news from the Census Bureau: Monroe County's population is down. Wayne County: down. Genesee County: down. Livingston County: down. Orleans County: down. In the entire six-county region, the population has grown in only one county: Ontario. And Ontario's has grown because people have moved there from neighboring counties. Overall, while there's a population boom in some parts of the nation, here in the Greater Rochester area, we're shrinking.

Same thing's happening inside Monroe County. The city and all but one of its contiguous suburbs are losing population. Greece, Gates, Brighton, Irondequoit: all down. The sole exception is Chili, which touches the city with a tiny finger. The growth suburbs are the ones farther out.

Barring some miracle of intelligence, political leaders will continue to let this happen. And they'll continue to whine about the need to cut property taxes.

You can't do both, folks. Those new developments farther out require services: roads, sewers, classrooms, rec centers.

Regional planning would help. But regional planning is... oh, you know: a Commie plot.