Benzie County Planning Director Dave Neiger has endured his fair share of criticism over the last few years, so we are pleased to give him some well-deserved credit.

Specifically, we were impressed with Mr. Neiger at last week’s meeting of the Benzie County chapter of the Michigan Township Association. He was there to offer representatives of local townships support on planning matters, and it was plain he does have a lot to offer.

Mr. Neiger gave advice to township supervisors on something few of them have much experience with: how to deal with new oil and gas drilling sites that may crop up in Benzie in the coming years. Given the high prices of both those fuels, and the fact that landsman have gone house to house over the past year urging residents to sign drilling agreements, it’s crucial that township boards understand the rights, obligations, and regulations involved.

Benzie’s planner also told the MTA members that he’s following through on updating the county’s award-winning master plan—something he and a special zoning ordinance review committee have made steady progress on since last fall year. As part of that endeavor, Mr. Neiger is establishing another, separate committee that will try to keep the townships well informed of the county’s progress.

That is exactly the kind of thing that Benzie County officials need to do, and Mr. Neiger deserves recognition for his work.

He and other county officials have drawn fire for Benzie’s failure to translate the county master plan, developed more than a decade ago with a broad array of community support, into the necessary enforceable zoning ordinances that would make the vision behind that thoughtful, forward-looking plan come true.

That failure was one reason Inland and Homestead Townships gave for pulling out of countywide planning and zoning last year. Other reasons for leaving—a move some other townships have considered—were listed in last year’s Crisis of Confidence report, an independent analysis of the county’s operational problems commissioned by the county.

But Benzie may be turning a corner now. Officials like Mr. Neiger, Zoning Director Craig Seger, and a number of planning commission members are working to improve the county’s internal operations and its external communication and image. Perhaps, over time, Benzie’s townships will realize that the county can actually help them, their taxpayers, and countywide quality of life by playing a significant role—perhaps even the lead role—in planning and zoning. That would be good for everyone.