Editorials don’t always have to take a pro or con stance on an issue. Occasionally, they can be informative or just make a point.

For example, let’s take the City of Troy’s distracted ordinance. Officials announced this week that police would start to ticket drivers who violated the regulation.
The ordinance goes beyond the state law that forbids texting while driving and includes talking on hand-held cell phones and any other activity that would cause a driver to be distracted.

Troy police started officially enforcing the city’s distracted driving ordinance Jan. 1, but it’s been on the books since last July. Since then, they haven’t been issuing tickets but spent the remainder of 2010 posting signs at the city limits and educating drivers about the ordinance.

Although we favored the regulation, acknowledging its value in improving driving safety, the point of an editorial that ran last last year was to praise the city and police department for its efforts in informing the public about the ordinance rather than just issuing tickets.

Like most municipalities, Troy is struggling to balance its budget and the $200 fine for using a cell phone while driving could have brought in some badly needed revenue during the latter half of 2010.

But city officials wanted to be fair to its residents and those in the metro area, so police made 400 stops to warn people that a second offense would result in a fine. And the signs the city has posted at its municipal limits warn people who are just driving through town from out of state to put down their cell phones.

So, for variety among other reasons, The Oakland Press editorials will not always support or oppose a position or issue. Sometimes we want to give out well-earned praise and even just take a neutral stance and let the readers draw their own conclusions.