It's a battle that's being waged in committee rooms more than 100 miles to the north.

Austin council members, city staff, along with Mower County commissioners and county staff, realize there's going to be cutbacks.

The problem is, no one really knows for certain how much it's going to be.

That's why we're urging caution by city leaders not to get too hasty is cutting programs and projects until we know exactly for sure how severe these cuts truly are.

Some county officials have already given suggestions to our local legislators on what could be cut back, as far as funding from the state. Although the county does have a well-known fund balance surplus, officials there are wise to be proactive and let our legislators know what can be trimmed, insted of the other way around.

We're encouraged to see the city isn't sitting back and waiting for the Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty to tell them how much of Austin's crucial Local Government Aid funding will be cut. Although it's not for sure LGA will be touched, many city and government officials have said it's a real possibility some type of aid will be trimmed, especially since Pawlenty told voters this past election season that he wouldn't raise taxes.

The city and county's proactiveness is good to see. However, let's not start taking too many drastic decisions until we see how deep our funding cuts will truly be.