Letters - Avoiding Dangers for Local Government - NYTimes.com Perhaps the most sobering message from the financial quagmire in Jefferson County, Ala., is that other local governments are also headed down dangerous roads ("When a County Falls Off the Cliff," Feb. 19). Throughout the nation, local government officials - including many whose jobs may be only part-time - are forced to deal with complicated technical and financial issues for which they may have little preparation. In some cases, governments place such issues on the ballot, leaving complex decisions directly to voters, often with little professional analysis or discussion of the trade-offs that inevitably will have to be made. Amid all the cries for less government, it would be refreshing to hear someone call instead for more trained professionals to better administer the delivery of vital public services we consume every day. Otherwise, we will all end up paying for the next financial parlor tricks that come our way. Richard G. Little Pinehurst, N.C., Feb. 20 The writer is a senior fellow in the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.