Chautauqua County officials are poised to take a good step to expand membership on the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency.

On Wednesday, legislators will vote on an expansion of the CLPRA membership from nine members to 13 members, adding two town elected officials and two village elected officials to the organization. Doing so means each of the towns and villages that border Chautauqua Lake will have a member on the CLPRA.

We had taken issue with the composition of the CLPRA’s membership when the organization was first proposed a couple of years ago, and we would have preferred to have a representative from each of the lakeside towns and villages seated at the CLPRA meeting table since its inception.

If the CLPRA is indeed going to recommend a taxing district, then it only makes sense that all of the lakeside towns and villages are represented. It is easier for lakeside residents to attend a town or village board meeting than it is a CLPRA meeting, and we’d prefer to have all of the lakefront represented when it comes to deciding how dollars are going to be spent — if, indeed, a taxing district is the ultimate recomemendation.

The legislature should approve this resolution.