Being picky is good.

Those in the audience at Monday’s City Council meeting may have questioned that as the finance committee considered scores of bids, along with the recommendations of department directors as to who should be awarded contracts ranging from a few thousand dollars to millions.

Discussion of one bid alone – a contract for $1.5 million of paving – lasted more than a half hour. There was no debate as to who was the qualified low bidder – Cardi Construction – but rather why the administration recommended D’Ambra Construction also be approved to do the work. In another matter, committee chair Ed Ladouceur asked a department director to provide a breakdown between material and labor costs so as to understand and compare bids.

You could almost hear a collective groan from those still in the audience.

It was after 9 p.m., four hours after the committee meeting started and two hours after the scheduled 7 p.m. start to the council meeting. Many in attendance were there to hear the long awaited five-year projection of city finances prepared by the accounting firm of Marcum. They wanted the big picture, as ugly as it could be.

Why were council members spending time on nickels and dimes when there are those who predict pension and healthcare costs of retirees – who outnumber active employees – are unsustainable and suggest bankruptcy as a means of re-setting things? Shouldn’t the council focus attention on the root causes of the high cost of Warwick operations and address critical issues, including our aging infrastructure from schools to water and sewer systems? Shouldn’t they be looking to change contracts that push up overtime costs and award handsome pensions – some in the six figures – to retirees for decades to come?

Indeed, the finance committee nitpicks city expenditures, and it would seem the meetings would move along faster if in their review of materials, council members asked clarifying questions and requested additional information in advance of meetings.

Also, in fairness, we should note that the August docket was excessive. The June and July council meetings were consumed by the debate over additional school funding and what that meant to school programs – including sports, which the school committee cut when the mayor and council cut its initial budget request by more than $7 million.

As it turned out, while committees cleared their agendas Monday, the council adjourned at 11:30 p.m. and before voting on those recommendations, meaning just about everything including the Marcum report is being pushed to the Sept. 4 meeting.

Yes, the wheels of government can be slow and ponderous.

But the big picture is not being overlooked.

As Ladouceur is quoted in today’s edition, “the elephant in the room” is pension and healthcare costs of retirees. He and Council President Steve Merolla are exploring legislative means of reducing these costs by instituting co-pays and limiting benefits. On another front, Mayor Joseph Solomon, who as a member of the council highlighted the need to address these costs, said he is exploring contractual changes to make the system sustainable without taxing homeowners and businesses out of Warwick.

This is not going to be easy.

There promises to be lawsuits, protests and maybe even labor actions. It won’t be pretty, and there will surely be those who feel that after committing a career to serving Warwick, they are being unfairly singled out and called on to rectify the omissions of prior administrations.

But as laborious as it can be – and sometimes laced with political and even personal jabs – the process of carefully scrutinizing city operations and finances is the bedrock to transparent and efficient government. For that, we applaud the diligence of council members and urge them not to lose sight of the bigger picture, too.