When the economy is sour, unemployment up, wages down, charitable giving stagnant and government assistance limited, it’s not the right time to raise taxes.

It’s the right time for government to become leaner and more efficient, to re-evaluate the services it offers and the way they’re offered.

That brings us to the issue of the county option income tax, or COIT, in Madison County. Local government units have the option of raising the rate of this tax, currently at 1.25 percent of income, to 1.5 percent of income. The raise would mean a person earning $40,000 in a year would pay an additional $100 a year in county income tax.

Local government entities have until Nov. 1 to decide whether to institute the tax increase. Units representing more than 50 percent of the county’s population must vote in favor of the tax hike for it to occur countywide. So, if Anderson and Elwood were to both vote in favor of the hike, it would be instituted for the entire county. Or a combination of other local government bodies — Madison County, Alexandria, Chesterfield, Edgewood, Elwood, Pendleton and Woodlawn Heights, for example — could vote it in.

Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon has already said the city administration is in favor of increasing the COIT rate. Indeed, Anderson City Council voted in favor of it last year but couldn’t get other government units to go along.

We have three words for local officials mulling the COIT increase: Just Say No.

Service fees should be considered, within reason, to generate needed revenue because they directly charge the people who use the service. But raising general taxes doesn’t make any sense.

The timing is all wrong. The message is all wrong. Individuals and businesses are learning to make do without the revenue they once had. Government must do the same.

It will take creative thinking and determination to get the job done with the resources available. And it will take budget cuts.

That’s the harsh reality of the community’s economic conditions. Government must deal with that reality.