This is trite &8212; we&8217;ll admit from the start. It is also audacious, but not on our part.

Gov. Bob Riley has just spent $75,000 of taxpayer money on swimming pool renovations at the governor&8217;s mansion.

We understand that our state facilities must be maintained. We understand one of the perks of being an elected official is an office furnished by the people. And if you are governor, you get a special house with a swimming pool in the shape of Alabama.

Nonetheless, we cannot resist wondering about how prudent the pool renovations were at this time.

We also wonder how that $75,000 could have been used for the Department of Corrections.

Normally, we would be against the use of one-time money to plug budget holes, but it seems to be the governor&8217;s forte.

We&8217;re still waiting on detailed financial records from the governor concerning the Farquhar Ranch. If the governor is going to sell it off, the least he can do is show the taxpayers its true value.

Perhaps once he signs the invoice for his new pool, he can get around to our &8220;trivial&8221; concern.