Pocomoke City Manager Bobby Cowger isn’t just managing the community’s government affairs, he’s doing things, things that could have been done long before this hometown boy got his hand on the tiller.

Going back to his days in business, as a Worcester County Commissioner, and later as the head of the county’s Department of Liquor Control, no one ever even suggested that Cowger was a go along to get along kind of person.

Quite the contrary, as he was and is one of those people who will tell you what he thinks, whether you like it or not.

Fortunately for Pocomoke, Cowger has an appreciative audience in the City Council, as he aggressively addresses some of the lingering issues that have sapped the town of much of the vigor over the past couple of decades: a decline in commercial activity, frustrating water woes, and a rise in unsightly properties brought on owners’ lack of money or lack of interest.

To be fair, Cowger has one distinct advantage over some of his predecessors: he is not from somewhere else. Because he requires no tutoring or handholding while he acclimates to the local circumstance, he is more of a partner in government than he is an employee. The council, obviously, is listening to him and vice-versa.

It’s exciting to watch — the sharply reduced water and sewer tap fees for new businesses, the property cleanups, the water system revamping, and the little things such as getting Delmarva Power to yank out the old utility poles that should have been removed the minute the new ones were erected.

Right now, Pocomoke residents have a good council/manager combination working for them. We can’t wait to see what they do next.