To some folks it looked like a shell game when a $226,000 reimbursement grant for money spent from the water enterprise fund was assigned to the general fund. Others -- noting that this sleight of hand left the water ratepayers still footing the original bill -- called it outright theft.

In one of the great bureaucratic mysteries of recent years, this 2004 measure was declared legal by the city solicitor, the state Executive Office of Environmental and the state Department of Revenue.

Despite their pronouncements, the fund switch mightily offends the most basic notions about ethics in handling the public's money. For those who missed the initial go-round, here's how it worked:

The city had the opportunity to purchase the 25-acre Phillips property near Manchester Reservoir for $332,000. That sum happened to be left over from the bond to build the city's new water treatment plant -- the same water treatment plant city officials so frequently cite as a reason why water rates are high.

A self-help grant was later awarded to cover two-thirds of the cost of the land purchase. Instead of going back to the water fund, from which the money had been taken, it was assigned to the general fund, which was in its usual mode of being in dire need of cash to run the city without cutbacks. This is admittedly an old story, but it's never too late to do the right thing. City Councilman William Bowles recently proposed that the city repay the water fund the $226,000.

The proposal has been assigned for study by City Councilman Frank Cook's committee of finance and public works, where we trust that it will be treated judiciously and with the goal of doing the right thing by the city's water rate payers.

Bowles has recommended that the money be paid back over a three-year period. That is more than fair to Mayor Kevin Dumas and other guardians of the general fund, which was enriched by the water money in one fell swoop.

There is more than adequate time to prepare a repayment schedule before the next budget year starts. The goal is totally consistent with a primary duty of the city council and mayor: To treat the ratepayers fairly.