Obviously, in these difficult times, the public must watch municipal budgets carefully. But in an election year, sometimes politicians make wild accusations. For instance, Providence City Councilor John Lombardi, who may run for mayor against the incumbent, David Cicilline, has charged that there have been inappropriate or unauthorized transfers of money between municipal accounts.

In fact, the internal transfers cited by Mr. Lombardi have been legal, appropriate, routine — and approved by the City Council as a whole. Say what you will about Mayor Cicilline’s vision for the city, few would argue that the financial management of the city has not been well done by the Cicilline administration, especially in comparison to the extreme, er, creativity demonstrated by the Cianci administration. We take particular note of the very able Richard Kerbel, director of administration, and Bruce Miller, director of finance. The Government Finance Officers Association has even give Mr. Miller and his colleagues a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

That doesn’t mean of course that all is perfect, and, as we said, citizens must watch municipal operations carefully. But it is a plea for Mr. Lombardi and others who may long for the mayor’s job to stick to the facts as they elaborate on their own plans to improve Providence.