Harvard town officials have every right to be proud of the feat they pulled off this past week in constructing a balanced budget for fiscal year 2010. They had to do it, of course; going to Town Meeting with an unbalanced budget is not an option. But in recent weeks, every department head worked hard, with an uncommon sense of purpose, to meet the current financial crisis head on, and to preserve as much as possible the things townspeople value most.

So there will be some spending cuts at the schools, but all of the classroom teachers will still have their jobs in the fall. The town’s police officers will still patrol the roads in full force, and they’ll get a new cruiser, too. Those roads will be plowed and swept and patched; lifeguards will shout warnings to rowdy kids in the water; and the library will be open 46 hours a week, which is something of an accomplishment these days. Even more amazing, the Council on Aging, after years of benign neglect, could even take its rightful place on the list of town funding priorities.

Harvard’s senior citizens were children or very young adults the last time the nation’s financial picture looked as bleak as it does now. They know better than anyone how much hard work lies ahead. But if this year is any indication, a capacity for hard work and innovative ideas among its leadership team is one thing this town has in ample measure.