Money is the key issue that hangs over the election for New Castle City Council.

By that, we mean the city’s financial plight. New Castle is an Act 47 community, officially recognized by the state as financially distressed and operating under a system designed to promote fiscal accountability.

There are restrictions under Act 47. But they mainly require the city to operate within a believable budget. The city still can develop policies and programs as it sees fit.

It just has to be able to pay for them.

There appear to be a lot of misconceptions in New Castle about Act 47. And many of them are held by candidates running for city council. Typically, these consist of the view that being in Act 47 is a terrible thing.

We disagree. The terrible part was the poor leadership that dug the city into a financial hole. Act 47 is the salvation, a lifeline for the community.

And not only does it force the fiscal discipline city officials were unwilling to provide by themselves, Act 47 also presents an opportunity to move forward. New Castle’s recovery plan under Act 47 includes plenty of ideas for strengthening the city and its operations.

The key ingredient is a group of city officials willing to tackle the hard work.

And that brings us to Tuesday’s race for city council and our endorsements. Voters will select three new faces for council, two for four-year terms and one for a two-year stint.

The two-year contest is a special election (resulting from a resignation vacancy) that pits Democrat Richard Beshero against Republican Theo McCracken. Neither candidate ran in the primary; they were selected for the ballot by their respective party committees.

Of the two, we think McCracken is the stronger choice. He has a long record of civic involvement that can be an asset to council. Beshero, a political newcomer by contrast, demonstrated little knowledge of city government’s structure or the responsibilities of a council member.

Candidates in the four-year contests for council are Democrats MaryAnne Gavrile and Ed Yerage and Republicans John Altman and William Schafer.

Our strongest endorsement goes to Gavrile. We believe she understands the role council must play in New Castle’s future, not only in terms of Act 47, but also in setting standards for protecting neighborhoods from poorly tended properties.

That’s something New Castle desperately needs.

Similarly, we recommend Altman as a good choice for council. As a private citizen, he was among the early proponents of Act 47, pushing the issue via petition. Without the input of concerned individuals such as Altman, it is terrifying to think where New Castle would be today.