It’s always frustrating when government leaders waste taxpayers’ money, but it’s especially disappointing when budgets are tight and spending on essential services must be cut.

Which is exactly what is happening now in the Indiana General Assembly.

State lawmakers had four months earlier this year to meet their constitutional duty of writing and approving a new state budget. But after slogging through a long and dreary session, the General Assembly adjourned in April without completing a budget.

The legislature’s failure prompted the need for the current special session, but after 15 days of posturing, lawmakers appear no closer to resolving their differences.

The first two weeks of the special session, which produced no results, cost taxpayers more than $212,000 in additional expenses, according to figures supplied by the Legislative Services Agency. Each legislator is compensated an extra $82.80 for every day the General Assembly is in session, including Saturdays and Sundays. Lawmakers also receive extra mileage reimbursements while in Indianapolis, an expense that adds $13,300 a week to the session’s costs.

Granted, the waste of a little more than $200,000 is small change compared to the state’s multibillion-dollar annual budget. But it is roughly enough money to pay for four new teachers or four state troopers.

The larger point, however, is that legislators should have felt pressure to wrap up the special session as quickly as possible, given that it should have been unnecessary to begin with. Instead, they’re continuing to rehash the same arguments that dragged on through January, February, March and April.

With now only five days left to pass a budget before the fiscal year ends, the House-Senate conference committee charged with completing the bill wasted a second day Thursday on public testimony, the thrust of which hasn’t changed for months.

All sides have had ample opportunity to be heard, and while that’s normally a very good thing, it’s long past time for the talk to end and decisions to be made.