6 days ago
Lake County Council to consider government efficiency committee proposal
Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer wants to launch the Lake County Efficiency Committee ahead of the upcoming budget cycle and the state's new property tax law.
The committee would work toward finding areas for cost reduction, waste elimination and resource optimization, according to the proposal. Its main goal, Niemeyer said, is for the committee to reduce the county's budget by 20% by June 2026 to be implemented in the 2027 budget cycle.
'This is going to be a very focused effort,' Niemeyer said. 'I think it would be productive for us to reach those goals by the end of 2027 to be able to manage the new way that government is being funded.'
Niemeyer said the committee will help the county meet the goals of Senate Enrolled Act 1, which will reduce property taxes up to $300 for two-thirds of taxpayers on their 2026 property tax bill while local governments lose $1.4 billion through 2028.
The committee would be focused on cost cutting, expense shifting, waste reduction in spending and services as well as sustainability, which would focus on the long-term fiscal health of the county, according to the proposal.
The committee members would utilize the Lean Six Sigma methodology, which aims to improve efficiency and quality within a business organization, when reviewing places to reduce waste, Niemeyer, R-7th, said.
Its focus would be on administrative operations, public safety, infrastructure and public works, health and social services and judicial and correctional systems. The committee won't review capital projects funded by bonds, federal pass-through funds, or areas that require voter approval, according to the proposal.
'It will shift our county business model over to more user fee where applicable, property tax where needed and income tax where needed. It would be those three sources and just properly parceling out government into those three sources,' Niemeyer said.
Councilman David Hamm, D-1st, said the proposal 'sounds like an Elon Musk thing,' referring to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency at the federal level whose purported savings by cutting contracts and firing employees were inflated according to multiple media analyses.
Niemeyer said DOGE was focused on contracts, while the county's efficiency committee will focus on process.
'It's not picking out the little individual things. It's focusing on the big picture business model,' Niemeyer said.
Council President Christine Cid, D-5th, said the council will have to find ways to be more efficient as it starts the budget planning process this fall.
'We're going to have to ask departments to be more efficient … or we have to raise taxes, and I don't know that any of us would want to raise the income tax,' Cid said.
The committee would consist of two council members to serve as chair and vice-chair, along with an additional council member or designee, various county department heads and two independent experts in public finance or local government. The council will vote to approve the members, according to the proposal.
The members, who would serve voluntarily, would serve through Dec. 31, 2026 or when the final recommendations are made, whichever is first. They would be tasked with conducting regular reviews and audits, engaging stakeholders through public meetings, collaborating with county staff for data access and writing interim and final reports, according to the proposal.
Niemeyer proposed that the committee be formed in September or October 2025 and submits a final report by June 2026.
Ultimately, the proposal outlines the committee's success metrics as: achieving a 20% budget reduction, shifting between 5% to 10% of expenses to non-levy sources and streamlining more than 20 processes.
Niemeyer would like the council to vote on the creation of the committee at its Tuesday meeting, according to the proposal.
