The same principles that drive federal reform — simplicity, balanced budgets, and elimination of debt — apply at the county and city level. The core idea: counties absorb the essential services currently duplicated across dozens of municipalities, dramatically reducing overhead while maintaining service quality.
County Government — The Shared Services Model
Consolidate Services
Move Finance, Police, Fire, Road Crew, Parks, and Planning to the county level. Instead of 10 police chiefs for 10 cities within a county, have one. Instead of 10 finance departments, one. This consolidation will cut the combined workforce 50–60% while maintaining or improving service levels through centralized management and economies of scale.
Eliminate Property Taxes
Repeal all property taxes. Fund county government entirely through the county's share of sales tax revenue. Property taxes are regressive, punish homeownership, and create perverse incentives for government to inflate property assessments.
End County Debt
Repeal all county bonding authority and pay back existing debts. Counties, like the federal government, should not incur debt. If a project cannot be funded from current revenue, it waits.
Local Government — Consolidation to County
With essential services — police, fire, roads, parks, finance — moved to the county, remaining city positions (mayor, council, manager) become voluntary. City governments shed 78% of their labor costs, which dominate municipal budgets. The result: sales tax increases would be minimal, and a well-run county could actually reduce its overall tax rate.
End City Debt
Repeal all city bonding authority and pay off existing debts. Cities should not carry debt of any kind.
Eliminate City Vehicle Fleets
Return all city-owned vehicles to eliminate this cost. County-level services will maintain their own fleet at consolidated scale.
The Result
A reformed county/city structure looks like this: one county government handles all essential services — police, fire, roads, parks, planning, and finance — funded entirely by sales tax revenue. No property taxes. No bonds. No debt. Cities retain their identity and local governance through voluntary elected officials who handle zoning, community events, and neighborhood-level decisions. Residents get the same or better services at dramatically lower cost, with complete transparency over where every dollar goes.