Reduction in County Government

By Richard Faher

County government should deliver a very efficient and focused judicial system, health and welfare service delivery, law enforcement, and road construction.

Richard Faher is a conservative Republican and believes in "lower taxes, smaller and less intrusive government". Richard Faher believes county government should deliver a very efficient and focused judicial system, health and welfare service delivery, law enforcement, and road construction.

Richard Faher has spent over 20 years as a software application consultant working in almost every city in 44 states in the U.S, and in almost every major city in Canada. When you work in different cities, you get a sense of what works and what is not working. You look at things such as the condition of the roads, public safety, crime, transportation, mass transit, and airports. The local papers contain stories of the financial condition of the city and local economies.

Take Dallas County in Texas for example, not perfect, but it could be used as a benchmark for the values that Richard Faher would expect from county government. Dallas County's total general fund revenues were $421 million, with 7,831 authorized employees serving its population of 2.4 million. Once again, the Orange County's general fund revenues total $2.7 billion with 17,870 authorized employees. If the Dallas County philosophy was used in Orange County with our 3.1 million people, we would only have spent $544 million instead of $2.7 billion, with only 10,115 employees instead of 17,870. This is unbelievable for a county that is suppose to be for lower taxes and a smaller government to spend nearly 5 times the amount spent in Dallas County per person. Dallas County's 2009 property tax rate was unchanged at 22.81 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Also, Texas does not have state income tax.

During FY2007 Dallas County approved a 10-year Strategic Plan which contained five visions; 1) Dallas County is a model interagency partner, 2) Dallas County is a healthy community, 3) Dallas County is safe, secure and prepared, 4) Dallas County proactively addresses critical regional issues, and 5) Dallas County is the destination of choice for residents and businesses.

Richard Faher believes Orange County should review Dallas County's strategic plan, and other well run counties, as a starting point and create a plan for Orange County that encompass the values of smaller less intrusive government where the taxpayers start to feel they are getting their monies worth.