For the foreseeable future, because of reasons including higher unemployment and property values that either decrease or else increase at a smaller rate (which affects the total amount of taxes received by the government), you will hear government bodies at the local, state, and federal levels talk about having "tight budgets."  They may talk about the need to lay off some government workers, and they may talk about the need to raise taxes.

To address a balanced budget, one option that will not be voluntarily discussed by government officials is cutting what is known as taxpayer-funded lobbying.  These lobbyists are paid well with our tax dollars, and they end up doing work that usually should be done by the elected officials, themselves -- calling area legislators, testifying in favor or against legislation, learning about legislation, etc.  Often, the positions that these government lobbyists take are in direct opposition to the opinions of the majority of voters.

I served in the Kansas House for one term (2006-2008).  The 49th district included parts of Overland Park and Olathe.  During those two years, I do not recall receiving one phone call or other form of personal communication in regard to legislation from a single elected member of any area local government (such as the cities of Overland Park and Olathe, or the school districts of Blue Valley and Olathe).  If I did receive communication from a local government, it was from a lobbyist, and while I occasionally agreed with their opinions on legislation, I found their jobs to be offensive.  Our tax dollars are paying the salaries of these lobbyists, their jobs are completely unnecessary, and their work is often ineffective; when their work is somewhat effective, they are fighting against the rights of citizens (open government, tax reform, private property rights, the rights of parents in making education decisions), in the name of "local control."

When local governments do not hire contract lobbyists, they almost always join state-wide associations that perform the same unnecessary functions (local governments in Johnson County often do both -- paying the $50,000 salary of a contract lobbyist, and then paying $50-75,000 to an association which has its own lobbyist). 

Taxpayer-funded lobbying is an entire industry largely consisting of people who oppose a freedom-based constitutional republic.  in the name of local control, they seek to re-work the laws (or ignore the established laws) so that they take away as much freedom as possible from Kansas citizens.

If this topic is of interest to you, then I encourage you to do two things:

1.  Call or write one or two area elected officials.  You would be surprised at how FEW personal Emails, letters, and phone calls that elected officials receive at the local and state level -- what this means is that your personal communication will make a difference.  At the county election office Web site, it lists the contact information of local officials. 

Note -- I would also suggest calling and asking to talk with the highest-level government employee (the person that creates/recommends the budgets); usually, this is the school board superintendent and city/county manager.

2.  Are you on Facebook?  Another Johnson County news site that I contribute to, KansasProgress.com, "hosts" an event on Facebook titled, "Cut taxpayer-funded lobbying before cutting legitimate services:  Because I don't get a taxpayer-funded lobbyist, and the government lobbyists fight against what I believe."  Consider joining that event.  Here's what we write:

Over the next several months, government bodies are preparing their budgets for next year.

Governments -- school districts, colleges, cities, counties, states, federal agencies -- all around the nation use taxpayer dollars to hire lobbyists to do the communication that should be done by elected officials. And all too often, these lobbyists end up fighting against the interests of the taxpayers -- by lobbying for higher taxes, against government reform, and against constitutional rights.

In a tough economic time, taxes should not go up, and some government expenses will need to be cut. But before government bodies cut legitimate jobs and services from future budgets, they should remove unnecessary and un-American lobbying costs.