Exactly, but I have direct experience in local small government and there’s a ton of waste. You could cut 50% and have a better functioning municipality. Plus, the real costs are in pensions.
There’s almost one pensioner per every government employee in Illinois. So we’re paying for one ghost payroller for every government employee and we don’t even need every government employee.
The terrible secret of government is they don’t work and they don’t work hard. 20% of any department does all the work.
Small towns do better, though it's not perfect, at keeping the waste in check. The towns need more of the money that's coming into the state and county, and most of it would be spent on necessary services for people who live there.