Families in DuPage make tradeoffs every month—needs first, wants later, and no surprises without a plan. County government should do the same. Fiscal sanity isn’t about cutting for the sake of cutting; it’s about aligning every dollar with clear outcomes, measuring results, and communicating honestly with taxpayers. Isobel Michaud’s approach starts with three promises: open books, disciplined planning, and funding what works.
Start with outcomes, not line items.
Budgets often bury priorities in pages of codes and acronyms. A responsible budget begins by stating—in plain English—what we are trying to achieve this year. For a county, that means safer neighborhoods (measured by response times and case clearance), reliable roads (miles resurfaced on schedule), and accessible health and human services (wait times, successful referrals, service reach). With outcomes on the first page, residents can see how spending connects to results and ask smart questions about value.
Zero-based review and sunset clauses.
“Last year plus inflation” is how budgets wander off course. Isobel supports zero-based review for major programs every budget cycle: managers justify funding from the ground up, demonstrate impact, and propose efficiencies. Programs that repeatedly miss targets should face restructuring or a sunset clause with a transition plan, so dollars move to higher-impact priorities. This is not about slogans; it’s how you protect essential services while respecting the people who pay the bills.
Transparent capital planning.
Big projects—facilities, technology, major equipment—demand honest timelines and total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) estimates that include maintenance, staffing, and replacement. Isobel will push for a rolling five-year capital plan with quarterly status updates: scope, schedule, spend-to-date, and percent complete. If a project slips, residents should see the cause, the fix, and the new date—no surprises. Staging projects over multiple years and pursuing grants where possible shields local taxpayers from shocks.
Competitive procurement with performance tracking.
Every contract should be awarded through clear, competitive processes with published scoring criteria. After award, vendor performance—on-time delivery, safety, quality, and cost control—belongs in a simple scorecard that informs future bids. Smart procurement doesn’t just lower prices; it raises quality and deters waste or favoritism.
Department service standards.
Residents experience the budget not as numbers, but as services. Each department should publish service standards—e.g., “Residential permits issued within 10 business days if complete,” “FOIA responses within the statutory window,” “Pothole repairs within 72 hours after report”—and track adherence publicly. Standards guide staffing decisions and reveal bottlenecks worth fixing before throwing more money at a problem.
Data to manage, not to decorate.
Dashboards should be tools for governing, not marketing. Isobel will insist that metrics are few, meaningful, and tied to decisions: cost per mile resurfaced, average priority-call response, caseload per worker, grant dollars won, audit findings resolved. Quarterly reviews with department heads should focus on what changed, why, and what’s next—so course corrections happen in time to matter.
Protect taxpayers in tough cycles.
When revenues tighten, responsible budgeting avoids across-the-board cuts that punish high-performing programs. Instead, use targeted trims based on effectiveness, freeze nonessential hiring, renegotiate major contracts, and delay lower-priority capital. Conversely, in stronger cycles, prioritize debt reduction and one-time investments that lower future operating costs (energy efficiency, preventative maintenance), rather than expanding recurring obligations that become unaffordable later.
Fair, predictable fees and taxes.
Residents and businesses deserve predictability. Any proposed fee or levy change should include a plain-language rationale, a comparison to peer counties, and a household-level impact example. If the county collects more than forecast because of economic growth, over-performance should first stabilize reserves and reduce future pressures, not fuel mission creep.
Partner to stretch dollars.
Strategic partnerships—municipal, township, school, nonprofit—can reduce duplication and expand reach. Shared purchasing, joint facilities, and coordinated grants multiply impact without multiplying costs. Isobel will encourage intergovernmental agreements where they save money or improve service quality, and she’ll ask each department annually: “What can we share, and what should we stop duplicating?”
Radical clarity for residents.
Fiscal sanity is inseparable from transparency. Publish a two-page budget overview anyone can understand, plus a searchable online version with line items, contracts, and grant awards. Hold evening “Budget 101” briefings and post five-minute recap videos. If something costs more, explain why; if something’s delayed, say so and fix it. Honesty prevents cynicism and invites solutions from the community.
The bottom line.
Responsible budgets protect core services and taxpayers at the same time. With Isobel Michaud’s leadership—outcome-driven planning, zero-based reviews, competitive contracting, and straight talk—DuPage can fund what works, fix what doesn’t, and keep the county strong without mortgaging the future. Fiscal sanity isn’t an ideology; it’s respect—for families’ budgets, for public safety and essential services, and for the trust residents place in their local government.
