Iowa DOGE Task Force floats consolidating counties, other changes during second meeting

DES MOINES — Consolidating Iowa’s counties and benchmarking state employee benefits to those in the private sector were some of the ideas suggested during an Iowa DOGE Task Force meeting as ways to streamline state government and pare down state spending.

Created by Gov. Kim Reynolds through executive order in February, the Iowa DOGE Task Force comprises 15 members, including Iowa leaders in business, elected office and education, who are tasked with giving recommendations on ways to make the state government more efficient.

The task force is named similarly to the federal Department of Government Efficiency, which was created by President Donald Trump and was led, until recently, by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

On Wednesday, the state task force held its second of four planned meetings at a state government office building in Des Moines’ East Village, where members proposed solutions for making Iowa’s government more efficient in three focus areas: workforce, technology and return on taxpayer investment. The focus areas were created during the first meeting.

Emily Schmitt, of Sukup Manufacturing Co., who was appointed by Reynolds as task force chair, said the members are focused on offering recommendations to the governor and legislature rather than reaching a specific number for total state government savings.

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“There's no certain numbers that we're supposed to be looking at. We're supposed to be hearing from Iowans: where should we be looking on that?” Schmitt told reporters after the meeting. “We really just want to make a tangible difference for all Iowans to feel after this report and implementation of hopefully successful recommendations.”

Of the members, 10 are elected Republicans or have donated thousands of dollars to Iowa Republicans, including Reynolds. Two of the panel’s participants, both from the Iowa Legislature, are non-voting members.

During the Wednesday meeting, it was announced that Dave Mulcahy, of MABSCO Investments, would no longer be on the task force due to other commitments.

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Returns on taxpayer investment

The head of the team focused on return on taxpayer investment, Terry Lutz, of McClure Engineering in Ankeny, said it's important that the task force address property taxes, which he called “the elephant in the room.”

Reynolds, who said she plans on focusing on property taxes during the next legislative session after lawmakers failed to send legislation to her desk addressing the issue this year, said she will be talking to Iowans and stakeholders to come up with solutions during the interim and told the task force to look into the issue.

Among the recommendations proposed by the team was consolidating some of Iowa’s 99 counties, which Lutz said would regionalize local government and save state resources.

“The efficient systems that were created to provide services 179 years ago is an extremely outdated way of doing government business. It's simply not affordable and will continue to get worse,” Lutz said. “This outdated structure may make us feel better politically, but we are wasting valuable resources and it is costing us millions.”

Lutz added that there are examples of the state regionalizing government services through regional shared services, including judicial, highway patrol and mental health districts.

Other focus areas the team laid out included what they refer to as “improving the grade of our education dollars,” “aligning government employee compensation and benefits with the private sector” and “streamlining and sharing the public infrastructure construction process.”

Under the education-related recommendation, the team proposed retiring the formulaic distribution of tax dollars put toward education based on income. Lutz added that there’s “little or no systematic review of the connection between tax dollars spent on education versus the educational success of our students.”

The team also floated creating opportunities for portions of teacher pay to be merit-based and consolidating rural school districts as populations in the least-populated areas of Iowa continue to decline.

Task force members also proposed benchmarking government employee health and retirement benefits to those in the private sector, which Lutz said would help recruit and retain government employees.

“We're not here to criticize … our cities, county or state employees, but we're here to really review the systems that they are forced to work with to see if we can help them do their jobs more efficient,” Lutz said. “We're looking for ways to get the Iowa taxpayers more for their money. We do not intend to nibble around the edges. We hope to make bold recommendations to move the needle of efficiency in our government the way our government enables services.”

Schmitt said while none of the recommendations are set in stone, she thinks consolidating counties could be effective in saving state government resources and could be modeled after other state programs that utilize technology, including the state's child care management system.

“Some of the ideas that are in the gathering phase may not make it to the recommendation phase,” Schmitt told reporters. “We'll really find out in the research … really what are the recommendations that should be moved forward, and what are those that are practical and ready.”

The task force will refine the recommendations by conducting research and talking to stakeholders across the state before the task force’s next meeting in August, Schmitt said.

Workforce recommendations

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Another task force team will focus on Iowa’s workforce, looking to simplify workforce training programs and close skill gaps in specific sectors, including manufacturing, skilled trades and health care.

The team has five core areas of focus: workforce program structure and efficiency; funding strategy and governance; work-based learning and upskilling pathways; system coordination and employer engagement; and clinical training and program capacity expansion.

“Workforce programs today are fragmented, confusing and hard for both employers and workers to navigate,” said Joe Murphy of the Iowa Business Council, who is on the workforce team. “The message was clear, Iowa systems must be easier to use, more nimble and better aligned with local employees.”

Murphy said the team is consulting with community colleges, small- and mid-sized businesses and economic development leaders on how to fill input gaps.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau Chief Erin Murphy contributed to this report.