CROWN POINT | Lake County government's fiscal body is stowing away its Santa Claus outfits and breaking out the green visors this summer.

Lake County Council President Christine Cid said Monday the 2009 budget hearings won't begin this year with county elected officials and department leaders reading the council wish lists of pay increases and more expensive service contracts.

Instead, she said the council will call those officials together and explain they must cut more than $10 million from their current spending level. "The message will be, 'If you don't do it, we will,'" she said.

In the past, the council was able to increase spending regularly each year. That changed under a state law that froze local government budget this year as punishment for the council refusing to pass a local income tax.

Another state law mandates further government spending cuts to provide property tax relief.

Cid said Councilman Larry Blanchard, R-Crown Point, who leads the council's finance committee, is putting the finishing touches on recommended cuts in county government's spending.

She said Blanchard's report will be distributed to all county officials, as early as next month, "to make them understand the situation we are in and see if that is the way they would like to make the cuts and get their input."

Cid said the council also will ask other elected officials and department leaders to spell out in greater detail the amount of money they need for each service contract "so we are not over- or under-appropriating line items so we don't have so many transfers later on."

Blanchard said, "We don't want to do across-the-board reductions. We will identify specific cuts. Everybody has to pitch in because we don't have a choice. This has to be done."