SCHERERVILLE | Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez is asking the county's 40 community-based police and fire departments to explore how to reduce unnecessary duplication, such as individual emergency dispatch centers.

The sheriff told department chiefs Thursday they need to band together to cut costs and lobby for a greater share of public funding before upcoming property tax caps devastate local budgets.

"Change is always met with resistance, but the need for change isn't going away," Dominguez said Thursday at a breakfast meeting in Schererville with public safety officers from 13 municipalities in the region.

The sheriff is inviting all communities to send two representatives to participate in the creation of a Lake County Public Safety Commission. He hopes the commission will gather for its first meeting in June.

Dominguez said the state already is mandating all counties combine emergency 911 services into one calling center by no later than 2014. Dominguez said Porter County already has a consolidated 911 system, and Jasper County is working toward one.

Dominguez said there is no legal requirement for departments to consolidate regular radio dispatch operations, but he said such a mandate may be forced by property tax caps that will bleed an estimated $244 million from local government revenues.