No way! That should be the message to the Lake County Council if it seeks to impose an income tax.

Faced with the necessity of trimming the county budget by $15 million, the council has taken some appropriate steps -- a hiring freeze, limits on county officeholder budgets, etc. All the cutting has not been without some argument and pain.

But some county officials are suggesting it may be time to implement a local option income tax, something they have rejected time and again in the past.

No doubt their goal is to restore funds they've been forced by Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Indiana General Assembly to cut due to the imposition of tax caps.

An income tax for that purpose would be wrong. Lake County's government is bloated and has for some time needed to go on a diet.

Take, for instance, nepotism at the county level. There are dozens of relatives of county officials on the public's payroll. Or take the duplicative courthouses that fuel employment. Or the bailiff system that has many court employees twiddling their thumbs while court isn't in session.

Lake County government has been run as a social welfare service for far too long. And now forced to make budget cuts, some on the council are suggesting implementation of a county income tax. This would no doubt serve to perpetuate the welfare system.

Taxpayers need to take control of their government and, in resounding fashion, tell county officials NO WAY to a county income tax.