Redding Hires Texas Firm for City-Wide Efficiency Study: Can It Deliver Real Savings for Taxpayers?
- Elisa Ballard
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The Redding City Council has approved spending up to $300,000 to hire an out-of-state consulting firm to examine every city department for waste and inefficiencies. The contract with Circle 6 Consulting, Inc., based in Texas, was approved in mid-March 2026 at the request of new City Manager William Tarbox. Work is scheduled to begin immediately and wrap up by September 30, 2026.
The study will include a “financial deep dive,” interviews with department staff, identification of waste using Lean principles, and assessments of cost leaks and financial risks. According to city staff, the goal is to “increase efficiency and accountability while reducing waste.” Funding is coming from existing reserves and internal funds rather than a new budget request.
Notably, the council voted to bypass the city’s usual competitive request-for-proposal process and award the contract directly to the firm chosen by Tarbox. The city manager has described the effort as an aggressive “assault” on inefficiencies across the entire organization, with “nothing off the table.”
Circle 6 specializes in Lean Six Sigma methodologies — a data-driven approach that combines “Lean” (eliminating unnecessary steps and waste) with “Six Sigma” (reducing errors and variation through statistical analysis). The firm has experience with federal agencies and the military, but public records show no prior efficiency studies for any other California county or city at this scale. Redding appears to be their first major engagement with a California local government.
What Have Other California Counties Achieved?
Several other California counties have used similar Lean Six Sigma consultants or internal programs — with measurable results:
Kern County trained more than 1,000 employees and completed over 185 projects. The effort produced more than $19 million in savings and freed up more than 100,000 staff hours.
Ventura County ran a decade-long Lean Six Sigma initiative that delivered $33 million to $43 million in total savings. Roughly half came from “hard” cost reductions (actual dollars taken out of the budget), with the rest from avoided costs and efficiency gains.
Other counties (Lake, Merced, Sonoma, San Bernardino) have commissioned more targeted reviews of specific departments such as planning, transit, or fire services. Outcomes vary, but successful programs share one common factor: strong follow-through by elected leaders and staff after the consultants leave.
What Could Redding Expect?
If the Circle 6 study follows the pattern seen in Kern and Ventura, Redding could identify meaningful savings in areas such as procurement, staffing overlaps, outdated processes, and underused facilities. Those savings might help maintain roads, support public safety, and keep utility rates stable without cutting core services.
However, the real test will come after September 30. Many cities and counties have received thick reports full of recommendations — only to see limited implementation due to politics, union pushback, or a lack of political will.
Redding residents now have a front-row seat. The study is supposed to make the city government leaner and more accountable. Whether it actually delivers dollars back to taxpayers — or simply becomes another expensive report — will be known in the coming months.
Readers can follow developments on ShastaUnfiltered.com. We’ll keep you posted on the results and what they mean for your wallet.
Sources:
City of Redding
Record Searchlight
