A number of steps lay ahead before the county can issue a request for proposals for the transit center at East Michigan Street and North Lincoln Memorial Drive, said county economic development director Brian Taffora.

Steps include appraising the value of the land and negotiating a deal with the Federal Transit Administration, which paid for construction of the transit center with a grant.

To read the rest of the story click here. ]]> 0 http://MakeItYourMilwaukee.com/2011/12/pay-up-in-air-for-elective-comptroller-post/ http://MakeItYourMilwaukee.com/2011/12/pay-up-in-air-for-elective-comptroller-post/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:53:51 +0000 ekelly http://MakeItYourMilwaukee.com/?p=1694 Scott Manske has held the job of appointed Milwaukee County controller for 19 years, but if he wants to keep it, he’ll have to run for the new elected comptroller position.

But the county hasn’t decided the precise duties, salary or size of the comptroller’s staff. With only about three weeks left for candidates to gather 500 signatures and formally file to run for the position in the April election, the pressure is on for Manske – or any other potential candidates – to make a move.

Manske said he is considering running and would have a decision this week.

So far, no one has filed a declaration of candidacy for a position that County Executive Chris Abele and other advocates of creating the elective post said was essential to righting the county’s shaky finances.

“This is a critical position for the county,” said Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo. The pay for the job “will dictate the quality and caliber of the type of people we can expect to run for this position.”

Other supervisors called it “weird” and “bizarre” that those details hadn’t been worked out.

“There’s so much that’s unknown about this,” said Supervisor Theo Lipscomb, a critic of the new law that created the elected comptroller.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Our stance: Since a majority of the board refuses to listen to anyone else, maybe a push from the communities that make up Milwaukee County will convince it to do the right thing.

One thing is clear when it comes to a majority of the Milwaukee County Board: They refuse to listen to calls from the business community and others to significantly downsize the soon-to-be 18-member board.

That’s why it is good to see communities, such as River Hills, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay, agree to put referendum questions on the April 2012 ballots to ask voters whether the board should be cut to nine members and whether the jobs should be part time. Other communities, like Franklin and Greenfield, are expected to follow suit.

To read the rest of the story click here.

The measure “will provide another level of accountability to protect taxpayers,” Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement after signing the bill.

Walker – who served as Milwaukee County executive for eight years – announced Thursday he had signed the bill creating the new position late Wednesday. It sailed through the Legislature last week, with many Democrats joining majority Republicans to approve it 22-10 in the Senate and 79-11 in the Assembly.

Despite the large vote margin, the measure split Milwaukee-area officials, with the county’s delegation to the Legislature divided on the issue and many on the County Board opposing it. County Executive Chris Abele supported the measure and lobbied hard for its passage.

To read the rest of the story click here.

The Milwaukee County Board also voted for smaller fee hikes on transportation fees and rates and quickly breezed through language that would raise premiums for retirees and current county employees.

On Monday afternoon, the County Board voted to restore about 27 of the 133 Sheriff’s deputy positions that County Executive Chris Abele’s budget cut.

It also restored about half of Abele’s $3 million cut to paramedic subsidies to local municipalities.

Abele’s proposal seeks to close a $55 million dollar budget shortfall by reducing the Sheriff’s Department’s budget and forcing county employees to pay more for health care coverage.

To read the rest of the story and to hear County Executive Chris Abele’s comments on the comptroller and tax levy click here.

County Executive Chris Abele earlier vowed to veto any budget that included a tax levy increase, and reaffirmed Monday that he is unlikely to approve this one. He has until Monday, November 14 to present his vetoes, which can be overridden by 13 of 17 Board votes. The County Board will consider any vetoes from the County Executive, as it relates to the 2012 Budget, Wednesday, November 16th at 1:30 p.m. in Room 200 of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

Highlights of the currently approved budget, as released by Mester’s office, include:

To read the highlights click here.

Depending on your view, the new nonpartisan office of county comptroller is the right tonic to fix what ails the county’s finances; the start of a radical restructuring that could drain county government’s power; or something in between.

State legislation authorizing the elected comptroller won swift approval last week with lopsided bipartisan votes in both houses of the Legislature. Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who for eight years served as Milwaukee County executive, told reporters Friday that the switch “makes a lot of sense.”

If Walker signs the measure, the comptroller office will be on the spring ballot for a four-year term. Whoever wins will head a new county department that combines the offices of the current appointed controller, Scott Manske, with the current county auditor, Jerome Heer. The new elected job requires an advanced degree in accounting or finance.

Under the current setup, Manske reports to the county executive while Heer’s office falls under the County Board. Both have won praise for their professionalism and neither was blamed in the decade-old county pension scandal.

The comptroller change was sold as a way to ensure the county never blunders into another pension debacle, which arose from benefit upgrades whose cost far exceeded expectations and is still blamed for the county’s budget imbalance.

To read the rest of the story click here.

The proposed budget is not without critics. For starters, it proposes eliminating $14 million from the Sheriff’s budget — a move that does not sit well with Sheriff David Clarke. It would mean dozens of deputies would lose their jobs.

The budget also increases health care and changes pension plans for county employees.

To read the rest of the story click here.

The measure has split officials in Milwaukee County, with County Executive Chris Abele backing it and a majority of the County Board opposing it.

The issue similarly divided Democrats in the Assembly, who halted floor action for more than four hours overnight Thursday so they could debate the bill among themselves behind closed doors. The Assembly approved the bill 79-11 at 5:40 a.m. Friday.

The bill “will ensure the people of Milwaukee County will be a truly independent comptroller — one that won’t be beholden to the county executive; one that won’t be beholden to the County Board,” said Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa (D-Milwaukee).

“Cutting spending is not enough,” said Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield). “We need structural reform at every level of government. This is structural reform.”

But some opposition to the bill was fierce.

To read the rest of the story click here.

The bill would create an independent chief financial officer for Milwaukee County, something that’s been needed for a while and would serve the taxpayers well. The professional comptroller – the bill sets certain requirements to run for office – would report to the taxpayers, not to the county executive or to the County Board. Milwaukee County voters deserve that kind of independence and accountability.

The bill also requires that the position be cost-neutral, and County Executive Chris Abele – who supports the bill – says he can do that within his budget. The bill also has the important support of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, community and business leaders interested in reform of county operations, as well as key Milwaukee political leaders, suych as state Sen. Lena Taylor.

To read the rest of the story click here.