Budget battle continues

The County Board is deliberating the 2010 Milwaukee County Budget. There are Finance and Audit Committee hearings daily and our public hearing is set for 7pm, Nov. 2 at the Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St. We will adopt a budget Nov. 9. There is much work to be done between now and then.

The county executive’s proposed budget is based on wage concessions that have not been presented to our employees. This is not the way to do collective bargaining. I am a member of the Personnel Committee, and we have reached a tentative agreement with all of our unions regarding wages and benefits. However, the county executive chose to ignore this and balance his budget on extreme wage cuts that go beyond what the union will likely take. If we can’t work together, then we will go into 2010 with a $30 million budget hole. In my opinion, this not fiscally responsible.

I am completely against privatizing our zoo as it is an asset we must protect for future generations. I have introduced an amendment that diverts the funds for zoo privatization toward studying the possible relocation of South Shore Beach. 

The executive also proposes privatizing our Milwaukee County Zoo, closing six pools (including our two indoor pools), reducing parks staff, raising bus fares, cutting services for the mentally ill, cutting public safety funds, selling Crystal Ridge, privatizing firefighters at the airport, increasing fees, and using stimulus funds he was initially opposed to accepting.

As you can see, much work remains to find a balance between controlling costs while still providing quality-of-life services. I am completely against privatizing our zoo as it is an asset we must protect for future generations. I have introduced an amendment that diverts the funds for zoo privatization toward studying the possible relocation of South Shore Beach. I have also sponsored amendments to fund a new legislative workflow program, which can save money by reducing paper use and labor while improving accessibility to county government online. I am a main cosponsor of our alternative aquatics plan, which keeps all pools open and adds indoor, year-round water parks to our indoor pools. This would replace Walker’s proposal for an outdoor aquatic center in Franklin. I hope you will participate in this budget debate as it proceeds, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Marina Dimitrijevic is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s Fourth District, which includes Bay View and Milwaukee’s near south side. She can be reached at marina.dimitrijevic@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4232.

Copyright 2011 by Bay View Compass. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.