Federal stimulus dollars at work in Milwaukee County

In 2009 our federal government made a great effort to stimulate our economy by adopting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka “the stimulus bill” or ARRA. The stimulus has been critical for local governments and has truly helped Milwaukee County residents in many ways.

Thank you to the Obama administration and our congressional delegation for providing us this much-needed resource. In addition, it was the County Board of Supervisors who had to legislate acceptance of these funds. Foolishly, our county executive made a political decision against accepting millions of dollars to improve our infrastructure and we almost missed out on a great opportunity to stimulate our local economy.

We have put these funds to great use in Milwaukee County. Some great examples include $25 million to purchase 45 new buses and fund a major fare box upgrade for our Milwaukee County Transit System, $2.5 million for airport runway improvements, $2.8 million for child support enforcement, $2.7 million in public safety, $700,000 for homelessness prevention, $465,000 for veterans housing on 35th and Wisconsin, and $8 million to improve many county-trunk highways and bridges.

Lastly, as the author of Milwaukee County’s Greenprint legislation, I was especially pleased to see the stimulus funds help us further achieve our energy goals. For example we received $200,000 to purchase alternative fuel vehicles, which will enhance our outdated fleet. Two new, state-of-the-art solar hot water systems will be installed in Wilson and Washington Park Senior Centers as part of a $732,000 allocation. Milwaukee County bonded about $30 million for our capital improvements and with the stimulus will save $3 million over the life of these bonds. As you can see, Milwaukee County has been stimulated. I hope that the private market will begin to recover and employment will be re-invigorated as well.

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.

This month inside the County Board

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors will now be on the radio each month discussing what’s going on inside the County Board. The new show airs the first Sunday of each month at 9pm from the studios of News/Talk 1130 WISN radio. The first and only program of its kind in the Milwaukee area, Inside the County Board gives listeners a more in-depth analysis of action taken by county supervisors.

March marked the inaugural edition of the new radio show. In the March 7 edition, I went head to head with Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo on the subject of the structural deficit that the county is facing. Please follow the link below to hear the radio show and also to access our Twitter page to receive radio show updates: county.milwaukee.gov/insidethecountyboard.

Milwaukee County also adopted legislation to become a partner in the 10-year plan to end homelessness in Milwaukee. This plan will include dedicated funding, focusing on preventive services. In 2009, more than 1,600 children and adults were homeless on Milwaukee’s streets. This is a 13-percent increase from 2008. Sadly, many need mental health services, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and special services for our nation’s veterans. I am proud that Milwaukee County will be a partner in ending homelessness and look forward to progressive action on this community issue.

Lastly, I introduced a measure that would deny the overzealous layoffs the county executive has recently authorized. Using a budget that was set up to fail as an excuse to implement his misguided privatization measures, he has gone too far. The County Board sets policy in Milwaukee County, as we were elected to do. His latest political move was to lay off our public security guards and replace them with private guards from Wackenhut, a firm that recently settled with the Miami-Dade government after an audit found that the company had overbilled the county millions of dollars for work never performed. He also laid off workers at the airport, one of our best assets, in a move that doesn’t even save one taxpayer dollar as the airport is supported by airline fees. This has got to stop and my resolution seeks to put an end to these bad policies.

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.

Success on progressive initiatives

As the author of Milwaukee County’s Green Print, enacted in 2007, I am happy to report some major successes in improving Milwaukee County’s energy efficiency. At our last County Board meeting, we unanimously approved $6 million in energy performance contracts, which directly improve our county’s infrastructure. Many of our older, poorly maintained buildings will be retrofitted with the most energy-efficient upgrades. This saves taxpayers money, reduces the county’s energy use, and preserves our county’s assets for future generations. All of these energy savings are guaranteed, which is a great deal for Milwaukee County taxpayers. Some of the projects include significant water conservation as well. Milwaukee County’s Green Print requires that 20 percent of all county buildings must undergo technical energy audits to analyze potential energy savings.

The County Board also directed $375,000 from the Special Needs County Housing Trust Fund to help finance the construction of affordable housing for residents with mental illness in Milwaukee County. The latest project, at 2500 W. Fond du Lac Ave., will make 38 housing units available to serve the needs of clients from Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health Division. Since the fund was first created in 2007, more than 260 units of quality affordable housing for individuals with mental illness have been constructed. This continues Milwaukee County’s long-term commitment to providing solutions for individuals with nowhere else to turn. We have established a great track record.

Lastly, at our upcoming County Board meeting in March, we will consider approving a contract for our legislative workflow program here in Milwaukee County. This will allow you more direct access to our proceedings. As chairwoman of the Committee on County Board Information Technology, I have led the effort to implement this program to reduce the use of paper, make more efficient use of staff resources, and, most importantly, provide much better public access into Milwaukee County government. I am excited about this legislation and look forward to allowing more “sunshine” here at the County Board. When the program is fully implemented, users will be able to follow legislation from its birth to adoption, see votes, review reports online, and even watch County Board meetings via webcasts online. More public participation will lead to transparency, accountability, and good, responsible government.

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.

County exec still pushing failed policies

The county executive recently delivered his annual State of the County address and it was full of his same failed policies. Rather then honestly confronting our fiscal challenges and present real solutions as a leader should, he just ended up with a bunch of empty campaign promises.

He once again is trying to sell off one of the county’s most prosperous assets, our airport. After the failure of the Chicago airport deal, why would we sell our successful airport for one-time funds to solve only short-term financial problems? County taxpayers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into our airport and with new airlines and an additional runway, our airport has made a national name for itself.

He continues to advance his privatization plans to further kill jobs in Milwaukee County and erodes our county services. We learned our lesson from our Milwaukee Public Museum-privatizing means less accountability and can even end up being more costly to the taxpayers in the future.

He wants lower-paid, out-of-state contractors to provide county services. Cutting family-supporting jobs does not help our local economy when we need it the most.

The county executive talked about lowering the tax levy when, in fact, each year during his tenure the levy has increased $45 million. He plans on reducing the levy by requiring more employee furloughs, including of deputy sheriffs, which could impact safety in our neighborhoods.

It was only through County Board action that we received federal stimulus money for county projects; the county executive initially refused these funds and now balanced the 2010 budget on them.

In conclusion, we are on our way to improving the county’s finances through long-term strategic planning and seeking more diversified revenues. In January, a state Assembly committee endorsed legislation that authorizes a county sales tax for our county parks. We also continue to work with our labor unions to find the best compromise for our future labor contracts.

We must proceed with caution during 2010 as we work to ensure a balanced budget. Contrary to what some have said, Milwaukee County government provides valuable services to our community and must be preserved for future generations.

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.

Legislative update and winter park options

I wish you and your families a very happy holidays and a happy new year. There are many reasons to get out and enjoy the cold this winter in our Milwaukee County Parks. Beginning this month the Domes will launch the second half of its evening concert series, “Music under Glass,” with performances every Tuesday and Thursday evening through March from 6:30 to 8:30pm. For the price of admission, visitors will be treated to live high quality music and state-of-the-art light shows in the Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd.

Red Arrow Park’s Slice of Ice outdoor ice-skating rink, at 920 N. Water St., is now open. Skates may be rented at $6 per pair and participants with their own skates can skate for free. Depending on snowfall, outdoor sledding is open at numerous county parks. Concessions and a warming fireplace are available at the Whitnall Park sledding hill. Hills open near our neighborhood include Humboldt and Sheridan Parks.  »Read more

Milwaukee County Board adopts 2010 budget

We were handed an unrealistic and irresponsible 2010 budget from County Executive Scott Walker. His budget is based on major service cuts and a wage concession package that was never presented to the unions. The County Board hosted weeks of public hearings and testimony leading up to the budget adoption. More than 500 attended our annual public hearing to voice their opinions. The vast majority opposed Walker’s cuts. In addition, I hosted two town hall listening sessions in November.

After hours of debate, the final budget was not perfect, but was a great improvement. Many of the amendments I sponsored were approved, including the creation of a County Board Office of Sustainability to implement my Green Print legislation, step up our efforts to save money through efficiencies, and become a more sustainable county. Also, as chairwoman of the Committee on Information Technology, I authored an amendment to install a legislative workflow program to improve public access to county government. In addition, the South Shore Park Pavilion will get renovated bathrooms and a new roof in 2010. I am also pleased that a veto-proof two-thirds of my colleagues voted in favor of the creative aquatics initiative I cosponsored. Our plan keeps all pools open, addresses some deferred maintenance, and adds new water park features at our two indoor pools, Pulaski and Noyes, in hopes of generating more revenue.  »Read more

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.  »Read more

Positive plans for 2010 county budget

On Sept. 24, the county executive proposed his 2010 county budget. I will host two listening sessions in the Fourth District to discuss the budget with you. In addition, the County Board’s public hearing is 7pm Nov. 2 at the Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St.

In my past five years on the board, the same thing has happened every year. The county executive uses the County Board’s tax levy from the previous year, while cutting hundreds of positions and slashing services we all depend on, such as parks and transit. Then, the County Board works on your behalf to provide a balanced budget that is both fiscally and socially responsible. We are at a breaking point in Milwaukee County. Our transit system cannot face more route cuts or fare increases and remain viable. Our parks need infrastructure investments rather than maintenance cuts.  »Read more

Doyle disappoints Milwaukee

Governor Jim Doyle recently signed the next state budget into law. He vetoed the sales tax for Milwaukee County Parks, transit, and public safety. Like many of you, I am wondering what part of “Yes” did he not understand? We held a public referendum in Milwaukee County, and voters expressed their support for a sales tax increase and property tax decrease, which will provide dedicated funding for transit and our Milwaukee County Parks.

Unfortunately, the governor vetoed the compromise that the state Legislature had presented and completely ignored the voters of Milwaukee County. What I found the most bothersome is that, after vetoing what we had clearly asked for, the governor failed to present any solutions to provide dedicated funding for these important Milwaukee County quality-of-life services.

Even worse, I now hear that some state legislators and the governor are interested in creating a parks district. We never asked for that. Milwaukee County is doing a great job managing our great parks system. Governance is not the problem; the lack of resources is. In fact, Milwaukee County has won many awards and continues to provide outstanding service in our parks system despite major budget cuts and a lack of dedicated funding.

A parks district would add yet another layer of government and would provide less accountability to residents. We are constantly fighting privatization requests in our parks. Just imagine what would happen without oversight and public input in Milwaukee County. My suggestion to state government is simple: focus your energy on allowing Milwaukee County to increase our sales tax revenue in order to provide dedicated funding for parks, transit, and property tax relief. We are not asking for a parks district.

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

Supervisor Dimitrijevic thanks County Sheriff Dept. for Frolics support and patrol

Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic is inviting all Milwaukee County residents to this weekend’s South Shore Frolics in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood.

“I’d like to thank the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department for stepping up to provide patrols for this weekend’s event. This service was previously provided by the Milwaukee Police Department. I thank Sheriff Clarke for providing proactive security to this neighborhood event, ensuring it will be family-friendly. I also appreciate that the Sheriff is partnering with the Bay View Lions Club to help this festival continue to be successful.”

The event includes a parade, fireworks, live music, food, karaoke, activities for kids, a classic car show and much more. Tonight’s lineup includes a fish fry and a movie on the beach. The South Shore Frolics parade is scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 11^th.

“The Bay View Lions Club invests into this wonderful community event every year,” Supervisor Dimitrijevic said. “This free festival is in the heart of Bay View in one of Milwaukee County’s great parks. Parades and other neighborhood festivities like this contribute immensely to the quality of life that we enjoy in Milwaukee County.”

“My sincere thanks also go to Todd Reardon and the Braeger Automotive Group for being a good corporate citizen and sponsoring the 60^th Annual South Shore Frolics parade,” Supervisor Dimitrijevic added. “This event draws tens of thousands from Bay View and beyond.”

More information is available here.

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County Executive Walker’s premature overreaction: A poor excuse to cut county services

Our country is still facing economic challenges and many are looking to the government for solutions. With an increased need to provide more services and a major decline in revenues, all local governments have to make budget adjustments. As you may have seen, employees are being asked to make concessions by implementing furloughs, layoffs, and even service cuts. It is important to be fiscally responsible at this critical point, but that doesn’t mean overreacting and making poor decisions.

Scott Walker used old numbers to come up with a $15 million projected deficit and is now abusing his authority to make drastic budget cuts without consulting with county residents or even county supervisors. Unfortunately, he is trying to use this “crisis” as an excuse to justify implementing layoffs, service cuts, and higher fees, without input from the public or the County Board. What Walker considers a budget nightmare is more like his dream come true. I hope you will take time to call his office at (414) 278-4211 to ask him to explain why he is unable to work with all of us to solve this issue.  »Read more

Milwaukee County E-notifications

As I stated in a previous column, I was recently appointed chairwoman of a new committee at the County Board, which I named Project TEAM. The goals of this committee are improving technology, efficiency, accessibility, and modernization. We held our first meeting April 27 with our second May 28.

This past month, I sent out my annual newsletter and received a great deal of feedback. Residents are looking for more frequent updates and also would like to receive meeting notices, so that they have a better idea of items before our committees. In response, my office will begin sending out e-newsletters, via E-Notify in June. If you are interested in receiving these e-newsletters, please email my office as soon as possible at marina.dimitrijevic@milwcnty.com and we will add you to our distribution list. We are aiming to provide updates from neighborhood groups about meetings and local events as well. The e-newsletter will also have information about monthly issues being dealt with here at the Milwaukee County Board.  »Read more

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