Monthly Archives: March 2011

by | March 16, 2011 · 11:16 pm

Following Up on the Forum

Update: Check out news coverage from Fox 6 and Oak Creek Patch.

Wednesday night’s South Shore Economic Development Forum was well-intentioned, well-done and well-received, and it was a good way to remind county executive candidates Rep. Jeff Stone and Chris Abele about some of the bigger issues facing our area.

An estimated (my estimate) 150 to 200 people joined Stone, Abele, the mayors of South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis and Milwaukee County Supervisors Pat Jursik and Marina Dimitrijevic at the forum. Issues discussed included the future of the Hoan Bridge, the extension of the Lake Parkway, the Aerotropolis concept, preserving and enhancing our parks and transit, and water concerns.

A few observations:

  • Perhaps a couple dozen anti-Walker protesters gathered before the meeting at the entrance to the South Milwaukee Peforming Arts Center parking lot.
  • The mayors seemed unified on every issue discussed, certainly a good thing as we work to stand up for our common interests. That said, it would have been nice to have Oak’s Creek’s mayor be part of that discussion. He was not there.
  • I also thought there was too much mayoral/supervisor roundtable and not enough candidate forum. There was only time for three or four questions for Stone and Abele despite dozens being submitted by audience members. Abele arriving 30 minutes late didn’t help.
  • The most interesting question posed to the candidates was one asking how each feels he differs philosophically from Gov. Scott Walker, the former county executive. Abele answered it by focusing on his differences with Walker over the right to collectively bargain and the handling of the budget repair bill. Stone chose not to answer the question … and deftly turned it into a chance to say how he is Jeff Stone, not Scott Walker.
  • Another interesting question was around the concept of “metropolitan government.” The concept was roundly panned as potentially hurting community identity, although there was more support offered around at least the concept of consolidation of certain local services.
  • Airport privatization was also broadly dismissed, with one panelist calling it “a solution in search of a problem.” With the airport drawing record traffic and its future brighter than ever, there seemed little appetite by either executive candidate to pursue the concept once pushed by Walker.
  • The longest sustained applause and only standing ovation of the evening was directed at state Sen. Chris Larson, who Dimitrijevic announced as being in attendance early in the forum. Larson stayed well after the forum, longer than Abele or Stone, talking to constituents and even posing for pictures.

Jursik and Dimitrijevic should get a lot of credit for putting this together and working to keep the South Shore top of mind as we pick a new executive. We need to make sure we continue to be part of that conversation.

Were you at the forum? I’d like to know what you think. Post your comments below.

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by | March 16, 2011 · 10:04 pm

Patrick Cudahy Settlement, Oak Creek Job Loss and More …

Here are some headlines from around the South Shore:

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by | March 16, 2011 · 10:55 am

Big Issues: South Shore Economic Development Forum Tonight

Just a reminder that the South Shore Economic Development Forum is tonight at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center.

The event runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Check out the press release here.

I hope to see you there!

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by | March 15, 2011 · 11:39 pm

Just How Much Shared Revenue Do We Stand to Lose?

The cuts are coming for 2012, and they won’t be pretty.

But how big will they be?

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau shed some light on that Tuesday, as it released the estimated amount of shared revenue cuts local and county governments will face under Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget.

The tally for South Milwaukee: More than $255,000, or an 8.2% cut for 2012.

Combined with a projected cut in local transportation aids (estimated at more than $135,000 on Tuesday by the LFB) and a more than $120,000 cut in state funding for local recycling programs, and you get a pretty good glimpse of what we’re facing as we begin the budgeting process for next year.

Of course, the “tools” that are part of the Walker budget repair bill will help some, but, as I blogged about last week, they will not nearly close that gap … while other provisions in Walker’s proposed budget, like a mandated local property tax freeze, will only widen the chasm.

I will have more specifics on our local situation in coming days, and as we begin the budget debate in earnest.

For now, you can see the LFB detail on the estimated shared revenue cuts here. (You will note that South Milwaukee does not have it as bad as some other communities, which I guess is some perverse “good news” in this situation.)

And click here for the estimated cuts in general transportation funding.

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by | March 15, 2011 · 11:36 pm

Sharing the Pain: A Small Act Big on Symbolism

The item was a late add to Tuesday’s City Council agenda.

Discussion/possible motion to amend the WRS provision of the city administrator’s contract to require her to pay one half of the actuarially required contributions effective when the non-represented employees must begin paying per the Wisconsin Statutes.

Sounds complicated, but it really wasn’t.

Simply, City Administrator Tami Mayzik was asking the council to increase the amount of money she pays toward her pension. That’s right. She was asking us to amend her contract to force her to pay for her retirement benefits.

The reason? Tami wanted to make sure the amount she pays toward her pension is the same percentage that other non-represented employees of the city will pay once the budget repair bill takes effect later this month.

That will be 5.8%. She currently pays nothing toward her pension, like other city employees and many others across the state.

The council passed the measure 7-0 … and Tami gained major respect from me for even bringing it up.

She could have easily not raised the issue, and we probably would have left her contract as is. But she did, and, in doing so, showed she is willing to share in the sacrifice that other, non-unionized city employees will have to make starting soon.

It was a selfless act of solidarity that shows the depth of character of our city administrator. Thanks, Tami.

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by | March 15, 2011 · 10:57 pm

Holding Off, For Now: Japan, Honadel and Nuclear Power

The Japan nuclear crisis has slowed down action to lift the state’s moratorium on nuclear reactors … but it doesn’t mean the debate is over.

That’s according to the Journal Sentinel, which quotes South Milwaukee Rep. Mark Honadel, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities, as saying he will co-sponsor a bill to end the construction ban later this year.

Check out the blog posting here. From it:

“Out of courtesy, we should relax a little bit and let everything settle down over there and see how severe the ramifications are,” Honadel said. “But I still believe we intend to introduce a bill and lift our moratorium so we can allow the debate to happen.”

Lifting the moratorium isn’t a sign the state will start building reactors overnight, Honadel said. “This bill is not for Wisconsin to start building new plants. It simply opens the door to the nuclear debate,” he said. “We want to lift the moratorium so that if and when the time’s to consider a future plant, we want to be able to do that.” …

“What’s happening right now in Japan will definitely be a good learning experience as to what and what not to do. Thank goodness Wisconsin isn’t sitting on the ‘Ring of Fire,’ ” Honadel said. “In the core of my being I hope this doesn’t hinder the bill because it definitely should not. It’s two different debates.”

I’m interested in your comments on this. Post them below.

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by | March 14, 2011 · 5:09 pm

Tragic Story: Carbon Monoxide Kills Two South Milwaukeeans

Accidental carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death of two South Milwaukee cousins over the weekend.

Check out the Journal sentinel story here. From it:

Juan H. Vasquez and his cousin Noe Ramirez-Abriz, 28, had gone to a dance in Milwaukee Saturday night and borrowed their cousins’ car. Saturday was Vasquez’s 29th birthday.

The men lived with their cousin Sebastian Corona Ambriz and his wife Silvia Corona in the 700 block of Minnesota Ave. Silvia Corona told authorities that she awakened around 2 a.m. Sunday to attend to a baby, looked outside and noticed the garage door was partially open and the light was on, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s report. She thought the two men had come home from the dance and then she went back to bed.

Sunday morning when Vasquez and Ramirez-Abriz could not be found inside the house, Silvia Corona went outside to the garage, found the overhead door closed and then saw the men dead in the front seat and the family’s two pit bulls dead in the back seat.

I’ll keep you posted as I get more details.

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by | March 13, 2011 · 2:59 pm

Sports Update: South Milwaukee Girls Advance to Sectional Semifinal

The beat goes on for the South Milwaukee girls’ basketball team … and next up is a local rival.

After an easy win over Milwaukee South, the Rockets play Oak Creek in a sectional semifinal at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Racine Case. The winner of that game advances to the sectional final on Saturday, potentially against top-seeded Case.

Check out the full schedule here, and click here for the bracket.

And click here for results, schedules, stats and other information on the team from the Wisconsin Hoops Network.

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by | March 13, 2011 · 2:44 pm

Local Drunk Driving Arrests and Other Headlines of Interest

Two South Milwaukeeans found themselves in trouble with the law in the past week in drunk-driving incidents.

Here are the headlines from Oak Creek Patch:

And check out these other headlines of local interest …

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by | March 12, 2011 · 12:11 am

Police and Fire Commission to Re-Advertise for Fire Chief

The search for a new South Milwaukee fire chief will take longer than expected.

The Police and Fire Commission, at its meeting this week, directed City Administrator Tami Mayzik to re-advertise the vacant fire chief position in hopes of receiving a wider selection of applications from qualified candidates.

The new deadline for applications will be May 18.

As you’ll recall, Chief Jay Behling retired earlier this year.

I will keep you posted as developments warrant.

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by | March 11, 2011 · 3:19 pm

Summarizing the Budget Difficulties Facing South Milwaukee Schools

Update: WTMJ-TV has a story about Wednesday’s budget public hearing.

The South Milwaukee School District has posted a well-done PowerPoint presentation summarizing where they are at financially, how they got there and the difficult times ahead.

Check out the presentation from Wednesday’s budget public hearing on the district website.

The key message throughout: We are all in this together. I couldn’t say it better myself. Dealing with difficult budgets on all levels of government will take a community working together to figure out the best way forward.

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by | March 10, 2011 · 11:40 pm

The Bill Passes … What’s Next?

Update: Then there are these dire predictions from Supervisor Pat Jursik around transit cuts and other impacts of reduced state aid, cuts not necessarily lessened much by the budget repair bill.

Not surprisingly, the Assembly passed the collective bargaining bill on essentially partisan lines this afternoon, with South Milwaukee Rep. Mark Honadel voting in favor.

Now, what’s next for South Milwaukee?

In many ways, the answer to that question remains to be seen, and it won’t be known for some weeks and months.

Here is one thing I do know: Taking away collective bargaining rights from public employees will likely do little to lessen the immediate pain of the coming reduction in state shared revenue called for in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget. Even the financial pieces of the bill — like increased benefits contributions for public employees — will not help too much too soon.

This is in part because South Milwaukee has a contract already in place with AFSCME into 2012, one where we already have asked our employees to pay more for their health insurance. The exemption of police and fire employees from the collective bargaining mandates further limits their local impact. (We have similar contracts in place with those employees anyway).

Additionally, other considerations in the proposed budget bill — such as property tax levy limits, the removal of state funding for local recycling programs and reductions in local road funding — also promise to make the “tools” meant to help local governments balance their budgets less effective in communities like South Milwaukee, at least in the short term.

For school districts, it is much the same. The South Milwaukee School District, faced with revenue caps and reductions in state aid of its own, must still come up with more than $1 million in potential cuts even after passage of the collective bargaining legislation.

Will there be long-term savings because of this legislation? Probably, especially as employee costs make up the bulk of our city budget.

But until then, and even after, this is going to be a tough road, no matter where you stand on the issue. I promise to keep you posted as the landscape becomes clearer and we begin this important, albeit difficult, debate at City Hall.

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by | March 10, 2011 · 11:07 pm

Debating Debates: Stone, Abele and Wednesday’s South Shore Forum

I’m looking forward to Wednesday’s South Shore Economic Development Forum, and I give Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik for taking the lead in putting it together.

I am expecting an open, honest and robust discussion about some of the important issues facing the collective economies of South Milwaukee, St. Francis, Cudahy and Oak Creek. There are many … including many that we can, and should, tackle together.

One thing the forum won’t be, however, is a debate. So while the two candidates for Milwaukee County executive are scheduled to be there, state Rep. Jeff Stone and philanthropist Chris Abele will probably not interact much during the event.

Stone is raising Abele’s alleged unwillingness to debate as an issue in the campaign, even as the two candidates appear in 12 forums similar to next week’s before the April 5 election. Check out the Journal Sentinel story here. From it:

Stone called Abele’s rejection of debates a disservice to voters. The sessions Abele has accepted don’t allow an “opportunity for an exchange or a real, true debate of the ideas,” Stone said.

Abele spokesman Brandon Lorenz called Stone’s criticism “a desperate charge from someone who skipped out on two forums in the primary.” Stone did not attend the final two of four candidate forums held before the Feb. 15 primary, when it was a five-way race.

I hope this does not become an issue on Wednesday. There are plenty of other, more important, things we need to discuss.

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by | March 10, 2011 · 10:47 pm

Short-Term Fix: $7 Million in Hoan Bridge Work Underway

If you, as I do, drive the Hoan Bridge with any regularity, you know full well that the road is a mess.

The stretch as you leave the Lake Parkway heading north toward downtown is particularly bad and seemingly has been for years.

Thankfully, that will change over the next eight months, as $7 million in improvements ramp up on this vital connection between the South Shore and downtown.

Check out the Journal Sentinel story here.

Of course, this is only a temporary fix. I have expressed support in the past for at least considering options about the long-term term future of the Hoan, and I’m glad to see that a detailed engineering inspection seems to be nearing completion.

I think it’s only right that we have all the facts before deciding if spending potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on redecking is the best course. It mostly likely is, and I would support it if it is, but I want to be sure. This study will provide that certainty.

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by | March 10, 2011 · 10:33 am

It’s Time for Me to Dial Down the Rhetoric … And I Will

I’ve had complaints in the past week or so about the direction this blog has taken, that I’ve crossed the line and become too partisan in my posts around the state budget.

I hear you, and I agree. My blog has become something different than it was before mid-February. And that changes today.

I launched this blog to be a (somewhat) objective source of news and information on South Milwaukee and the South Shore, and it was that for its first 16 months or so. Then came Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill and the state budget proposal, and, like too many in this debate, I have let my passions get the better of me on a single issue.

I owe my readers more. I owe my constituents more.

So, going forward, expect to see a return to what you were accustomated to on this website — with more of a focus on local issues, local news and local information. In other words, I will refocus on providing the service to my readers that I set out to, and, in doing so, I will continue to keep the community dialog going … without overtly injecting myself into it.

Will I still post items about the budget and collective bargaining? Yes, but in a much more straightforward way that aims to present the information objectively and let readers react to that information.

That is why I started this blog in the first place, and why it’s grown to become a pretty high-trafficked website.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for understanding. Please know that I will learn from this and continue to stay focused on serving the people I represent … no matter what happens in Madison.

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