South Milwaukee Blog

Welcome to Bird City!

I’m proud to announce that South Milwaukee has been selected as a Bird City by Bird City Wisconsin, a partnership led by the Bird Protection Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Audubon Society.

From our city website …

The City of South Milwaukee is committed to making our community healthy for birds and people, and is proud to be a designated Bird City Wisconsin. The City is part of an important migratory flyway, and also provides vital nesting habitat for many species. Lake Michigan, the Oak Creek Parkway, Grant Park, the Mill Pond, and perhaps even your back yard are all appreciated by people and birds alike.

Today, we celebrate that, as we join more than 90 other communities across the state with this designation. Look for events, signage and more opportunities for us to celebrate our newfound status and take pride in what makes our city special.

I thank local birder Rita Wiskowski for her work on the application, and for the photos in this post. She, along with many others in the area, has a passion for birding that helped deliver this well-deserved recognition.

With the public safety referendum coming up Nov. 7, we want to make sure residents of South Milwaukee have the facts they need to make an informed decision at the polls.

With that in mind, we’ve created a one-stop source on our city website for information about the referendum and what got us to this point. Find it here.

Among the information you will find on this page …

• The options assessment that took a deep dive at the issues facing us when it comes to funding our paramedics and police;
• Results of the community survey we did in May; and
• A “frequently asked questions” document that we will continually update throughout the next two months. We posted this document on Wednesday.

Please review this information and share it, and look for more information soon on additional opportunities to learn about the referendum, including public events in September and October. For example, I’ll be at the Sept. 28 South Milwaukee Downtown Market from 4 to 6 p.m. answering questions on this and other topics as part of a Meet the Mayor event. That’s just the start.

You can also email questions to referendum@smwi.org, or call 414-768-8051. Obviously, you can always contact me via email, my Facebook page or this blog.

We are committed to keeping the lines of communication open as the special election approaches — and giving you the information you need to make an educated choice.

From South Milwaukee Police Chief Ann Wellens …

The South Milwaukee Police Department is seeking to promote understanding improved relationships between the department and the community. To this end, we are seeking citizen participation in a Citizen’s Academy. This academy is designed not to train those who attend to become police officers, but rather to provide information that will help enhance understanding of how the Police Department performs its duties and responsibilities.

This 10 week program is set to begin in September. It will be held once a week for 3 hours during the evening.

Citizen participation in this program is encouraged. We at the Police Department are committed to a frank and forthright dialog about the topics covered in the Academy curriculum.

For more information and an application, please contact Lt Chad Milow at (414) 768-8060 or at milow@smwi.org

Congratulations to the South Milwaukee Police Department for two recent arrests, including one overnight. From the SMPD …

Vehicle Eggings Early Morning 8/29/17

On 8/29/17 at 12:54am SMPD Late Shift took a report of a reckless driver in the area of Lake Drive and Sycamore Ave. Caller further reported that the suspect vehicle occupants were throwing eggs at parked cars that they drove past. Caller gave a great vehicle description and partial plate. Our 3rd shift Officers responded quickly to the area. The vehicle was located and the Officer then observed the subjects in the vehicle throwing eggs as the vehicle traveled south on 6th Ave. A traffic stop was performed on the suspect vehicle. 4 subjects were taken into custody at that time. Over 20 vehicles were egged by these individuals. The 4 subjects were issued citations for their actions.

The areas where these eggings took place are: 400blk 11th Ave, 1000blk-500blk Sycamore Ave, and the 2100-2200blk of 6th Ave. Officer attempted contact with all of the affected vehicle owners. If your vehicle was egged earlier this morning, related to this incident, please report it to the SMPD. Thank you to the person who called this in and thank you to the fast response of the our late shift Officers.

Car Theft 8/27/17

On Saturday, August 26th, at approximately 7:59pm, SMPD took a report of a vehicle theft. At approximately 10:07pm, SMPD took a report of a one vehicle car accident near the intersection of Blakewood and Edgewood Avenues. The vehicle involved in the accident was found to be the same as the vehicle reported stolen earlier. One juvenile was taken into custody.

Love to see local businesses coming together this way … nine bars in all.

From the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, as they prepare for their “Ex Fabula: Risking It” show on Nov. 17 …

I love the unique performances the SMPAC brings to this city. Things like this challenge us artistically, and as a community. Well done!

Storytelling Workshop
Sat., Sept. 23, 10am-noon @SMPAC
Open to the community. No fee.

What’s your story? We’ll help you tell it.

Learn from an experienced storytelling coach through small group exercises about:

• Finding your story: Why storytelling is important & how to select a great story.
• Crafting your story: How to structure your story for maximum impact.
• Telling your story: Tips to practice before sharing your story with others. You may decide to audition to tell your story live at “Risking It” on Nov. 17.

Ages 18 and up.

Space is limited. Registration required by Sept. 20. Call 766-5049 now.

More information here.

Check out these South Milwaukee headlines, including word that the Rawson Elementary principal has accepted a position in Pewaukee, and details on the latest production of a proud product of South Milwaukee schools.

• Colin Jacobs Named Pewaukee School District New HR Director (NOW)
• “Deathtrap” Brings Rising Star Michael Cotey Back to Director’s Chair (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Third Woman Sues Over Jail Birth Conditions (Journal Sentinel)
• Wisconsin Schools Raised $217M Above Tax Caps for Green Projects (Journal Sentinel)
• Community Newspapers — Rebuilt for the Reader (NOW)

As the parent of a current and former Rawson student, we’ll miss you Mr. Jacobs!

And here is more on Cotey, a true rising star …

In his professional debut as a director, Cotey helmed a now-legendary Youngblood Theatre Company production of Mickle Maher’s “Spirits to Enforce” (2010), about actors playing characters from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” now trapped in a submarine and doubling as superheroes trying to once again become relevant.

Ensuing productions he directed with Youngblood, for which Cotey was the founding artistic director, included one play set in a psychiatric ward and a second unfolding within the disturbing interior landscape of a sadistic child’s mind. Both plays were preoccupied with how stories can be used and abused.

Then it was off to Northwestern, one of the most prestigious graduate programs for directors in the country. 

Cotey is now concluding a four-year stint there that included directing three more plays – adaptations of “Frankenstein” and “The Great Gatsby” among them – suggesting his ongoing preoccupation with stories that can alternately impede and expand one’s definition of self and world. 

I saw all three of these Northwestern productions; collectively, they confirm Cotey’s status as one of the most promising young directors to emerge from Milwaukee in the past 15 years.

Should be a fun week , with Guardian Credit Union and Ferch’s Beachside’s presentation of “Zootopia” at dusk on Wednesday, and the Restore the Lagoon Festival on Saturday. And don’t forget to sign up for NEWaukee’s 7 Bridges BBQ, set for August 30 at Grant Park, by Friday!

We don’t know what we don’t know when it comes to downtown (re) development — but we can certainly learn from others.

That’s why I’m excited to announce that South Milwaukee — a partnership between the South Milwaukee Community & Business Association’s Project ReStore and the city — has been named a Connect Community by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

The WEDC announced the news today. The application is a result of the efforts we started about a year ago with Graef Consulting and Downtown Business Districts Inc. — work that included tours of several city centers in the region, to see what’s working, what isn’t, and what can be applied to South Milwaukee. A key finding: Partnerships can only help in delivering expertise and best practice sharing, and the Main Street/Connect Communities program is a great example of that.

Thanks to everyone on Project ReStore, led by chamber President Leah Manthey from Parkway Floral, and the city staff who helped put together this application. It was worthy investment of time and resources.

The press release is below. As I state …

“It’s an honor to be accepted into this program, and to partner with the SMCBA and local business owners on our downtown revitalization efforts. We’ve made strong progress already. Being a Connect Community will allow us to accelerate that work and help us on our journey to bringing new life to our city center.”

I’m so glad to see this event get established, and thankful for the Rotary Club of Mitchell Field for stepping up to take it on.

The May event was terrific. This one will be too.

I’m told they have 15 trucks already booked. Outstanding!

This blog reached a milestone recently I never thought I’d see: one million page views.

As you can see in the attached graphic, readership has grown each year since I launched the blog in 2009, with the three highest traffic months coming in the past year. The blog also recently picked up its 700th follower. I’ve posted more than 3,000 items.

There are plenty more stats I can quote, but this is not about the numbers. It’s about you, the readers, residents and non-residents alike.

I thank you for reading … and pledge to continue to fulfill the mission of the blog since the day I launched it: to be a key source of news and information from around South Milwaukee and the South Shore.

You may not agree with everything you see here, and that’s OK. But, as I state in the “About” section …

As South Milwaukee’s mayor, I am committed to ensuring that district residents have their voices heard on key issues, and that they are informed about happenings around their neighborhood and city. This blog delivers on that promise, fulfilling a vital need in an era of shrinking coverage of our city by the traditional media.

Behind that mission, we’ve been growing strong for eight years, one reader at a time. Times a million.

I love the South Milwaukee Library, and looking at the data below, I’m not alone.

The positive changes we’ve seen in the past few years are taking root, and the future is bright for this terrific community facility.

Libraries are no longer just places to go and check out books. These days, they are community centers, internet cafes, and their own versions of Blockbuster Video and Kinko’s. They are learning centers and event spaces, places where children of all ages can gather for fun, enrichment and socialization.

And they are places to check out books, too.

I want to thank our library director, Nan Champe, for her continued hard work, and the members of the Library Board, who give of their time to make sure this community institution continues to deliver real value to residents.

Libraries make communities, communities. Ours is an example of that.

The future of our paramedic program and additional funding for police officers is officially going before the voters — you.

The South Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday approved an operating funds referendum question asking taxpayers to increase the tax levy by $616,641, or less than 6 percent, to maintain current paramedic services and hire two additional police officers.

The special election will be held on Tuesday, November 7. If approved by voters, homeowners would pay an additional $52 per year for every $100,000 of their home’s value starting in 2018 and beyond.

Here is how the question will read on the Nov. 7 ballot …

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of South Milwaukee for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2018, is limited to .09%, which results in a levy of $10,774,142. Shall the City of South Milwaukee be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2018, by a total of 5.73%, which results in a levy of $11,381,095?

This funding would enable the city to adequately fund our paramedic program for years to come, and help us overcome funding challenges, arising from issues out of our control, that have been building for years. It would also help us add two cops, strengthening the second-smallest police force in the county, amid increasing demand for their services.

It took many years to get to this point, starting with more than a decade of state-imposed levy limits that have financially hamstrung fully developed cities like us (and many others) by not allowing us to increase the size of our operating tax levy more than the amount of our growth. That number is almost 0. For 2018, for example, the state says we can increase our tax levy by $9,688 … to fund our $19.7 million budget.

Costs increase. Our operating levy, essentially, can’t. And it’s been that way for a decade. We are paying that price now, and we will continue to, until the legislature fixes this.

There are other factors, too, especially when it comes to paramedic program funding: significantly reduced payments by the county and an increasing number of people on government insurance (and their low reimbursement rates), among them.

So while we have worked hard for many years, well before my time as mayor, to deliver strong value for your taxpayer dollar — and deliver fiscally responsible budgets that reflect our enduring reality of doing more with less — here we are … needing to address the underfunding of key services with the only tool the legislature has given us.

A referendum.

You can learn more about the referendum, find plenty of data and other background information on what led us to this point, and see what options we’ve considered to deal with these challenges here. I also encourage you to review the community survey results from this spring — which showed strong support, among respondents, for seeking to potentially increasing taxes to pay for these vital city services.

Also, look for additional communications in the weeks ahead via mail, our city digital and social channels, and public meetings. I’ll also regularly update on this blog, and on my mayoral Facebook page.

We know there are questions about what got us to this point, and the potential solutions for our funding dillemma. We will do our best to answer them.

We know this will not be an easy decision for many, and we do not enter into the decision to call a referendum lightly.

But we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing when it comes to funding our paramedics — pulling money from our reserves to cover shortfalls. We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing when it comes to our police — operating with a too-lean department when we are being asked to do more and more.

Enough is enough. We’ve kicked this problem down the road for too long.

On Nov. 7, we will see if you, the voters, agree.

And some legalese: Along the lines of my blog disclaimer, this post is my opinion and does not reflect that of the city or of the common council.

It’s hard to believe, but high school football season starts Friday, as South Milwaukee travels to Burlington for a 7 p.m. game.

South Milwaukee’s home opener is next Friday, August 25, against Brown Deer.

And mark your calendars for Homecoming on Sept. 15 against Shorewood/Messmer. The parade and bonfire are returning Sept. 14.

More details on the team website. Go Rockets!

Thanks, Julie Swanson, for the terrific shot of this year’s seniors. 

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

Join the South Milwaukee Police Department on Thursday, August 31st at 6:30 p.m. in the South Milwaukee City Hall Council Chambers. 

Representatives from the State of Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry Unit and members of the South Milwaukee Police Department will be present to answer your questions.

Here is the Facebook event posting.