Tag Archives: zepecki

December 15, 2010 · 9:14 pm

South Milwaukee Mayor Seeks Support for 794 Extension

South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki visited the Caledonia Village Board on Tuesday to make the case for extending the Lake Parkway south — perhaps all the way to northern Illinois.

See the Racine Journal Times story here. From it:

South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki presented the advantages of continuing 794 from Milwaukee through Caledonia to the Village Board on Tuesday night at the East Side Community Center, 6156 Douglas Ave., saying it will create a hub for future development and bring jobs to surrounding areas.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution in February to have the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission study the feasibility and impact of a potential extension of Lake Parkway from its current southern end point at Edgerton Avenue to Ryan Road (Highway 100) in southern Milwaukee County, according to the commission.

The commission should have preliminary information on potential project costs and traffic impacts by early next year, said commission Executive Director Ken Yunker.

Although the extension proposal is in its early stages, Zepecki spoke in support of building what he called an uninterrupted thoroughfare from downtown Milwaukee to northern Illinois sometime in the future. He gave the board a six-year timeframe for the extension project in Milwaukee.

As I’ve blogged about numerous times, I fully support this project, and I look forward to the day it becomes reality. However, I think six years is very aggressive timeline for this. My guess? You won’t see an extension until 2020 at the earliest, especially given other road projects on the state’s radar screen in coming years.

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October 21, 2010 · 11:17 am

Holding the Line: Details on the Proposed 2011 South Milwaukee City Budget

The proposed 2011 city budget is available, and I feel good about it. I think you will too.

Before I get into the details, let me say thanks to City Administrator Tami Mayzik, City Clerk Jim Shelenske, Mayor Tom Zepecki, Finance Committee Chairman Pat Stoner and the department heads for all of their hard work in coming up with what I think is a sensible, fair and thoughtful budget — one that avoids much of the pain being felt by other communities, the county and state.

So here is some of the key information:

  • The 2011 executive budget includes a tax levy increase of 1.95% — below the state-imposed city levy limit increase of 3%. The proposed city levy is $10,196,526, compared to the 2010 budget of $10,001,640.
  • Total expenditures are projected to increase 0.6% from $19,043,365 to $19,158,448. This includes a 2% salary increase for union and non-represented employees (after no increase in 2010) and an 8.7% increase in health insurance premiums (even as we ask them to contribute 10% more to their premiums in 2011). Fuel budgets are also higher, and the fire hydrant rental fee — which the city pays to the Water Utility — is increasing 35% due to the water rate increase. We’re also budgeting for the purchase and maintenance of an emergency alert system in 2011, something I have pushed for as a way to keep residents better informed during situations like the flooding and water main break emergencies of the past year. One key reduction in expenses is our debt service payment, since the city did not do a borrowing in 2010.
  • Total revenues are projected to decrease 0.2% to $9,750,378 from $9,769,739. Our state shared revenue payment is expected to remain the same as 2010, our transportation aids will increase by $63,000 and our connecting street payments will remain close to the same as this year. We’re also anticipating a reduction in municipal court revenues in 2011 due to the struggling economy.
  • One significant revenue source, again, will be an expenditure restraint payment from the state for keeping spending increases below a certain threshold, for us 3% . The projected amount of this payment is $347,907. For purposes of this payment, our expenditure increase is 2.23% for 2011 — a number that gets to our “general fund” spending and does not factor in paramedic expenditures and debt service costs.
  • The proposed budget also balances thanks in part to a transfer of $160,000 from the city’s “rainy-day” non-lapsing fund. This is the second straight year we’ll be shifting money from this fund to cover our budget, and it’s in large part due to continued abysmal rates of return on our investment income. As investment returns rebound (hopefully some day soon) we likely won’t have to continue these transfers. Until then, I am OK with it.
  • Staffing levels remain the same as in 2010. We’re also adding an engineering intern to allow us to continue our sidewalk maintenance program.

You can see the draft budget on the city website here.

One point to keep in mind: Tax rate information is not yet available and won’t be until later in November. I’ll pass on that information when I know it, and that will allow you to calculate your estimated city tax bill for your property.

So, what’s next? The City Council held a budget information session on Wednesday and voted to published the proposed “executive” budget in the local newspaper. That will be done on Thursday, Nov. 4. A budget public hearing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 29, at City Hall, and the City Council is expected to adopt the budget at its meeting the following night.

In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on any new details that come up. Keep in mind that this is still a proposed budget, so the final numbers could, and likely will, change as we get a better handle on final 2010 revenues and expenses.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think of the proposed budget. Vote in the poll on the right-hand side of this page, post your comments below, and contact me anytime.

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October 11, 2010 · 9:44 pm

Oak Creek Mayor Endorses Ripp, Too, and Other Headlines of Interest

Republican State Senate candidate Jess Ripp has garnered another key South Shore endorsement: Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender.

Read the press release here. From it:

“Jess is the best candidate to represent the citizens of this district in Madison,” Bolender said. “His pledge to lower taxes and promote fiscal responsibility will help bring much needed jobs back to Wisconsin. Jess will be a true leader in Madison and I proudly endorse his campaign to represent our district in the State Senate.”

Bolender’s backing follows Saturday’s announcement that South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki would endorse Ripp (see below).

Check out Ripp’s full list of endorsements on his campaign website. They include South Milwaukee Rep. Mark Honadel and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, both Republicans, of course.

And check out these other headlines of interest from around the South Shore:

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October 9, 2010 · 8:16 pm

South Milwaukee Mayor Zepecki Endorses Republican Ripp

South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki has endorsed Jess Ripp, the Republican candidate vying to replace Jeff Plale in the state Senate’s 7th District.

You can read the release here. From it:

“With his background in small business and law, Jess is the perfect candidate to represent this district,” Zepecki said. “Our citizens have real concerns about rising government spending, tax increases, and vanishing jobs. Jess has the same concerns and understands what it will take to repair our economy and keep jobs in Wisconsin.”

For Ripp, an attorney and relative unknown politically, this endorsement is a nice win.

For Larson, a Milwaukee County supervisor, this will only further hurt his chances in South Milwaukee … although his prospects here seemed pretty bleak anyway. Keep in mind that voters backed Plale nearly two to one in South Milwaukee in the September primary, even as Larson rolled to victory elsewhere, winning 60 percent to 40 percent overall. This endorsement certainly won’t help turn those numbers around.

Still, a local endorsement in this race surprises me some because neither candidate, to my knowledge, has campaigned much in South Milwaukee.

I know I’ve never met either one of them, and I hope that changes. I want to feel confident that both candidates will stand up for our city in Madison come January … and alleviate the real concerns locally that South Milwaukee will be a forgotten part of the 7th District after the election.

Here is Ripp’s campaign website. Here is Larson’s.

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April 6, 2010 · 10:59 pm

Election Update: Shelenske Defeats Incumbent Lisowski for City Clerk, Zepecki Rolls to Victory, Weirich Tabbed as School Board Write-In

South Milwaukee will have a new city clerk.

Third District Alderman Jim Shelenske scored a narrow victory over incumbent Kathleen Lisowki in the race for South Milwaukee city clerk on Tuesday. Unofficially, Shelenske tallied 1,255 votes, or 51.3 percent, to Lisowski’s 1,185, or 48.5 percent.

In the only other contested city race, Mayor Tom Zepecki was elected to a third term 2-to-1, with 1,622 votes to challenger Richard Raduenz’s 798.

Treasurer Karen Skowronski, City Attorney Joseph Murphy and Municipal Judge William Fenger all ran unopposed and rolled to victory.

The South Milwaukee School Board proved close, with write-in candidate Joseph Weirich tallying 242 write-in votes to join incumbent Terri Travia (1,522) on the board. Carol Dufek received 187 write-in votes, and Nick Szablewski tallied 41.

Here’s a look inside some of the numbers:

  • In the city clerk race, Shelenske, not surprisingly, rode a strong showing in his district to victory. He tallied 396 votes in the 3rd District to Lisowski’s 268. Lisowski beat Shelenske in every other district.
  • Zepecki, of course, won handily in each district and scored more than twice as many votes as Raduenz in the 3rd (458-204) and 4th (478-215) Districts.
  • Strong showings in Districts 1 and 4 propelled Weirich to victory. Of his 242 votes, 170 came from those two districts alone.

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April 4, 2010 · 10:52 pm

Don’t Forget to Vote on Tuesday … and Why I’m Voting for Jim Shelenske for City Clerk

Tuesday is election day, and I ask you all to do your civic duty and vote.

Here are the locally contested races you’ll see on the ballot:

  • Mayor: Incumbent Tom Zepecki vs. Richard Raduenz
  • City Clerk: Incumbent Kathleen Lisowski vs. Alderman Jim Shelenske
  • South Milwaukee School Board: Incumbent Therese C. Travia vs. write-in candidates Nick Szablewski, Joseph Weirich and Carol Dufek (for two seats)

City Treasurer Karen Skowronski, City Attorney Joseph Murphy and Municipal Judge William Fenger are all running unopposed on Tuesday.

And don’t forget about the reduction in the number of polling places starting with this election. All South Milwaukee residents will vote at one of four sites on Tuesday:

  • District 1: South Milwaukee Public Library, 1907 10th Avenue
  • District 2: Lakeview School, 711 Marion Avenue
  • District 3: City Hall, 2424 15th Avenue
  • District 4: Rawson School, 1410 Rawson Avenue

I encourage everyone to get to the polls, no matter who you vote for.

For me, the most intriguing race of all is for city clerk.

I have no major issues with the job Kathleen Lisowski has done as clerk, but I plan on voting for Jim Shelenske. And here’s why: He is South Milwaukee’s most tireless advocate, and he believes in what I believe in.

Experience. Involvement. Leadership. Service. Jim lists those four traits on his campaign website, and I think he embodies all of them.

But he continues to amaze me with the last one — service. Jim is constantly finding new and innovative ways to give back to his hometown. Consider what he’s done in the past year alone, since I was elected alderman:

  • He developed, launched and helped lead the South Milwaukee Downtown Market and remains just as committed to this wonderful community event as ever.
  • Working with the South Milwaukee Police Department, he led an effort to create a crime alert email service for area businesses.
  • As an example of his strong involvement in the Lions Club, Jim served as chairman of the South Milwaukee Christmas Parade, taking an event that nearly ended in 2008 and making it a community celebration to be proud of once again.

Then there were his efforts around the recent water emergency. He, like dozens of others, including me, helped in the hours immediately after the water main broke, but Jim’s actions after the crisis subsided impressed me most of all.

I remember the situation clearly. I was tired after helping with the water distribution effort Friday night and writing a press release on Saturday, and I was looking forward to spending a relaxing weekend with my familiy after we were told the water was safe to drink.

The crisis was winding down. I was ready to go out of town. Then Jim called.

“Hey, Erik, why don’t we do something to help bars and restaurants affected by this?” he asked. “And let’s do it quickly.”

So Fresh Water Days was born. If you don’t recall, this was the effort, a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, to drive customers to South Milwaukee establishments who lost business due to the water problems. We encouraged people to eat out by offering gift certifates and other prizes and led a strong media effort that had every area television station broadcasting live from South Milwaukee restaurants during the two-day run.

By all accounts, the promotion was a huge success … and it was a success because of Jim.

It’s because of ideas and action like this that I support Jim for City Clerk. He is committed to positive change and, more importantly, doing the work necessary to make that change happen.

His campaign platform emphasizes this, with his pledge to find new ways to use technology to improve efficiencies and find new and better ways to communicate with our residents. 

These are things I believe in, and I hope you do, too.

Simply, Jim wants to do his part to make South Milwaukee a better place to live, work and play — a promise that comes through loud and clear every time you talk to him.

That’s why I’ll be supporting Jim on Tuesday. I wish him the best of luck.

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