Comptroller Manske Won’t Seek Reelection

Milwaukee County Comptroller Scott Manske. Photo by Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee County Comptroller Scott Manske announced Friday that he will not seek reelection to his post as the county’s top financial officer.

“It has been an absolute privilege to serve the residents of Milwaukee County as the elected Comptroller since 2012,” Manske said in a statement. “After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I have decided the time has come for me to step aside and let new leadership emerge.”

Manske is the first, and so far the only, person to serve as the elected comptroller of Milwaukee County. The position was created by state law in 2011. Prior to that election, Manske had been working for the county since 1992. He began as deputy controller in 1992, moving up to controller in 1994.

“I am deeply grateful for the trust and support the County, its employees and constituents gave to me over my 32 years of government service,” Manske said. “It is sad to leave, but many of my managers will continue in their positions and continue to serve Milwaukee County and maintain its financial integrity.”

Manske was the county’s chief financial officer in 2000 and 2001 when the county board and county executive passed the disastrous pension plans in 2000 and 2001. And he stayed on through the passage of a new 0.4% sales tax and pension reforms designed to correct what was broken more than 20 years prior.

Manske will be eligible for a lump-sum $700,000 backdrop payment when he retires in spring 2024. These payments were part of the infamous pension plans of two decades ago. In July, Manske told Urban Milwaukee, “I did not sign a waiver of the backdrop pension benefit.”

Until he announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election, Manske was facing a challenge for his post from current Supervisor Liz Sumner, chair of the board’s Finance Committee. The comptroller makes $130,000 a year.

In his announcement, Manske provided a list of his accomplishments during his time as comptroller. He included the growth of the county’s debt service reserve from $0 in 1992 to more than $100 million today, ensuring the independence of his office’s Audit Division and saving the county $100 million through the preparation and monitoring of its pension obligation bonds.

He also noted that he worked with the county administration on Wisconsin Act 12, the legislation that authorized the new sales tax and pension reforms.

City of Milwaukee Comptroller Aycha Sawa also announced this month she is not seeking reelection.