Supervisors Recommend Funding for On-Demand Paratransit, Despite Objections

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Board added funding to the 2024 budget for on-demand transit service for disabled residents. But the funding is likely not enough to operate the service and the county would pay for it by creating new debt.

The board’s Budget Committee approved a major amendment to the 2024 budget Friday, which included $1.2 million to fund recommendations expected to come from a Paratransit Taxi Task Force that has been meeting throughout 2023.

The on-demand service differs from the larger paratransit van service by allowing qualified riders to request a ride similar to a taxi or a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft. With the van service, users have to schedule a ride well in advance. The on-demand taxi service was not available to paratransit riders who have mobility impairments, as the taxis were not wheelchair accessible.

The county’s same-day, on-demand paratransit taxi service ended in September. In late 2022, transportation officials noted that new federal regulations left the county’s taxi service contractor out of compliance. Had the county continued to subsidize a paratransit taxi service using the company, federal funding for other transit services would have been jeopardized.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) is assisting the task force and researching models. The commission expects to have a report ready for the task force in November.

The funding in the amendment likely will not cover all the costs of a new taxi service, Donna Brown-Martin, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, told supervisors. The director also noted that issuing debt to pay for a new service was unsustainable. The county needs a long-term sustainable source of funding for an ongoing program, and that’s not likely something that can be pulled together quickly, the director said.

The amendment also sets up a showdown between the board and the county executive. It packages enough funding items together to secure passage, but it also uses one-time funding for recurring costs and exceeds the county’s self-imposed debt limit. County Executive David Crowley and the county’s top budget official, Joe Lamers, uged supervisors to consider the long-term financial impacts during testimony Friday.

Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson, who sponsored the amendment with 11 other supervisors, said the paratransit funding was added in response to public testimony given at the board’s annual public budget hearing.

“We’re being asked to find a solution that upholds dignity, independence and inclusion within Milwaukee County,” Nicholson said. “This amendment aims to meet this intention by listening to the Paratransit Taxi Task Force and reserving funding to effectuate recommendations, with a priority for connections to work and medical appointments.”

Paratransit users have criticized the reliability of the van service, saying the taxi service was a reliable fail-safe for unplanned trips. Riders and advocates once again shared these concerns with supervisors during the public budget meeting and asked them to work on bringing the service back

A Transportation Ombudsmen, Marketing Manager and Paratransit Czar?

Sup. Peter Burgelis secured support from the Budget Committee to greatly expand the role of what was supposed to be a new public relations position for MCDOT.

The department, which oversees transportation infrastructure and the transit system in Milwaukee County, does not have a dedicated public relations professional. In Crowley’s recommended 2024 budget, funding was included for such a position in the director’s office.

If Burgelis’ amendment secures the full support of the board, this job won’t just involve media and community relations. His amendment would maintain the public relations duties, and also make the person a transportation ombudsman. And on top of all of that, they would also be charged with evaluating and implementing a new paratransit taxi program and any recommendations issued by the Paratransit Taxi Task Force.

The ombudsman’s duties would include investigating transportation and transit complaints and making recommendations. The salary range for the position would be $95,422 to $142,800.

“MCDOT has never been accused of improper government activity,” Brown-Martin said. 

Brown-Martin noted that such a position would not, typically, be part of MCDOT and would likely be better situated in the Office of the Comptroller. Burgelis resolution states that the “Transportation Ombudsman and Community Liaison” would “conduct duties with neutrality, independence, and confidentiality, as this office will be separate and distinct from the agencies the position oversees.”

However, the amendment does nothing to effectuate the independence, as it would be housed within the office of the Director of MCDOT.

Brown-Martin noted that investigation of public complaints had little to do with the original goal of the position, which was to help the department coordinate its communications at the department level, working with “other departments, divisions, stakeholders, constituents, local officials, at a region-wide, county-wide basis.”

These duties are currently handled by Brown-Martin and Deputy Director Julie Esch, who recently retired. “A more focused and professional approach to this important element is what’s needed and why it was requested,” Brown-Martin said.

The Budget Committee voted four to three to recommend the amendment, with supervisors Willie Johnson, Jr., Shawn Rolland and Liz Sumner voting against.