Behind the Scaffolding

There’s a lot going on in City Hall right now – not that you’d know from Milwaukee’s broadcast news and daily paper. With increased coverage of suburban issues – Shoplifter at Large in Glendale! – the most important issues of the day for the region’s economic and cultural hub are largely left untouched.

That’s why VITAL Source is making space for this column. To give you the inside scoop on what’s going in City of Milwaukee government. Hopefully it will be both enlightening and entertaining.

Let’s start with the 2009 city budget. About two weeks after posturing as an anti-tax guy (read: afraid of talk radio) and vetoing a much-needed “wheel tax,” Mayor Barrett introduced a host of increased fees – from snow removal to “solid waste” removal – in his new budget. (That latter fee is your garbage collection, in case you were wondering what constitutes “solid waste.”) Here’s the key difference between the wheel tax, which passed with 11 cosponsors, and all the new fees that Mayor Barrett is trying to implement in the budget: the $20-per-year wheel tax is actually replacing the street assessments, which totaled thousands of dollars, saving money for property owners. Barrett’s new budget fees replace nothing – they’re just new fees. Advantage: aldermen. (And alderwoman – can’t forget Coggs.)

Whether libraries are closed, fire fighters are cut or sanitation services are consolidated, times are tough for the City of Milwaukee. Watching the committee meetings, you get the sense that the department heads are scrambling to make ends meet. Milwaukee should have a long-term plan for progress, but it seems like everything is addressed at the 11th hour. I don’t think the heads of Manpower, Harley or even VITAL manage their funds this way, so I don’t know why it doesn’t bother the mayor.

Captain Jim Harpole, who was in the running for MPD Chief and has been at the helm for the District Three Police Station – in the heart of the central city – is being promoted to Assistant Chief. The promotion got little attention from the Journal Sentinel and nothing from the TV stations, but it could have far-reaching ramifications. City Hall insiders – and those who pay attention to crime statistics – know that Harpole has worked wonders at D3, so his replacement will be key. Alds. Murphy, Bauman and Hines are sure to be especially nervous.

Another Mayor-Common Council conflict of late is how to deal with Milwaukee’s foreclosure crisis. In August, President Willie Hines wrote a letter to Barrett, asking that he consider hiring a full-time Housing & Foreclosure Policy Advisor, as many other cities have done. The mayor has granted that request, but it seems like the new advisor will only be a low-level manager, not a cabinet-level adviser, as Hines requested.

My next column will focus more on the nuts-and-bolts of the departments behind the scenes, as I interview the people who actually fill potholes (hopefully), board up houses and weigh babies (public health nurses) for the city. But for now, it’s budget time – let the Mayor-Common Council financial contortions commence. VS