Abele Urges Board to Sustain Vetoes That Save $6.3 Million
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele signed vetoes today that will offer better public safety, better service and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
MILWAUKEE –Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele signed vetoes today that will offer better public safety, better service and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
Most notably, Abele’s vetoes strike a compromise on employee health care, keeping in $1.7 million in lower deductibles and prescription costs while removing the County Board’s $3.6 million plan to fund employee Flexible Spending Accounts. Using his veto pen, Abele also restores the Parks Patrol Plan agreed to by the City of Milwaukee and the MPD, strengthens economic development by keeping the current Economic Development Director in place and cuts the Board’s $50,000 slush fund to hire private attorneys, a plan that violates state law.
“Some of the Supervisors amendments made the 2013 Budget stronger; however, some shifted the focus away from what I think the core goal of Milwaukee County Government is: providing services in a sustainable way,” Abele said. “I am asking the Board to sustain my vetoes at their meeting tomorrow.”
Abele signed 21 of the Supervisors amendments while vetoing 25.
Abele’s Other Vetoes Include:
- Keeping the plan in place to have an independent Superintendent take over control of the County Correctional Facility-South, however the veto removes the arbitrary start date in order to get the best person and process possible.
- Restores funding to non-profit groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Easter Seals and Latino Community Center by vetoing a redundant loan program.
- Continues to move toward the nationally recognized goal of moving mental health care into the community.
- Removes unnecessary and unneeded employee positions that needlessly cost taxpayers.
- Restores a meaningful employee wellness program without raiding the County’s rainy day reserve.
- Eliminates an earmark that uses hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund public art with the goal of restoring a more common sense, sustainable public art program in 2014.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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