Chair of Committee on Economic and Community Development Calls on County Exec To Stabilize Economic Development Leadership

Recognizing the importance that the business community places on certainty, the Chair of the Milwaukee County Board Committee on Economic and Community Development (ECD) is asking the County Executive to shore up the County’s leadership on economic development by adhering to Milwaukee County residency requirements.

“Economic growth is far too important in this community at this time to have an economic development director who lives outside the area that he’s charged with representing,” said ECD Committee Chair Patricia Jursik.

Jursik is inviting the County Executive to re-submit his current economic development director, Brian Taffora, for Board confirmation by January 1, 2013.

“The fact is residency is a simple requirement that thousands of our employees honor every day,” explained Supervisor Theodore Lipscomb, Sr., who authored a budget amendment to create a new Director of County Economic Development position that includes the standard Milwaukee County residency requirement. “I’m not sure how someone can sell something he is apparently unwilling to purchase: an investment in Milwaukee County.”

The Board approved the budget amendment on a vote of 14-4.

The Milwaukee County Board is eager to re-establish the trust forged more than a year ago when the County Executive committed to the Board via a top aide that Taffora would honor the residency requirement.

The County Executive granted a permanent residency waiver for the economic development, after giving two, six-month extensions.

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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