Patricia Jursik
Press Release

Communications Via Press Release: Audits Provide Good Factual Background

Supervisor Jursik Criticizes the Use of Issuing Press Releases as “Shilling for Time on Talk Radio”.

By - Sep 29th, 2014 12:35 pm

Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik today issued the following statement:
 
“In the continuing dialogue via press release that is so beloved by our fellow Supervisor, Deanna Alexander, she postulated:  ‘I look forward to hearing what explanation these Supervisors lean on when they realize that they can’t audit something that doesn’t exist: the Living Wage Ordinance has not yet taken effect for Family Care.  So, how would they audit its effects?’
 
“The simple answer, and one already provided in committee, where such matters should be addressed since a press release is such a strange vehicle for discourse, is simply this:  An audit can provide place of residence.  If a resident from, say, Waukesha County, is provided services in Milwaukee County, the contracting agency is not required to provide the ‘living wage’ rate of Milwaukee.  Even though current contracts do not yet carry this, the policy makers can collect information going forward to predict if this will harm our Milwaukee County residents seeking services.

“It would appear there would be more of an incentive for contractors to provide service to the out-of-county resident before taking the Milwaukee County service contract.  This is exactly what was asked of Audit during our deliberations in the Finance, Personnel and Audit Committee.

“My door is open, and Supervisor Alexander can feel free to drop in if she’d like further discussion.  Of course a simple conversation with a fellow colleague will not get the dialogue to ‘talk radio’.  For me, this is the preferred means of communication with colleagues. It would be refreshing if elected officials cared about balance, about factual discussions, about fairness.  But if it is just about entertainment and not serving those that elect us, then we can continue using press releases that are really shilling for time on talk radio. Personally, I think all of this is an insider’s game, since most of us have caused the public to tune out a long time ago.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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