Also on this page: More woes for Walker's budget proposal. Walker aims to privatize golf courses; parks budget misleading, DeBruin says Walker seeks to eliminate court positions required by law.

County could face more layoffs if wage plan goes through, DeBruin says

Nov. 1, 2005 -- The county could face as many as 100 layoffs if a budget amendment to move the $6.5 million proposed for wage increases is approved by the County Board, according to Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.

The Finance Committee approved an amendment that would use the money instead to fund part of the county's pension contribution. The move would reduce the pension contribution shortfall to about $20 million, but also would leave the county with no funds for wage increases, estimated at about 3% next year.

The county would have to rely on personnel reductions to pay for the raises, DeBruin said. She said she did not support the move.

The amendment was proposed by Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz and adopted by the Finance and Audit Committee without input from county labor negotiators, said DeBruin, a member of the County Board's Personnel Committee. The amendment is contrary to the county's labor negotiations policy, she said.

Nyklewicz did not respond to a request to discuss the amendment.

DeBruin said Department of Administrative Services Director Linda Seemeyer informed her of the potential of 100 layoffs.

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More woes for Walker's budget proposal
State cancels million dollar contract

Oct. 24, 2005 -- The Sheriff's Department and House of Correction may face a $1 million revenue shortfall next year because the state is canceling a contract to house in county facilities prison inmates near the end of their sentences, according to county budget documents.

News of the state's decision was not received until after County Executive Scott Walker released his budget, which included $1,043,800 in revenue from the contract, according to a budget analysis prepared by County Board staff.

And while the state's decision may mean a lower inmate population at the County Jail and House of Correction, that could be offset by population increases attributable to Walker's proposed cuts in courts staffing.

"It is conceivable that the Courts may experience a backlog in case processing if adequate support staff is unavailable," the County Board report said. "If processing in the criminal courts slows, there may be an adverse effect in the daily inmate population at the Criminal Justice Facility."

Overflow inmates from the jail are held at the House, the report said.

"The budget for the House of Correction includes savings based on having six dorms closed for the year," it said. "In the event additional dorms are opened, the cost to the County is more than $33,000 per month per dorm."

The report raised numerous other concerns about the proposed budget. Among them:

• The tough decisions need to correct the county's long term fiscal problems "have been ruled out or simply postponed," the report said.
• The $6.5 million proposed for employee wage increases was to be funded through $11.6 million in new revenue associated with proposed changes in the emplyee health care plan. "It should be cautioned that, to the extent that changes to the heath care benefit are not realized, funds to provide a 3% cost-of-living adjustment to employees will not be available," the report said. The County Board's Finance and Audit Committee has recommended moving the $6.5 million to the pension fund instead of using it for wages. That means the county would offer current employees big health care cost increases with no pay increase, or big health care cost increases, and pay increases offset by layoffs.
• Walker has budgeted an optimistic 3% earnings on investments, but a September report shows a 2.2% return for the 2005.
• The Milwaukee County Transit System budget calls for fuel costs of $2 per gallon, when the Fleet Management fuel budget is at $2.22 per gallon. "Oil future prices support using a higher fuel rate," the report said.
• Walker's proposal to underfund the pension system contribution by more than $26 million means that money will have to be paid in the future. Those payments "could overwhelm the County's ability to properly fund the pension system." An actuarial review said Walker's plan could cost the county an additional $69 million over 30 years, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Walker aims to privatize county golf courses, DeBruin says
Parks budget "misleading"

Oct. 17, 2005 -- A top county official told County Board staff members that County Executive Scott Walker wants to privatize county golf courses, according to County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.

DeBruin also said that Walker's proposed parks budget was deliberately inflated to give Parks Director Sue Black the authority to spend additional money just in case the perfect summer occurs and revenues leap.

Walker has proposed a parks budget of $36.9 million, to be supported by $19.2 million in parks revenue.

The proposed revenue budget is the same as this year's. As of last month, the county was projecting a $2.3 million deficit in parks revenue, and Black was cutting expenditures to match the revenue shortfall.

That projected deficit may have been whittled down some by a good September, DeBruin said.

Black appealed to the County Board's Finance and Audit Committee to maintain the 2006 revenue budget as Walker proposed, DeBruin said.

"My problem is, it's misleading to the public," she said. The proposed budget does not reflect the cuts Black made to the Parks Department this year, and it does not reflect cuts likely to be made next year.

"It is not a good thing," DeBruin said. She added, however, that the County Board probably will go along with the request.

On the golf course issue, DeBruin said County Budget Director Stephen Agostini bluntly told staff that a $50,000 golf course study was proposed for 2006 because the Walker administration wants "to privatize the golf courses, especially Bender."

Development of a Bender Park golf course has been discussed for several years, but has not come to fruition.

Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week that supervisors were unduly alarmed about the possibility of privitazation. That was just one option to be considered, Walker said.

DeBruin, though, said Agostini was clear about the county's intent, and probably regretted being so direct.

Private developers have been sniffing around the county's major golf courses, but have not been so interested in the smaller courses, she said.

"If we privatize the biggies, there's no way to underwrite" the smaller courses, such as the par 3 at Doyne Park, DeBruin said.

If Walker gets what Walker wants, there will be a "bifurcated system where the ones that make money are in the private sector and the ones that don't make money, the county gets," DeBruin said.

DeBruin said she did not expect that to happen. She said she expected the golf study to be killed by the County Board's Finance and Audit Committee this week.

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Walker seeks to abolish court positions required by law
Milwaukee, Waukesha caseloads
the same

Oct. 10, 2005 -- County Executive Scott Walker's proposed courts cuts include two positions and a library required by state law, records show.

Walker would fund just two assistant chief deputy clerks, defying a state law that requires the county to have four.

Walker has proposed cutting court staff by 25%, while at the same time

Walker also proposes to eliminate the county's law library, which the office of the district court administrator says is also required by law.

The library, called the Legal Resource Center, "is the sole source of forms for pro se litigants in the Courthouse," according to the office of court administrator's report on the impact of Walker's proposed cuts.

Meanwhile, a state study of caseloads shows that Milwaukee County judges' workloads matches those of judges in Waukesha County and are heavier than Ozaukee County judges' workloads.

The 2003 Circuit Court Caseload Study says that each Milwaukee County judge is handling the workload of 1.2 judges, the same as in Waukesha County, but higher than the judicial workload in Ozaukee County. Each Ozaukee County judge does the work of 1.1 judges, according to the study.

While conservative talk show hosts have criticized Milwaukee County judges and court staff, they have been silent about the staff in Waukesha and Ozaukee counties.

Walker also has suggested Milwaukee County courts staff are particularly lazy and unproductive.

Study results were included in a paper published in January by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.