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County
DPW says it can't afford to repave
anything in 2007.
Major
cuts proposed for county transit
system.
|
City,
county street budgets take hit while WisDOT dithers
Agency delays budget request
until after Doyle's re-election try
Oct.
2, 2006 -- City
and county street, alley and sidewalk maintenance
would be cut sharply under budget proposals by Mayor
Tom Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker.
The
State Department of Transportation, meanwhile, said
it will delay submitting its full budget request until
after the November gubernatorial election. WisDOT and
Gov. Doyle have proposed spending $28 million on studies
related to reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange, but
say they don't know enough to propose funding for transit
or local transportation aids and street maintenance.
State
agencies were to submit their budget requests to Doyle
by Sept. 15. WisDOT declined, saying it could not develop
a budget until after the election, when Congress decides
what the state's federal transportation allocation will
be. That will not be until after the November election.
Other
state agencies have submitted full budget requests even
though Congress has not acted on their allocations,
either.
WisDOT
spokeswoman Peg Schmitt did not respond to a Sept. 21
inquiry about why her department cannot do what other
state and local governments routinely do -- and what
WisDOT has done in the past -- which is develop budgets
based on the best information available at the time
the budgets are developed.
Barrett's
budget proposal for the City of Milwaukee, for example
-- which is dependent on both the state and federal
transportation budgets --calls for the elimination of
12 street maintenance positions, including two of three
crack fill crews (eight positions), one concrete crew
(three positions) and one street repair district manager.
The mayor also is proposing to reduce by two weeks the
hours of 30 seasonal streets workers.
While
the proposed cuts are significant, most media attention
has been devoted to the mayor's proposal for pothole-filling
crew, an indication of the sorry state of city streets.
The
mayor's budget also cuts funding for sidewalk and alley
capital projects to direct more money into street projects.
The budget includes about $38 million in capital funding
for streets -- a $3 million increase from this year
-- and a total of $1 million for sidewalk and alley
work. Large run-ups in the cost of materials likely
will reduce the impact of the increase for streets,
while aggravating the impacts of the reduced alley and
sidewalk budgets.
Walker’s
proposed budget county cuts nine highway maintenance
positions and a highway operations manager. In addition,
a $150,000 allocation resurfacing county roads is eliminated.
Walker
also is proposing a 2007 transit budget that sharply
increases fares. Under the Walker proposal, single adult
fares would stay at $1.75, while adult weekly passes
would jump 21%, from $14 to $17.
Student
passes would go up 16%, from $13.75 to $16; commuter
passes would jump 22%, from $155 to $189; and the UPASS
would increase from 7%, from $41 to $44.
Walker
also is proposing to cut service, even though his proposal
maintains routes. Bus miles would decrease by about
246,000 because of “less Waukesha County service
and less service provided relating to the Marquette
Interchange Project,” according to Walker's budget
proposal.
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County
DPW says it can't afford to repave anything in 2007
June
19, 2006 -- While state officials ponder tearing
down Milwaukee homes to allow for freeway project that
could cost $2 billion, the county's Department of Public
Works is proposing to postpone $150,000 in resurfacing
projects because of fiscal constraints.
The
2007 Highway Maintenance budget request also proposes
eliminating 20.5 full-time equivalent positions and
creating creating the same number of seasonal jobs to
eliminate the fringe benefits.
The
budget also would unfund nine highway maintenance positions,
one highway operations manager and one building painter
position.
The
$15.7 million budget request assumes no wage increase
for members of District 48 American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees.
"County
trunk major maintenance of $150,000 for resurfacing
or overlaying has been eliminated...Resurfacing will
be postponed until 2008," the budget request says.
To
read the full request, click here.
Don't
hold your breath
General Mitchell Blvd.in Story Hill was patched
by the county just a few months ago. The repairs to
this hazardous county street are not holding, but it
doesn't look like there will be enough money to reconstruct
this road any time soon.
The
street maintenance area of DPW is the only that is hurting.
The courthouse
cleaning crews could use some help, too.
Major
cuts proposed for transit system
June
16, 2006 -- Significant service reductions
and price increases for bus passes and tickets are being
proposed for the Milwaukee County Transit System in
the 2007 budget request the agency submitted this week.
Transit
System spokesman Joseph Caruso said despite the cuts,
the system still will be one of the best in the country.
He acknowledged, however, that "there are people
who are going to be hurt by this."
A
big issue for the Transit System for 2007 is a change
in the accounting rules regarding pension benefits.
The Transit System, for the first time is budgeting
for some of those costs -- about $8.5 million for 2007,
Caruson said.
The
Transit System's budget request calls for 45,254 hours
of service -- 3.2% of the total -- to be eliminated.
Bus miles would be reduced to 18,484,287, a 3.7% cut.
While
adult cash fares would remain at $1.75, adult weekly
passes and books would increase from $14 to $16. Student
fares, now $1.30, would be eliminated and student ticket
books, which cost $13, and student passes, which cost
$13.25 and $13.75, would all be replaced with a $15
weekly pass.
UPASS
prices would remain at $41, but Commuter Value Passes
would rise to $177 per quarter from $155, and premium
ticket books would increase from $19 to $21.
Paratransit
rides would be $3.50 per one-way trip, a 25 cent increase.
Bus
service reductions proposed by the Transit System include:
