Also
on this page:
Supervisors
call for maintaining parks
support.
DeBruin
explains vote.
Parks
Department preparing for huge 2007 cuts. |
Parks
need at least $148 million in repairs
Sept.
18, 2006 -- Milwaukee County parks
need at least $148 million in repairs to catch
up on deferred maintenance, according to a new
report.
The
biggest fixes are needed to parks roads, which
would require $44.4 million to repair; parking
lots, which need $23.1 million; and parks buildings
which need $19 million in repairs.
Dozens
of critical conditions already exist at a number
of sites. At Dineen Park, for example, fire
extinguisher inspections have lapsed and some
of the electrical distribution equipment is
corroded, according to the report.
At
Doctors Park, lead paint testing is needed in
the bathhouse; Estabrook Park has a leaking
boiler exhaust flue, lacks necessary fire extinguishers,
and has corroded electrical service and distribution
equipment. Some of the electrical equipment
is in a wet area.
Numerous
buildings have wiring problems, and many are
not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities
Act, according to the report.
The
$148 million cost estimate is on the low side
-- no estimates were available for fixing things
like water mains, wells, gas and electric infrastrucure,
and fuel tanks, according to the report from
Parks Director Sue Black.
In
addition, for the estimates that have been made,
some are for labor and materials only. "Other
estimates are for full project costs, including
contract general conditions, contract administration,
design costs and construction management,"
she wrote.
The
estimates would need further refinement before
actual project budgets are established, she
said.
The
report will be presented Tuesday to the County
Board's Parks Committee.
Printer-friendly
version
Supervisors
call for maintaining parks support
June
12, 2006 -- The County Board's Parks
Committee will discuss on Tuesday a proposal
to provide the Parks Department with at least
$19.2 million per year in tax levy support for
each of the next three years.
That
amount is the same as this year's levy support
when money budgeted in the Department of Public
Works for parks is taken into account, said
County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin, who is sponsoring
the measure with County Supervisors Roger Quindel
and Dan Devine.
The
resolution, if adopted, would not be binding
on County Executive Scott Walker, who releases
his proposed county budget in September.
DeBruin
explains herself
Why
the Parks Committee chair voted 'no' on parks
funding referendum
June
2, 2006-- The worst time parks backers
can seek voter support for increased park funding
is this fall, according County Supervisor Lynne
DeBruin, chairman of the County Board’s
Parks Committee.
Voters may not have enough information by the
Sept. 12 to make a decision about what services
should receive designated funding, she said.
County
Executive Scott Walker is likely to propose
“massive cuts” in his 2007 budget
proposal for areas supported by property taxes,
including transit, mental health treatment,
and medical insurance for uninsured poor people.
That proposal probably won't be released until
late September, after primary election day proposed
for the referendum.
Depending
on how new accounting rules affect fringe benefit
budgets, “you’re talking about the
biggest downsizing in county services and staff
probably in county history,” she said.
DeBruin
When
people learn of all the services that are at
risk, she said, “the priorities of my
constituents may be different.”
On
the other hand, she said, people might be more
willing to support a new revenue stream for
parks once they see the hit the parks department
will take under Walker's budget, she said.
Before
determining the best route to secure parks funding,
she said, “I want to know what those issues
are. I really don’t know what they (voters)
would do if you’re talking massive problems
in all budgets.”
De
Bruin surprised some by voting against holding
a September advisory referendum on instituting
a .25% sales tax to support parks.
Right
now, she said, residents of her district –
including the traditionally more liberal Story
Hill and Washington Heights – do not seem
eager to raise taxes,.
“I
can count on one hand the calls I’ve gotten”
from people living in those neighborhoods who
expressed willingness to pay more for services,
she said."This really goes back to whee
people are with the property taxes in the community."
Many
residents say they are feeling squeezed by property
taxes, she said.
There
also is no guarantee that money from a new sales
tax would always be used to support parks, she
said. When the county adopted a 0.5% sales tax,
it was supposed to be used for capital projects
and debt service. That was later changed to
allow sales tax revenue to fund day-to-day operations.
Finally,
she said, she simply does not like advisory
referendums. Referendums, if held, should be
binding, she said.
In
a related matter, DeBruin said she has asked
for an inventory of all county parks and for
an accounting of how many actually could be
sold.
The
fear that the county could have a large-scale
parks sell-off probably is misplaced, she said.
Many parks have deed restrictions, most parkways
lie in flood plains and cannot be sold, and
others sit atop old landfills.
“I
want to know,” she said. “Are there
really 10 parks that could be sold?”
Parks
Department preparing for huge 2007 cuts, DeBruin
says
April
17, 2006 -- Accounting changes and
the county's fiscal woes are forcing the Parks
Department to essentially cut $4 million next
year, according to County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.
"They're
being instructed to come up with that hit,"
she said.
The
county is planning to shift the cost of some
fringe benefits, such as health care, into departmental
budgets without corresponding department budget
increases, DeBruin said.
The
Department's budget is $37.7 million this year.
Parks
Director Sue Black is "also coming in with
proposals for what to sell off," DeBruin
said. "There are developers lining up and
operators lining up trying to get control of
the county golf courses."
They
are not, however, interested in operating the
smaller courses, such as the one at Doyne Park,
near Story Hill. Since the small courses are
subsidized by the larger ones, the existence
of the small courses could be in danger if the
bigger courses are turned over to private operators,
she said.
DeBruin
noted that it is early in the budget process,
and the County Executive Scott Walker's budget
may not contain the drastic Parks Department
cuts being discussed.
She
also urged the public to pay close attention
as the budget process unfolds.
"I
would really expect this budget year to be critical
for everyone to be involved," she said.
