The Journal Sentinel had an interesting article on Sunday about the practice of allowing some County workers to “buyback” pension benefits at a substantial discount, and sometimes without proper documentation of previous service. The questionable practice is expected to cost the County millions and millions of dollars.

The response today from some County Supervisors is predictable and troubling: What? Huh? Who? How?

The reaction from the Board of Supervisors is disturbing. It’s impossible to imagine that they didn’t know about this questionable practice before the story hit on Sunday, and that alone is cause for major concern. The reaction we’re now hearing is equally if not more disturbing because it’s the kind of cover-your-behind behavior that citizens have come to expect, especially with regards to the County Board and anything to do with pensions.

How can anyone trust some of the people who let this happen right under their noses to now correct the problem and deal with it’s fallout?

By a 10-6 vote, the Milwaukee County Board today voted to approve a plan that will let the residents of Milwaukee County vote next February if they want or don’t want a 1% increase to their sales taxes.

The plan would raise about $120 million a year, half of which would be used for property tax relief. $22 million would pay for county parks and $18 million would go for transit. In addition, the remaining $20 million would go to local municipalities for fire and police costs.

Not only would this shift some of the tax burden in Milwaukee County off of property owners and lower property taxes, it would finally give the parks and transit dedicated funding sources that are tied to inflation. Milwaukee County is one of the only major metropolitan counties that still relies on property taxes to fund it’s transit system for example.

Compared with Chicago’s 8%-9% sales tax, a sales tax of 6%-6.5% still looks like a bargain, so what do you think?

Another day, another County budget proposal that increases fees while cutting back on services.

This time, it’s the Milwaukee County Transit System budget which proposes to raise fares from $1.75 to $2 a 15% increase, cut 13 bus routes, and shorten 13 others. Disabled and elderly residents that rely on more robust services would see an increase from $3.25 to $4 – a 23% increase.

The insane thing is the people who had to submit this budget know the cuts and fare increases will lower ridership by 15% or more, which will only lead to more cuts in services and rising of fares in the future.

If you can see a pattern emerging about how Milwaukee County is managing it’s responsibilities, you’re not alone. It goes something like this: slash the budget, cut services, pat yourself on the back for “holding the line on property taxes” and with any luck you can completely kill the service in just a few years.

And what does County Executive Scott Walker have to say about all this? “I don’t like fare increases, but they’re the least of my worries.”

“The least of my worries.” Milwaukee County residents who rely on mass transit, elderly folks who won’t be able to afford the fare increase, and disabled residents who count on the services that give you the freedom and mobility you may not otherwise have – the next time you board a bus and have to fork over 15-25% more, remember that it’s the “least of the worries” of your elected officials.

It’s an amazing coincidence that just as I was on TV today to talk about what one group is doing to resurrect a Milwaukee County Park pool that was left to rot , another article appears about the upcoming County Parks budget which once again decimates our parks system at the direction of the County Executive.

It’s this simple: Scott Walker is forcing the County Parks Director Sue Black to write a budget that cuts jobs, kills recreation centers, and once again closes County run pools. I don’t mean to suggest it’s her fault because it isn’t. It’s crystal clear who’s responsible for the terrible shape our parks are in, and once again it’s crystal clear who is putting his own political ambition above the wishes of those he was elected to serve.

But it’s not just the County Executive who’s to blame. There are a small group of County Supervisors who have played the role of enabler for far too long and who’ve consistently refused to confront the destruction of our County Parks. I’ve got a message for them:

Throwing your hands up in the air and bemoaning, “There’s nothing I can do” is not why you were elected to serve and it’s certainly not anything close to the kind of leadership the residents of Milwaukee County deserve and desperately need.

There are of course County Supervisors who try to take the lead and who honor their role as stewards and they know who they are, but when those folks have to contend with their own colleagues as well as the County Supervisor’s office, it’s an uphill battle for them and as a result, a fight the supporters of this County’s natural resources are often on the losing side of.

Imagine if Director Black didn’t have to constantly worry about a budget and the future of her employees and instead could focus her tremendous energy and talent on once again making the Milwaukee County Parks system one of the best in the Country.

Fortunately there are those of us who see what’s happening to one of the greatest natural resources in Southeastern Wisconsin.