Good news from the personnel committee of the Milwaukee County Board: they’ve initially approved a study to look at providing domestic partner benefits for County employees.
The board’s Personnel Committee approved a measure on a 4-2 vote to draft revisions to the county’s health plan to include the benefit, which is already offered to employees of the state, the City of Milwaukee and a number of large companies.
The measure calls for developing a final plan for offering health benefits to same sex or opposite sex partners of county workers. Follow-up action to formally establish the benefit also would be needed.
“It’s not a political matter, it’s an equality matter,” said Supervisor Christopher Larson, the measure’s main sponsor. Milwaukee County is behind the times in not having domestic partner benefits, he said. It’s time “to move out of the Dark Ages,” Larson said. – jsonline.com
Special recognition goes to Supervisor Chris Larson for proposing this legislation that would eliminate discrimination in determining benefits for County employees. It should be noted that this isn’t a proposal to implement domestic partner benefits, but just approve a study to look at doing it, which seems a prudent measure and something the full County Board should be able to get on board with.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and son Carter.
I agree with the policy on its merits, but you forgot one thing:
How will it be paid for? What doesn’t get funded so this can be added?
You have had awhile to ponder this, Dan. How would you recommend we pay for this?
Isn’t it interesting that with a massive county deficit looming, the best thing that our county board could come up with to do was to add even more benefits for the county workers that we can’t currently afford.
And you wonder why there is a tea party movement, and why it is growing, and why they are angry that government is ignoring high taxes and runaway spending.
Ive been researching this and I’ll have to agree