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.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and sons Carter and Colton.
I think we all have to remember WHY Scott Walker was voted into office. It was a pledge that Walker made to curb the ever increasing property taxes. As a county resident, it is that pledge I applaud him for and would hold him to, if he were ever to waiver from it.
As I have previously commented, Wisconsin (state, county, and citywide) is always in the top 5 taxed states, and yet everytime a Wisconsin politician suggests “cutting” something out of the budget, it’s lambasted. Why is that? Is it because we are not taxed enough? That certainly cannot be the reason, as I feel I am taxed enough, and am paying more than my fair share. So, the only explanation I can think of is, you and others that are disgusted with Scott Walker’s proposals, feel that increasing taxes on the average county resident is the only solution to keeping county services and rates at their current levels.
I personally use many of our county assets (buses, parks, pools, etc) and have over the past several years of Scott Walker’s cuts, seen no discernable reduction in services, or the inability to afford said services because of rate increases. In contrast, what I have seen on Milwaukee’s city level, is an INCREASE in my taxes with a definite decrease in the quality of education, and a yearly negative net migration mostly because we don’t deal with the budget in the same manner Scott Walker does.
I realize because Scott Walker is one of the few people in city and county government that actually cares about me as a tax payer, I think it only fair to point out that according to the reporter, that I believe you took some of your quotes from, ‘Milwaukee County is one of the only places in the nation were property taxes pay for the buses, keeping the transit system in competition with other county agencies for tax dollars.’
As for Scott Walker’s quote, “I don’t like fare increases, but they’re the least of my worries.â€, I am glad that a portion of the budget that effects less than 8% of the county is not at the top of his “worry list”. Public leaders need to prioritize, and quite frankly increases in bus fares and decreases in routes will be and should be the least of their worries.
Not sure what level of decrease in the quality of education you have personally noticed. Have your children come home a little less knowledgeable or are you referring to the standardized test scores that show whatever you want them to show? I know a number of people who left the region because they are tired of fighting such a conservative base of people. They were simply ready to live in a place that values the same things as they do. Tolerance, mass transit that is effective, cost efficient and environmentally friendly and leaders who are focused on the future and what it takes to develop and implement plans to allow a city to grow (to name a few). What we have here is a group of people (from both sides of the aisle) who are stuck in the 50′s. Let’s build more lanes, let’s not recognize that homosexuals are people too, let’s continue to refer to Immigrants as “illegal’s” and “aliens” this way it will be easier to demonize and vilify them. Your right…this is the least of his worries. The biggest of which I bet is how he can continue to manage the spiraling county in his ongoing attempts to become governor. It seems to me this is his most worrisome issue. Case in point: where was his “leadership†when addressing the lack of funds to Milwaukee County from the Repub budget?
The analogy of how much the County Exec cared about a service is directly correlated to it’s percentage of the budget is a bad one and if that were the case he’d be right to spend all his time “worrying” about the Deptartment of health and human services which is about 33% of tax levy funds compared to the 15% spent on transportation and public works, but that’s hardly the case is it?
One the other hand, I wonder what percentage of County resident’s use transit at least once a month? I think that would be a better indicator about what’s “Important”.
The one thing Scott Walker spends his time worrying about is his next political campaign.
If you use the parks and pools and transit in Milwaukee County and can honestly claim to not see a reduction in the services over the past few years, I seriously have to wonder if you’re in the same Milwaukee County I live in.
Because if you want me to post a list of all the jobs that have been cut, deferred maintenance, the grass that has been allowed to go uncut, the pools that have been closed, the buildings that are crumbling RIGHT NOW, the bus routes that have been cut or removed, the health programs scaled back, that’s going to take a separate post. Seriously. Five pools in just the past few years have been closed, where are you getting that info from?
And I’m happy that the rate increases don’t affect you and you can afford them. Most people who utilize public transit can’t, especially the disabled or elderly on fixed incomes. Why is a 25% “TAX/FEE” increase OK for them?
You may remember another pledge Scott Walker gave nearly five years ago – the one to not serve more than two terms as County Exec.
Ven, since you discount standardized tests, I’ll just rely on the graduation rate of MPS highschool students, and the subsequently low acceptance rate into colleges as two examples of the quality education Milwaukee students are getting at MPS. Wisconsin, conservative? That’s an interesting statement, as 5 out of our 8 representatives are Democrats, both Senators are Democrats (with one being WAY on the left), a Democratic Governor, a majority Democratic Assembly and a Senate full of RINO’s. All in all NOT very conservative.
To say this region is conservative because it has voted to not waste money on mass transit that makes no sense, or because you think because Wisconsin voted to ban same sex marriage (along with 25 other states), and referring to someone that illegally enters this country as an “illegal”, is myopic. Just because St. Louis and Portland made poor decisions on their mass transit, doesn’t mean SE Wisconsin has to. Banning same sex marriage is not just a Wisconsin thing. There is a large percentage of Americans that are pressing for such amendments (not that I either agree or disagree), and referring to illegal immigrants as “illegal” is not intolerant, it’s pointing out a blatant fact. They entered this country illegally and Wisconsin politicians and citizens are not the only ones, as you say, are “demonizing or vilifying” them.
It seems like not only do you despise Scott Walker and his attempts at correcting his Democratic predecessor’s greed, but you obviously loathe Wisconsin as well. That’s too bad, because even though I disagree with the opinions my Alderman, Congresswomen, Mayor, State Senator, Assemblyperson, and Senators, I still love living here and appreciate the great changes that Milwaukee, and SE Wisconsin, has seen over the past 10-15 years. Oh, and I’d answer your question about Scott Walker’s “leadership”, but I don’t think you’d agree with it.
Dan, if I take your logic of the percentage of people using the buses at least once a month and compare it to the increase in the rate, the majority of people will be spending $0.25-$0.75 more a month. Bottom line is this affects a small portion of the county residents, and when you have to control a budget, these are some of the issues that need to be analyzed. As for Scott Walker worrying about his next political campaign, let’s not kid ourselves, both sides worry about their next campaign.
I do live in the same county, and I realize all of the “cuts” that you listed, but 1) I am willing to work through those inconveniences and 2) you are working off of the assumption that those jobs were necessary, those pools and buildings need to be kept up, and those bus routes are necessary. We were/are taxing this county way to much as it is, because we obviously had too many pools, too many unnecessary jobs with Cadillac benefits, and not enough of a tax base to handle it. We live in a dwindling county, 959K people in 1990, 921K in 2000, and an estimated 915K, and with a negative net migration comes the hard reality that pools get closed, grass doesn’t get cut every week, and jobs are cut. This shrinking tax base is one more reason taxes should not go up. I, along with many people I know (right and left), would love to stay in Milwaukee county (I personally want to find a house in Wauwatosa), but you can find as good a standard of living in Brookfield, New Berlin, Menomonee Falls, Muskego, etc for far less. The first thing people say to me when house hunting is I would love to live in “name a portion of Milwaukee County”, but the taxes are too high.
If Scott Walker doesn’t make these tough choices, our taxes will certainly go up, and that estimated 2006 census number will keep going down. And as for Scott Walker’s tenure, he was elected in 2002 to a 2 year term, and was reelected for a second term. If he runs again in ’08, than your point of him breaking a pledge will be legitimate.
One of the definitions of conservative is “traditional or restrained in style,” and I believe that in Wisconsin, that applies to most residents of both political parties when you read it as “resistant to change.” The discussion about mass transit in the Milwaukee area is a perfect example of this. Portland’s mistake? The light rail system in Portland is heavily used and has increased property values along rail lines, because it makes for an easy commute. What a decent, regional transit system means to economic growth seems to be lost on those who want the existing system to contract, not expand. You want to get poor people working? They can’t do it if they can’t get to work. Of course, those driving their cars to work conveniently forget the fact that freeways are in fact heavily subsidized with YOUR tax dollars. BTW, I left Milwaukee for the west coast about a month ago, and it’s truly a relief to be in a place where every change takes more than a lifetime. I’m sure you’re all glad to be rid of me and the $18,000 worth of property and income taxes that I paid every year. It wasn’t the taxes that bothered me as much as the attitude.
Sean-
Walker hasn’t made any choices, tough or otherwise. He has offered soundbites and little else. When he does come up with the rare idea, it is a fiasco, and usually has underlying ties to it.
The Courthouse Annex. Walker wants it torn down, and gives a no-bid contract. The contractor, after seven inspections, manages to miss all sort of asbestos, and the price goes way up. To pay for this “oversight”, other projects are again delayed, and those prices go up.
Walker wants to sell the mental health complex and move the program to the old St. Michael’s. This will cost three times as much as fixing the complex. Meanwhile, the complex sits half empty while the Department of Aging is paying high rent in the Reuss Federal Building, and every other department is crammed into the Coggs building. Not good use of county resources, not good financial strategy, and will only raise taxes, if not for us, for our kids.