From the Business Journal
Posted: January 27, 2010

The long-awaited Public Policy Forum report on how to restructure and possibly eliminate Milwaukee County government was released Wednesday with a sober warning that the county’s budget problems are only going to get worse in coming years unless drastic measures are implemented.

Rob Henken, president of the Public Policy Forum, said the urgency of turning around Milwaukee County can’t be overstated. One of the biggest problems at the county is its structural deficit or the gap between expenditure needs and anticipated revenues, said Henken.

The Milwaukee-based Public Policy Forum estimates the county’s structural deficit will increase from $48 million in 2011 to more than $106 million by 2014. The projected deficit is an indication that the county’s finances are crumbling and valued services such as parks, transit, mental health and public safety face severe degradation without prompt action, according to the report.

The report also advocates that state and local elected officials will have to find common ground and work together to bring about change. Legislation sponsored by Assembly representatives and State senators is required before action can be taken.

“The report accurately reflects how desperate the county’s position is,” said Sheldon Lubar, a Milwaukee wealth management advisor and member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, who has pushed for changes at the county for years.

To illustrate his point, Lubar said the county’s pension and health-care expenditures almost tripled during the first eight years of the last decade. In 2000, the county allocated $67 million for pension and health care. By 2008, the expenditures totaled $179 million.

The Public Policy Forum’s 163-page report was commissioned by the Greater Milwaukee Committee. The report provides detailed analysis on the complex issues surrounding the elimination of county government. Henken said the report covers the legal and logistical obstacles surrounding the elimination of a governmental body with a $1.4 billion budget. The report also outlines alternative options used by other metropolitan regions to deliver services now handled by Milwaukee County.

“Scott Walker has joined the chorus, saying it should be taken apart,” said Lubar.

Walker, the current Milwaukee County Executive, is also the leading GOP candidate running for Wisconsin governor. Walker is running against former Congressman Mark Neumann for the Republican nomination. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is the leading Democratic candidate for governor.

Henken said the restructuring or elimination of county government will be an incremental, or function-by-function process. The county could transfer parks and transit to a special district with a dedicated funding source that would enhance funding stability, according to the report.

“Doing the whole thing at once would be too challenging,” Henken said.

The report models three restructuring scenarios that can be implemented to save from $2 million to $9.6 million each year.