Category Archives: City of Milwaukee

Hey, city! How hard is it?

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The City of Milwaukee last week left informed my neighbors and me of our GUARANTEED recycling pick-up days, one of which was today, Dec. 22.

Since this is the holiday season, it’s a fairly big deal, as boxes and paper and recyclable materials accumulate rather quickly. I planned it all carefully. Fill the recycling container carefully almost up to the very top, and set aside the very last items to take outside last night for collection today. That way, I get rid of a lot of paper and ensure enough room in the cart for post-holiday inflow.

Except that I got home and the recycling crew already had come and gone — on Dec. 21.

$*^@)(&%$

How hard is it, really, to collect the recycling on the very publicly announced GUARANTEED day?

Look out, because here comes the sarcasm: Maybe the Department of Public Works guys had to collect the recycling early so they have enough time to rest up to put down two inches of salt on the street the next time we have 1/100th inch of snow.

Local state aid dropped by almost 10%

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State aids to local units of government dropped a whopping $96 million, or almost 10%, from 2010 to 2011, according to the city.

Ouch. The numbers don’t cover every dollar that flows from the state to local taxing units, but do provide an apples to apples comparison of the change in the main sources of state aid.

The figures are on property tax bills sent out last week and appear to be reported correctly. (The city messed up the 2010 net property taxes levied on individual properties.)
Every local taxing unit took a hit, according to the property tax bill. Here’s the scoop, per the tax bills and our good friend, Microsoft Excel.

Bill would make city fees deductible from state income taxes

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Homeowners who pay sewer, storm sewer, water, and garbage collection fees (that’s us, Milwaukee!) would be able to deduct the amounts from their state income taxes, under a bill pending in the State Legislature.

The bill has bipartisan sponsorship and the support of the City of Milwaukee, according to city and state records. It’s main author is State Rep. Josh D. Zepnick, and Assembly co-authors are David Cullen and Jason Fields, both Milwaukee Democrats, and Richard Spanbauer, an Oshkosh Republican. Senate co-sponsors are Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) and Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin).

Milwaukee Ald. Joe Davis asked during a Common Council committee meeting last month whether the proposal could inspire Republican legislators to cap the amount the city could charge. City lobbyist Paul Vornholt said fees already are capped at 100% of costs, but added that the deduction proposal could draw attention to the fee issue.

“I’ll just tell you that municipalities across the state are turning to fees right now and Milwaukee is going to be joined by a whole choir of support in maintaining fees,” he told the Judiciary and Legislation Committee.

Under the proposal, the deduction would apply only to state income taxes and only to residents’ primary homes.


 

Busalacchi appointment a disaster

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Could County Executive Chris Abele do any worse than appointing Frank Busalachhi to head the county transportation division? Here, in Busalacchi, is a totally anti-Milwaukee guy who for years as head of the State Department of Transportation starved transit to feed his road-building cronies. Abele is truly, truly, truly throwing Milwaukee — and buses — under the bus.

One more problem for Columbia-St. Mary’s?

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Columbia-St. Mary’s built a new Milwaukee hospital on the city’s East Side, then went into full cost-cutting, job-cutting mode as its other facilities lost market share and patients to the never-ending expansion of its major competitor, Aurora Health Care.

And now even Columbia-St. Mary’s spankin’ new Milwaukee flagship — open just a year — is already showing signs of wear. The facade (paint job?)  on the the north building — the curvy one — is either badly discoloring in spots or is chipping away. This cannot be the lifespan Columbia-St. Mary’s thought it would get out of the exterior aesthetics when the checks for the new place were being written.