Proposed Milwaukee County Budget Includes Layoffs of 559 Employees

The new county executive's budget cuts 559 jobs, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The layoffs are one of the main ways County Executive Chris Abele plans to plug a projected $55 million budget shortfall. The County Board Research Division overview of Abele's budget notes much of that shortfall comes from cuts of $29 million in state aid. 

About half of the lay-offs are current county positions that will be converted to state jobs, the JS reports. That leaves 278 county employees at risk of being laid off, the paper reports; most of those come from the Sheriff's Department, including 119 deputies. The other Sheriff's Department employees on the chopping block are "doctors, nurses and nurses aides whose jobs would be outsourced," the JS reports, but they could apply to be hired by the private firm Sheriff David Clark wants to take over inmate health care.

Clarke has labeled Abele's approach as soft on crime but hasn't yet spelled out his specific concerns.

Yet later in the article, Abele's deputy chief of staff said:

"The county executive feels public safety is the top priority and he made sure his budget proposal provides the resources to retain very high levels of public safety."

The JS reports the other half of the lost jobs would be converted to state jobs, but "there's no guarantee the uprooted county workers would be hired by the state to continue administering benefits to low-income families."

The JS reported Abele's budget also includes:

• shifting $25.7 million in health care costs onto employees and retirees; 
• increase health costs for county workers to about 30 percent of the total; 
• freezing the tax levy at $269 million, and dropping the budget 5.6 percent to $1.2 billion. 

Read the full County Research Division budget overview for yourself.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St. The board's finance committee started the budget review process Oct. 10. 

The schedule includes:

Tuesday, Oct. 11: the Federated Library System, County Historical Society, University Extension Services and parks, recreation and culture services like the Marcus Center, Public Museum and Zoo.

Wednesday, Oct. 12: Legislative and executive budgets; public safety, courts and judiciary

Thursday, Oct. 13: Health and Human Services

Budget work continues next week, with discussion of the transit system, capital improvements, the airport, zoo master plan and countywide infrastructure improvements.