Monday, April 29, 2013
Angered over allegations that Milwaukee County Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic has been illegally negotiating with county employees, several county board members want her to resign as chair.
Another Milwaukee County board member has stepped forward in asking for Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic's resignation, according to Patch's media partners at WISN 12 News. Last week, supervisors Mark Borkowski, Steve Taylor, John Wieshan Jr. and Deanna Alexander signed a memo requesting that Marina Dimitrijevic resign her position as chairwoman. Now Jim "Luigi" Schmitt has thrown his support behind the request. "Because of this lack of clarity and accountability, I cannot sit on the sidelines and will no longer continue to support our chairwoman," according to Schmitt's statement. The five members are accusing Dimitrijevic of negotiating with union employees after the state barred them from doing so and then lying …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Milwaukee County taxpayers paid for trips some supervisors took to DC, Virginia Beach, and Wisconsin Counties Association events, and the question remains.. was this an appropriate use of the money?
The travel bill for Milwaukee County board members and staff members totaled $15,000 last year, according to a story by the Journal Sentinel. Daniel Bice's column highlighted trips to Washington D.C., Virginia Beach and Poland. Most of the trip Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and Supervisor Mark Borkowski took to Poland to visit Milwaukee's sister city was not paid by Wisconsin taxpayers, but was funded through several grants. A trip to the Wisconsin Counties Association conference cost taxpayers $5,000. Willie Johnson Jr. told Bice that the County typically sends three to four people to the conference, but said "county officials wanted to demonstrate a show of force in 2012" since Johnson was in the running to become chairman of the group…
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Steve Taylor and Mark Borkowski, each of whom represent suburbs on Milwaukee County's south side, proposed cutting five supervisor positions and 40 percent off the board's personnel budget.
Two South Suburban county supervisors are proposing their own version of Milwaukee County Board downsizing. Supervisors Steve Taylor and Mark Borkowski on Tuesday released a proposal that calls for the board to be reduced from 18 supervisors to 13 by 2016. In addition, the board's personnel budget would be cut by about 40 percent starting in 2014 and potentially 50 percent by 2016. In an open letter, Borkowski and Taylor said they will be "asking the state Legislature to give us the tools to downsize." "Without this authority, we are not able to take this first step in reforming ourselves," Taylor and Borkowski said. Their plan comes after state Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, a former county board member, authored legislation that calls for a …
Monday, January 14, 2013
With state legislators calling for a part-time Milwaukee County Board, supervisors made their case in front of their municipal counterparts on the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council Monday afternoon.
The Milwaukee County Board has not always seen eye-to-eye with the county's mayors and village presidents. But despite their past misgivings, supervisors were eager to meet with their municipal counterparts Monday and defend their jobs in light of a proposal by two state Republican lawmakers to reduce supervisors' pay from $50,000 to $15,000. The proposed legislation would ask all Milwaukee County residents about the downsizing through a binding referendum on the April 2 ballot. At the request of County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, Supervisor Theo Lipscomb asked that he and three other supervisors appear before suburban officials and administrators at a Milwaukee County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council meeting Monday …
County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents a portion of Oak Creek, says she realized early on that her position needed her full-time attention.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Bill proposed by state Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo calls for binding referendum making supervisors part time and axing salary by 70 percent.
Calling it a plan to help Milwaukee County deal with its fiscal woes, two Republican state legislators on Friday unveiled a plan that would enable voters to decide whether to drastically cut salaries of county supervisors. The legislation proposed by Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo of West Allis would authorize a binding referendum in April that calls for reducing salaries by 70 percent — from about $50,000 to $15,000 — and making the positions part time. "This bill is about local control," Darling said in a press release. "It let's voters decide what's more important: parks or politicians." Darling and Sanfelippo are seeking co-sponsors for the bill, which also would eliminate health care and pension benefits …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Steve Taylor will host a listening session regarding the proposed Milwaukee County budget.
County Supervisor Steve Taylor will host three town hall meetings, including one in Oak Creek, to hear from residents about Milwaukee County's proposed budget. The Oak Creek meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at city hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave. Other meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Franklin City Hall and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24 at Hales Corners Village Hall. The county board is deliberating County Executive Chris Abele's proposed 2013 budget, which among other things, calls for a property tax freeze, changes to the sheriff's office budget and increases in both pay and health costs for county employees.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Marina Dimitrijevic will host a listening session Aug. 27 in the council chambers at Oak Creek City Hall.
Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic will host a town hall-style meeting Aug. 27 in Oak Creek. The 6 p.m. meeting at Oak Creek City Hall is part of her "Chat with the Chair" initiative, which aims to unite the 19 Milwaukee County municipalities. Residents are invited to meet Dimitrijevic and ask questions about county government. "We are making a sincere effort to unify Milwaukee County. A key part of this effort is holding listening sessions in all 19 cities and villages in Milwaukee County," Dimitrijevic said in a news release. "Oak Creek is a key community in the South Shore of Milwaukee County, and I’m excited to visit this area for my fifth Chat with the Chair." Dimitrijevic was elected county board chairwoman in …
Friday, July 27, 2012
County Executive Chris Abele said the cost of adding the question to the ballot — at least $20,000 — is not worth an advisory referendum with no action behind it.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele plans to veto the county board's request for an advisory referendum regarding a well-known U.S. Supreme Court decision, citing the cost of adding it to the ballot. The referendum refers to an oft-criticized 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, in which the court ruled that the First Amendment protected political spending by corporations and unions in elections. On Thursday, the board voted 14-4 in favor of an advisory referendum that would ask Milwaukee County residents whether they support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would essentially override the Supreme Court decision. Abele spokesman Brendan Conway said the county executive agrees with the board's…
Monday, June 25, 2012
Newly-elected Steve Taylor talks about county issues, including Bender Park and the proposed I-794 extension, in his new monthly newsletter.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Steve Taylor, who represents most of Oak Creek on the county board, has posted his first newsletter on his website. Taylor said he will have newsletters out once a month to keep residents posted on county-related news in the district, which also encompasses Hales Corners and most of Franklin. In addition to dredging needed at Bender Park, this month's newsletter also has information on the proposed I-794 extension, a town-hall meeting with new board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and more. Click here to read the newsletter. County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents a portion of Oak Creek on the north and east ends of town, also has a monthly newsletter, which you can find here.
paul hruz
9:50 am on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Lee how can the unions get anything they asked for? Remember she said they never negotiated more ›