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Fired
Department Heads Speak out about Walker's Lack of Leadership
Pool closings, failing
infrastructure, endemic of exec's priorities
by Jim McGuigan
Few things anger
the public more in Milwaukee County than cuts in the parks system.
We've grown accustomed to strolls on shady paths, swims on hot days
and hitting the golf course when we have extra time. In short, we
expect that our quality of life won't be eroded.
The summer of
2003 County Executive Scott Walker closed many pools early as a way
to save a few dollars. The closings, he pointed out, were necessary
to close the budget deficit. It was a budget deficit that was
created when he won approval of his 0% tax levy budget that was
fraught with artificially high revenue projections and
underestimated expenses.
The public was
outraged about the pool closings. Facing a week of 90-degree
temperatures, parents were angry that their children would not be
able to seek refuge from the heat in county pools. Seniors were
angry that they couldn't get relief from ailments like arthritis
because Walker closed the pools they relied on to keep their joints
moving. Walker saw this as a threat to his political future and
looked for someone to deflect blame to. He found his scapegoats.
Walker fired all
five of the top managers in the parks department for allegedly
giving him bad advice on how to close the $2 million hole in the
county budget. Walker didn't just fire them -- he made their firing
part of his media circus. He called the media to inform them, and
only after he was sure all the cameras were at the parks department,
did he fire department heads. This assured that when they walked out
with their packed boxes, the television cameras would be there to
greet them.
You should
understand that it was not parks department heads who made the
choice to shortchange their budget -- it was Walker. Walker was
looking for a way to make good on his tax freeze pledge, and, after
he was in office, he got an unexpected civic lesson. The rampant
waste in county government that he screamed about on the campaign
trail wasn't there.
Parks officials
knew they would deficit and, from my column last spring, you knew
also. Walker asked Parks Director Sue Baldwin how to fix the budget
hole he created. Knowing that there wasn't any other way to generate
$2 million more in revenue by the end of the year, she said the only
way to do it was to cut services.
But the story
doesn't end there. Walker had a gag rule in place for all of his top
managers. If there was some good news that needed to be told, Walker
was the one that would put out the press release and speak to the
media. It would be Walker who would get the credit and department
heads would have to face the cameras if there was bad news to be
shared. It was a condition of employment and they knew they had to
acquiesce to Walker's demands as long as they were working for the
County.
Now they're
talking.
Greg Youngs, the
former deputy director of the parks department, pointed out that
he'd never seen people treated this poorly in all his years with
Milwaukee County.
Larry Kenny, the
former director of operations for the parks department, lamented
what is happening. "I'm disappointed that he (Walker) doesn't
articulate a vision," Kenny said. "Simplistic answers that
play to the public like 'freeze property taxes' don't plan for the
future. Sometimes he makes a commitment but then for whatever the
reason he doesn't feel like he has to fulfill the commitment he's
made. I question that type of leadership."
Walker directed
parks managers to look at mass privatization of the parks department
as was done by the city of Chicago. Kenny said that "(Walker)
believes it's best if as much as possible be privatized. It's
contrary to the vision of Charles Whitnall." Whitnall is
credited as being the father of our county parks system.
Walker told parks
managers that they had to offer up at least $1 million in cuts to
make up for an overall county budget shortfall. "He said he was
looking for layoffs," Kenny added. "When someone tells you
to cut a million dollars worth of worker salaries without
understanding the consequences, that's troubling."
It's not
surprising that parks managers were frustrated. They did all they
were asked to do and they presented a budget to Walker that kept
spending down, but were then penalized for it. He put them between a
rock and a hard place and then firmly placed blame on them for
carrying out decisions he made.
The question of
what happens next is entirely up in the air. A new interim parks
director has been named, an official who has never before put
together a budget. What's worse, top managers are now gone so he has
no one to turn to when it comes time to ask questions. Our county
parks are losing their luster.
Infrastructure is
crumbling, pools are closing, invasive species are invading our
parks and maintenance is sliding. Walker has now issued a new
challenge to all elected officials in the county to sign his pledge
to not increase taxes next year -- as though he believes they've
been happily raising taxes all along.
There are
consequences to being unwilling to pay for services and one of them
is decreased property values. It may take a few years for property
values to erode, but it will happen. People want to live and raise
their families in communities with parks, playgrounds and pools.
Great schools, well-maintained roads and places to interact make
communities attractive. When the commitment to these core services
disappears, property values plummet and families with children move
out.
There
is a time to do the business of the people and there's a time for
politicking. We, as citizens, have a responsibility to expect that
our elected officials will do the work, research the details, and
make decisions that are in our best interest. This is what a
representative democracy is all about. When those same elected
officials choose to make glib, bumper-sticker campaign promises to
solve complex problems, the public has a responsibility to seek the
truth.
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