County Board 2023 budget adoption: creation of paratransit and MCTS task forces, addressing criminal justice

After a marathon, 11-hour meeting, Milwaukee County supervisors adopted a $1.37 billion 2023 budget, crafting modest adjustments and reinstating services cut in County Executive David Crowley's earlier proposal.

In October, Crowley proposed increased funding for parks after years of cuts, an investment in the House of Correction and injection of more than $21 million into community-based mental health and substance abuse programs and support for residents. But such financial shifts saw major proposed cuts to services across the county, including the paratransit taxi service for riders with disabilities and reduction in services for four Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus routes.

In the lead-up to adoption Thursday, supervisors listened to public testimony from concerned paratransit taxi riders, who decried the potential elimination of the service next year, and MCTS bus operators facing assaults on the job and worried about their wages, and calls for parks funding. As a result, amendments introduced Thursday night included allocating funding to extend the paratransit taxi service, a paratransit taxi task force and MCTS safety task force, as well as $1.39 million for the parks to pay for seasonal staff, the opening and staffing of pools and improvement the Mitchell Park Domes.

“After hearing from paratransit advocates, park lovers, and numerous county residents throughout this process I am proud that the County Board adopted a budget that addresses many of our community’s pressing needs," County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson wrote in a statement on Friday. "While we celebrate adopting the budget it is important to remember that with stagnant shared revenue from the state and an inability to raise our own revenue at the county level, our future is still uncertain."

The budget, which was adopted on 15-3 vote with "no" votes from Supervisors Ryan Clancy, Steven Shea and Sheldon A. Wasserman, also saw a decrease in the county's property tax levy to $312,922,151 — which is $125,539 less than what Crowley had proposed.

Crowley will have the opportunity to approve or veto the adopted budget. He has until the County Board's next full meeting, which is set for Nov. 17.

"It could be as early as tomorrow or as late as 30 seconds before we gavel on Thursday," Eddie Cullen, a spokesman for the County Board, told the Journal Sentinel.

On Nov. 1, the county executive introduced a last-minute veto of a resolution that would see the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture collaborate with the Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance and the Office of Corporation Counsel in order to petition the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office to nominate and register the Mitchell Park Domes on the National and State Register of Historic Places.

"There is virtually nothing to gain by taking this step now rather than...as a part of a long-term, sustainable plan on the future of Mitchell Park," Crowley wrote in a statement about the veto response.

The supervisors abstained on voting on an override of the veto. It allows the veto to stand, but "sends a message that we're not divided and will resubmit it," Supervisor Ryan Clancy told the Journal Sentinel.

Criminal justice, transit, parks and county infrastructure

Among the big ticket items approved through budget amendments supervisors approved:

• Allocation of $1.39 million in funding for parks for seasonal staffing, park program and amenity enhancements.

• Avoiding cuts to the paratransit taxi service by allocating funding to extend service beyond the proposed elimination date of May 2023.

• A study of free Election Day transit.

• The creation of an MCTS safety task force in order to address ongoing concerns from bus operators.

• Approval of $15,000 to study the possibility of reinstating non-contact visitation at the Milwaukee County Jail. Milwaukee County has not allowed in-person visitation since 2001, a decision implemented under former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. Since 2003, the jail has barred cost-free contact visitation shifting toward free on-site video visitation. The on-site video visitation was closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remains closed.

• Approval of a contract to rehouse youth offenders overflow in Racine County.

• A hodge-podge amendment that would include increased pay for correctional officers and address infrastructure concerns at McKinley Park Flushing Channel, the South Shore breakwater and West Milwaukee tennis courts.

"An amendment has been compiled and crafted and published, which, I believe, accomplishes many goals of the members of this body," said Supervisor Deanna Alexander, speaking of an eleventh-hour amendment. "While it is not palatable to any one person on this body ... I do believe we have more good in it than distaste. I think it will be really productive in the end and I think it will be good for the county and good for our budget."

Supervisor Dyango Zerpa was not present for a majority of the in-person meeting on Thursday but sought to be included virtually in the final hour of voting for the adoption of the budget. Most recently, he was fired as a legislative assistant to state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez after failing to show up for work at the Capitol.

Nicholson had asked all supervisors to be present. She recommended that Zerpa's request not be fulfilled.

Calling on the board to vote on whether to allow him to be admitted, the vote was unanimous to permit him to attend virtually.

Pushback on Crowley's Domes veto, renaming of House of Correction

Supervisors took multiple swings at the county executive, decrying his last-minute veto of the Domes resolution.

For Shea the move was painful.

"This has been an issue for many years," he said, referring to the status of the Domes. "Every time we try to do anything with this issue, it seems we take a step back and not a step forward. It's absolutely Kafkaesque."

Supervisor Steve Taylor said the timing of the veto by the county executive was poorly executed.

"It was really irritating that the night of the public hearing as I'm tying my tie to head downtown the veto comes across," said Taylor. "I thought it was pretty tacky, frankly."

They also noted Crowley's efforts to streamline the name change of the House of Correction to the Community Reintegration Center without consulting the County Board. Such a change would have cost the county $158,000, in order to change signage and employee and resident clothes, as well as for advertising.

Supervsior Kathleen Vincent recognized that a name change might be warranted in the future. But while the county works through the details of the transition, she urged supervisors to support her amendment to deny the name change.

"I feel that it's important not to put the cart before the horse," Vincent said.

The board approved the denial of the name change with a 9-8 vote.

Crowley does not require the board's approval for the name change, but would require approval for funding purposes.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Vanessa_Swales.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Board adopts $1.37 billion 2023 budget