Milwaukee Biz Blog

First, I want to publicly congratulate Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker on his recent election to the highest seat of government in Wisconsin. The voters have spoken, and they have chosen Governor-elect Walker to make some very difficult decisions on their behalf. As he and I discussed by phone the morning after the election, the City of Milwaukee will be a willing partner with this new administration – we are more than ready to innovatively collaborate in order to see our state prosper. All of us must work together to ensure that Wisconsin is open for business.

Over the years, the governor-elect has continually made it clear that he unequivocally supports highway expansion – despite the billions of dollars in cost to taxpayers – because he deems such work to be an investment in future growth. I take him at his word that when it comes to the daunting tax-funded price tag, he considers these projects to be necessary.

We all know that certain government services cannot be eliminated, so taxes are necessary in order to pay for those services. If we want bridges and civic buildings to be built up to code; if we value public safety and education; if ensuring that people can drive to work is important – there is no way around the importance of public investment. Where there is waste or duplication, we must find ways to eliminate those impediments to prosperity. We must seek out smart public investments that offer Wisconsin the most bang for its buck. We must stabilize our future by investing today.

Which brings me to public transportation.

If spending billions of dollars on highway expansion is a worthy taxpayer expense, then surely spending millions of dollars on a modern public transportation system can be as well. Buses and trains are not just for the poor – they are not subsidies or social programs – they serve all of us. There are thousands of white-collar executives, college students, factory workers and industry professionals who simply prefer public transportation. In America, we often say that the car is king, but that does not mean that public transit must play the pauper.

Business leaders support connecting Wisconsin’s two largest cities via high-speed rail.

We cannot afford to be afraid of connecting our citizens to opportunities. There is no reason that the varied economic fabric of Wisconsin should not be knit together. This project represents much more than connecting Milwaukee to Madison – and eventually to LaCrosse; it affords Wisconsin residents the opportunity to access a modern Midwest network of high-speed rail. Cities such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh will all likely be connected by this new system.

The real question is: Should such a network bypass Wisconsin businesses and residents? Our citizens deserve access to a 21st-Century transportation system just as much as their Midwestern neighbors.

Support for this project will show the nation and the world that Wisconsin truly is open for business, because an investment in high-speed rail is an investment in business. County Executive Walker was never afraid to take a principled stand. My hope is that Governor Walker will stand with business and support high-speed rail.

Willie Hines Jr. is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

“In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity,” said President John F. Kennedy in 1959. The foreclosure crisis that currently afflicts Milwaukee, as well as other cities throughout the nation, is no different. It presents us with an opportunity.

The City of Milwaukee currently controls several hundred real estate properties that are not on our tax roll. These homes are not owned by any bank. They are literally owned by the City of Milwaukee. Unlike a bank foreclosure, which results when an owner fails to pay a mortgage, these properties are typically vacant and city-owned because of the owner’s failure to pay property taxes.

At the same time, fewer than 20 single-family homes in the city have incurred raze orders and must be demolished, because of flooding unleashed by a merciless storm that ravaged communities all over Milwaukee County in late July. Many people suffered damages and lost household items, but none have experienced the same level of loss as those homeowners who now must helplessly stand by and watch as their lifelong investments are bulldozed to the ground.

So Milwaukee’s foreclosure crisis has birthed a surplus of city-owned single-family homes, and recent flooding has resulted in a severe need for housing. There is a supply and there is a demand. My job as a policy maker is to try to connect the two.

That is why I have drafted legislation, which will be introduced at the Common Council’s next regular meeting on Sept. 1, that would create a program allowing homeowners with flood-induced raze orders to purchase a comparable city-owned single-family foreclosed home for just one dollar.

The program will accomplish two goals. First, it will enable the city to keep homeowners in Milwaukee. Second, it will allow the city to remove several foreclosures from its balance sheet. When the city has to take a home, it is an extremely costly proposition for taxpayers. Grass must be cut, and snow must be shoveled. The building has to be maintained and boarded up by contractors. Communities suffer, because foreclosed home give rise to neighborhood instability. Blight and graffiti often increase. Our police and fire departments must be extra attentive to vacant buildings. No one lives in the home, so the city receives no tax revenue.

Multiply the problem by several hundred properties, and you can see why city-owned foreclosures are like a millstone around Milwaukee’s neck. (And yet, amazingly, we’re far better off than the vast majority of comparable cities around the nation.)

Unfortunately, there is no long line of potential homeowners waiting to purchase city-owned houses. Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Investment Development Corp (NIDC) has leveraged federal foreclosure funding, including grant money, to target community-based groups and residents willing to fix up houses, but we are still not attracting enough potential homeowners.

On a recent trip down to Chicago, I sat down with Mayor Richard Daley for a lengthy conversation about urban policy. We both agreed that a strong city must be able to cultivate an environment that retains committed citizens, attracts new families and draws long-term homeowners. Improving educational options, increasing access to jobs, upgrading public spaces and lowering property taxes are all key components to creating such an environment, but simply creating incentives to spur homeownership is also a large piece of the puzzle.

Which brings us back to the July 22 storm that severely damaged several homes, rendering them uninhabitable. The City of Milwaukee needs homeowners to purchase, restore and maintain foreclosed houses. The total number of individuals who lost their homes to flooding is fewer than 20. It just makes sense to connect those who lost their homes with the opportunity to purchase a city-owned home for little or no money. Who else is more motivated to own and maintain in Milwaukee than one of our own who has already done so for years?

This is not an entitlement program. The City of Milwaukee has long had success in attracting commercial development by offering city-owned empty lots and other properties for one dollar. This new residential strategy would similarly reduce municipal expenses, decrease the tax burden for other residents, expand the tax base for the city by increasing home ownership, and add revenue for essential city services.

There is no way to turn back the clock on the foreclosure crisis. However, we can take advantage of the opportunity that the foreclosure crisis avails. Several Milwaukee homeowners are crying out for help. We cannot afford to stand by and do business as usual. Cities must be innovative, creative and willing to come up with new solutions that address today’s circumstances.

More information on existing housing programs is available at www.milwaukeehousinghelp.org.

Alderman Willie Hines Jr. is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

Two years ago, when New Berlin was in desperate need of non-contaminated drinking water, Mayor Jack Chiovatero wasted no time in reaching out to the City of Milwaukee to establish a regional partnership.

He exhibited considerable energy and earnestness as he attempted to secure the best deal possible for his constituents. It is thanks to his efforts that current and future generations of New Berliners can rest easy knowing that they will be able to access Lake Michigan water for years to come.

I happen to be one of the few aldermen who voted against that water contract, because I thought Milwaukee could have gotten a better deal - perhaps one similar to Cleveland’s Lake Erie regional partnership with its suburban communities.

Nevertheless, I came away from the process with great respect for the way “Mayor Jack” fought on behalf of New Berlin, relentlessly advocating for its future prosperity.

Part of our agreement for water required that New Berlin take a hard look at housing demographics and public transportation alternatives. As I have said on more than one occasion, any deal for Lake Michigan water is about more than mere H2O; it’s about commercial, residential and industrial growth for an area that could not grow absent water.

As that growth occurs, either better transportation connections are necessary to bring employees into the region or suitable residential options must be created to house them. Significant population growth requires one or the other - upgraded transit or more diverse housing.

Mayor Chiovatero and others had attempted to blend an element of “workforce” housing into the overall plan for New Berlin’s City Center. Those efforts should be commended. Rather than opening the floodgates for poor people to take over his city, I believe that the mayor was attempting to put New Berlin in the best position to prosper. Workers are simply part of the equation for any expanding municipality.

After reading and hearing various perspectives from all over the region regarding New Berlin’s affordable housing controversy, I am compelled to lend my voice to the discussion. As someone who grew up in public housing as a child and now spends a good deal of time analyzing prospective projects as an adult, I know a thing or two about the subject.

First, affordable housing is not code for slum, ghetto or crime. As chairman of the Housing Authority for the City of Milwaukee, I have read study after study on the relationship between crime and housing. Crime does not increase when affordable housing units are constructed. To the contrary, high-quality, affordable housing actually helps to lower crime in most cases. There is no reason to think that this type of housing would attract criminal activity in New Berlin.

Second, the strong subtext for those who harbor such assumptions is that low-income individuals and families are more inclined to commit crimes than to succeed in life. This is simply not the case. From Andrew Jackson to Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama, the redemptive rags-to-riches story is not just for U.S. presidents - it is our national narrative. It is absolutely possible for people to move from affordable housing to middle-class housing to wealthy neighborhoods. In fact, it is commonplace in our country.

Third, and perhaps most important, the proposed housing component for City Center would target individuals and families with an income of $35,000 per year, which cannot truly be categorized as low-income or poor. True, people who make $35,000 per year are probably poorer than other residents in New Berlin, but college graduates, white-collar professionals, teachers and other strong contributors to society fall within that salary range. To say that this project will be a magnet for poor people is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

To those New Berliners with anxiety about property assessments decreasing or criminal activity rising, I encourage you to maintain high standards for your neighborhoods and for your city. But I would also ask that you be open to making space for “non-wealthy” citizens who want to positively contribute to New Berlin’s social fabric and local economy. Just because a person happens to have a little less money, doesn’t mean that person is morally bankrupt.

Alderman Willie Hines Jr. is president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

It was my sincere privilege to testify before the Senate Education Committee in Milwaukee Tuesday. As the state legislature examines this vitally important issue of how to address challenges within the Milwaukee Public Schools system, I hope that representatives will err on the side of more reform, rather than less.

All of us know that the situation is severe at MPS. There are managerial, administrative, financial and – not least of all – academic failures with which we must contend. But Senate Bill 405, sponsored by Sen. Lena Taylor and supported by a wide range of leaders in the State Assembly, offers real reform and real hope for improvement.

We must not let this opportunity pass us by. We must act now and we must put MPS issues right at the top of our local government structure, under the authority of Milwaukee’s highest office.

Only the mayor of Milwaukee can leverage the resources that are necessary to transform MPS. It is the one position that can harness the powers of the entire city to demand and oversee substantial improvement. The current system is bogged down in bureaucracy and unable to respond to the many challenges our children face. Mayoral governance can pave the way for true accountability and substantial improvement.

I expect the Wisconsin State Legislature to meet this challenge – to demonstrate leadership, even in the midst of mixed messages from various factions – and to serve our citizens with a meaningful, robust bill that will translate into new opportunities for MPS students, families, teachers and administrators, as well as the broader community. The future of our city and state depend on it.

Alderman Willie Hines Jr. is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

There will be many more opportunities for testimony and debate on the issue of whether Milwaukee should sell Lake Michigan water to Waukesha. But this week's action by the Public Works Committee set the stage for those discussions. The committee voted to approve a letter from the City of Milwaukee to Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson, detailing Milwaukee’s expectations for any potential sale of water, regardless of whatever action the Council of Great Lakes Governors might take.

The file that Alderman Robert Bauman and I sponsored, which included the letter, merely lays out some of the ground rules for how the City of Milwaukee plans to evaluate any future sale of water – not just to Waukesha, but to any other adjacent community that expresses interest. As Milwaukee’s neighbors demonstrate their desire to become more populated and more urbanized, an abundant supply of high-quality fresh water is the means to that end.

When we talk about selling water, we are talking about more than a mere monetary transaction for H2O. Population growth, business growth, job migration, evolving transportation needs, transforming infrastructure and overall economic expansion all come into play. If realized, these changes to Waukesha would not only have a significant impact on its own citizens, but also on Milwaukee’s citizens.

Based on my own private meetings with Mayor Nelson, I expect him to work hard for a truly regional agreement between Waukesha and Milwaukee. He has expressed his desire to craft a contract that can be a model for future agreements throughout the Great Lakes region. In order to do that, Mayor Nelson will have to garner support from his own constituents and help them realize that a strong Milwaukee is a vital component to a strong Waukesha. Likewise, if an agreement is ever to become a reality, it will be our job to ensure that it is in the best interest of Milwaukee – and the best interest of the region.

As this process continues, the Common Council will need to see evidence that Waukesha wants to be a true regional partner with Milwaukee. It is my hope that a proposal is put forth that respects our legislation and the intrinsic worth of our respective communities.

Alderman Willie Hines Jr. is the president of the MIlwaukee Common Council.

I recently introduced legislation that would direct the City of Milwaukee Intergovernmental Relations Department (IRD) to "seek introduction and passage of state legislation amending provisions relating to selection of School Board members in a first class city school system." In terms of population, Milwaukee is the only city that can be legally defined as a city of the first class in the state of Wisconsin.

For years, I have invested much of my own time to improving Milwaukee Public Schools at the grassroots level - not only as an elected official, but also as parent of two MPS students, as an alumnus, and as a member of the advisory board for one MPS institution.

For the 12 years that I have represented neighborhoods in the central city as an alderman, including the four years that I have been Common Council president, I have been asked by countless constituents: "What can be done to improve MPS?" These residents are not talking about fixing the school-funding flaw at the state level. They are not talking about negotiating a different benefit package for our teachers. They are talking about their children. For years, they have been pleading with the City of Milwaukee to take an active role in transforming MPS into a school system that all of us can be proud of - they are saying that the City of Milwaukee should not just sit on the sidelines. We can bring our considerable resources to bear. We can be part of the solution.

I believe that the future of any major metropolitan area is intrinsically and inextricably linked to its educational system. By and large, people leave cities for one of three reasons: high taxes, rampant crime or failing schools.

Right now, the City of Milwaukee can take steps to keep our portion of the tax burden down, which we have done. (We have kept our own tax increases lower than the rate of inflation, cut city jobs to make operations more lean, and introduced more manageable fees that have eliminated costly street assessments.) Additionally, Comptroller Walter Morics and Finance Chair Michael Murphy have earned the City of Milwaukee one of the highest bond ratings in the nation, meaning that their financial restraint enables us to borrow money at a lower rate than other municipalities in the United States. In terms of crime, we have hired a police chief who is getting results in reducing homicides and violent crime at a significant rate. The Common Council has audited MPD in order to uncover everything from overtime abuses to IT deficiencies, and Chief Edward Flynn has responded to those findings with verifiable improvements.

But we have absolutely no say in the quality of education for which our constituents are paying double-digit tax increases. This cannot continue. If we want to have a world-class city, then the City of Milwaukee must have some "skin in the game."

The specifics of my legislation - currently it is "title only" - will depend upon the results of the McKinsey study initiated by Governor Jim Doyle and Mayor Tom Barrett, which will provide much-needed insight into MPS finances. The Public Policy Forum's analysis of MPS governance options, recently released, clearly demonstrates that a change in school governance is not a silver bullet. Any change in the governance structure must be rooted in the realities we face, including MPS's financial track record, the existence of choice schools, and the degree to which our own mayor can forge community partnerships and show the political will to push for positive change. And success will mean improving bottom-up conditions in parental involvement, as well as top-down initiatives that deal with governance.

I continue to believe that character education and life skills curricula must be part of any discussion to address deficiencies within MPS. No matter who is running the store, we have to have the right tools in stock for our students, and character education should be a cornerstone of efforts to transform MPS.

In terms of fiscal responsibility, the results of the McKinsey study will go a long way for me in determining what role the City of Milwaukee can and should play in aiding MPS. But make no mistake about it - we should play a role in ensuring that MPS is as efficient and effective as possible.

To be clear, I am not advocating for a takeover of MPS. I still believe that this school system can be a consistent producer of intelligent, productive and valuable citizens for generations to come. If the political will to carry out a change in governance does not exist, then other options must be carefully considered.

My intent is to hold off any talk of an MPS takeover for as long as possible, and I plan to do so by working to bring estranged members of the community back into the fold, to help MPS be a truly renowned school district. There is no reason that MPS cannot be the kind of school district that our teachers, administrators, board members and - most of all - students deserve. The City of Milwaukee must step into the fray and demonstrate a willingness to fight for its own future.

Alderman Willie Hines is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

On Friday, members of the Milwaukee Common Council discussed a number of major fee increases proposed by Mayor Tom Barrett.

A new solid-waste fee increase appears to be the most costly - up $47 for the owner of a single-family home. This fee increase was held (placed on file), a new snow-and-ice fee failed and other fees that were less costly passed the Common Council.

It is my belief that too much of the conversation around these new fees has been inside City Hall. The proposed fee increase for solid waste, especially, has been promoted and established by government insiders. We have heard from our mayor and our budget director about how tough these financial times are for the City of Milwaukee.

But, by nature of the job, aldermen are much closer to residents - we know that our residents face a financial crunch that is just as severe, and they deserve to have a greater voice in this process.

At the end of the day, the money that we are using for these proposed increases belongs to residents. We must be responsible and judicious when debating significant increases.

I believe that aldermen need to hear from residents before potentially raising the solid-waste fee. We need to give them the opportunity to express their concerns. They should have a much greater say, especially when it comes to which services they want to keep and which they can do without.

At Friday's meeting, I respectfully urged my colleagues to engage their constituents specifically on the mayor’s solid-waste fee increase. I realize that they hear from their residents on a regular basis, on a variety of issues, but it is my hope that the Common Council would make a concerted effort to reach out on this particular fee increase.

For this reason, I voted with the majority of my fellow aldermen to place the solid-waste fee on file until we can hear from residents. I will be meeting in the coming days with Common Council members from the north side and the south side in an attempt to organize two large-scale opportunities for city residents to share their thoughts on this and other fee increases put forth by the mayor.

Alderman Willie Hines is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

Last week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett signed an agreement to sell Lake Michigan water to New Berlin. This binding contract will undoubtedly benefit the citizens of New Berlin, but little value was gained for the residents of Milwaukee.

When it comes to our most precious natural and economic resource, we owe it to Milwaukee taxpayers to negotiate an arrangement that serves the interests of all parties involved.

What is water worth? Specifically, what is Lake Michigan worth to Milwaukee and its suburban counterparts? That is the critical question that must be addressed before another agreement is made.

Selling water to New Berlin - or any other suburb that is attempting to establish itself and gain population - is an action central to how southeastern Wisconsin is developed. Lake Michigan water is more than sinks and swimming pools; it is subdivisions, shopping malls and industrial parks. When fresh water is pumped to an undeveloped area, businesses begin to boom. These new businesses and developments do not occur in a vacuum - they take away resources from Milwaukee.

We can no longer afford to ignore this reality. We cannot merely pretend to know the economic impact and value of Lake Michigan water. Some have touted the fact that New Berlin will pay a $1.5 million surcharge for its 20-year contract with Milwaukee. That money, however, will serve as a one-time budget patch for this year only; for the remaining 19 years, Milwaukee will essentially give away its most powerful economic leveraging tool without any benefit to our taxpayers.

Other municipalities throughout the Midwest, like Cleveland, have secured much better deals for their residents when selling water to suburban neighbors. Cleveland secured a $200,000-per-year, 20-year contract for its taxpayers - about $3 million more than Milwaukee will earn in its 20-year deal with New Berlin.

The field of water resource economics is robust and mature in other parts of the United States. In the Southwestern and the Southern states especially, fresh water is so scarce that local and state governments have dedicated millions of dollars to the academic study of its sale - and the economic impact that those sales mean for development.

In Milwaukee, however, we've managed to largely avoid investing in this research, because we are in the fortunate position of bordering one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world.

I am not against selling Lake Michigan water. In fact, my position has always been that New Berlin is in a good position to purchase water from Milwaukee, considering that it is a "straddling community" (as designated by the Great Lakes Compact) and that we already sell water to the eastern part of New Berlin.

But these considerations do not outweigh Milwaukee's own requirements for water sales. According to a resolution adopted by the Common Council and signed by the Mayor, New Berlin was required to submit a housing study and a transportation study in order to be considered as a candidate for Lake Michigan water. These studies were never attempted, much less submitted.

Just as it is important for New Berlin to have clean, Milwaukee-treated water, it is important to accurately assess the economic ramifications of regional water sales. We cannot have the attitude of New Berlin's own state representatives, when they brazenly proclaimed, "Milwaukee will survive," in regard to our state-shared revenue cuts. If our western neighbors need water, they have to be willing to compensate Milwaukee appropriately.

Fortunately, the Common Council has taken action to set aside funds for a thorough analysis of Lake Michigan's worth. We will finally be able to quantify its value for residents in Milwaukee and throughout the region. This new data will allow City of Milwaukee policymakers to make informed decisions.
When our suburban counterparts exhibit a true appreciation for the region's most important economic and natural resource, they demonstrate a true commitment to regionalism.

Alderman Willie Hines is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

Yesterday, Alderman Bob Donovan sent out an inflammatory, inaccurate and divisive statement, accusing African-American elected officials of being apathetic - even silent - on the issue of crime in our neighborhoods.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I cannot begin to fathom why Alderman Donovan would take the time to write a blatant fabrication that does nothing to advance our collective crime-fighting agenda.

Unfortunately, any strategic initiatives mentioned in his statement related to the Neighborhood Safety Initiative have now been overshadowed by the alderman's attempt to discredit the voices and votes of his African-American colleagues.

The three African-American aldermen whom I have the privilege of currently working alongside on the Common Council - Ashanti Hamilton, Joe Davis and Willie Wade - are each leaders in their own right. Our record reflects a steadfast commitment to fighting crime at every turn.

All of us, regardless of skin color or ethnicity, are personally invested in our communities, and all of us take the recent increase in criminal activity seriously.

Furthermore, all of us have consistently expressed our outrage about violent acts and homicides throughout the city and in our own districts.

We can only be successful in our fight against crime if we have a unified front: citizens, police and public servants. No one is above being criticized. We are all accountable for our actions. But divisive rhetoric only diverts us from our mission to make Milwaukee safe.

Alderman Willie Hines is president of the Milwaukee Common Council.