Milwaukee Biz Blog

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.