To Scott Walker, Milwaukee County Executive:
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors was notified at the March meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee of a $3,082,775 budget deficit in community development programs.
The Economic and Community Development Division (ECD), under the leadership of Mr. Robert Dennik, is responsible for the administration and the coordination of these programs.
The failure to administer these programs correctly cannot be overlooked or passed on to other lower-level staff of the division. Previous deficits in this area were well-known by Mr. Dennik, and he had ample time to institute changes to ensure that the situation would not occur again. His failure in this area has great ramification, not only for the community development programs, but also the 2008 Milwaukee County budget.
Due to the extreme damage done to Milwaukee County on both a program and fiscal level, I am now asking that you relieve Mr. Dennik of all his duties as economic development director and appoint a new director as soon as possible; one who will restore the integrity of the division and have the capacity to administer these vital economic programs.
Failure to install new leadership in this extremely important division can only convey one message to the taxpaying public, namely that you and your administration are incapable of proper fiscal management of Milwaukee County’s limited resources.
Furthermore, if you fail to take these steps, it tells me that you have not made oversight and competence your first priority.
John Weishan Jr. is the Milwaukee County Supervisor for the 16th District. He can be reached at johnweish@milwcnty.com.
