Over the past several years, County Executive Scott Walker and I have worked together on bringing more businesses into Milwaukee County, particularly in economic development areas such as the former Park East Freeway land, the Milwaukee County Research Park and cultivating small and disadvantaged firms.
In addition, the Finance & Audit Committee, as well as the entire Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, has worked with Walker to minimize tax increases. But on the issue of privatization,
Walker’s ideas make no sense. I disagree with his comments regarding privatization of county assets, including our airports, golf courses and parks.
No formal proposals for the privatization of General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA) have been presented to Milwaukee County. But beyond that, I question why we would privatize an entity that requires no property taxes for its operation and provides 240 family supporting jobs. Their salaries are fully covered by fees paid by airlines and passengers. We have always worked well with the airlines that serve the airport. In fact, GMIA was ranked the fourth-best airport in the United States by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, ranking No. 1 for ease of connections.
There are cases where outside vendors provide certain services the county needs. Like most airports, private vendors contract for parking and food/retail concessions at GMIA. We also use outside vendors at Lake Park Bistro and the Botanical Gardens.
Complete privatization, however, can become a costly burden for Milwaukee County. Consider the Milwaukee Public Museum. While the county owns the building and artifacts, a private firm operates the museum. Unfortunately, that arrangement has become a financial drain on Milwaukee County, costing taxpayers more than $3.5 million per year.
The county executive has also attempted to outsource operation of the Department on Aging’s Care Management Organization (CMO), which was running deficits. The county board, however, stepped in to prevent privatization, improve oversight of the program and generate enough funds to repay all of the approximately $12 million in deficits. Most likely, those funds would not have been repaid had the county outsourced it. I’m proud to report that the CMO has become a successful program in Milwaukee County.
Simply privatizing entire departments and/or major operations within the county is not the way to go, especially with assets that generate revenue. Privatizing GMIA would also have negative effects on the residents of Milwaukee County, particularly those who live near the airport. Under the current arrangement, residents living in those neighborhoods have direct representation on the County Board of Supervisors. They would likely not be afforded that level of accountability from a private firm running the airport.
The county executive mentioned the privatization of Chicago’s Skyway toll road and Midway Airport. In these cases, Chicago lost family supporting jobs, negatively impacting Chicago’s economy. Last year, the City of Chicago also raised property taxes by more than $83 million.
Here in Milwaukee County, mass transit can be improved by identifying a dedicated funding source that, unfortunately, has been blocked by the county executive. While he was stalling solid funding for our existing mass transit system, he went along with raising the car rental tax from $2 to $15 for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, a proposal that was stalled in the State Legislature.
At the county board, we’re trying to be good stewards of our tax dollars. I ask the county executive, what is your motive for your desire to get rid of county functions and assets that bring in revenue while keeping those that are a financial drain? Walker’s track record leads me to believe he plans to downsize and sell off pieces of Milwaukee County until it no longer exists.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Michael Mayo Sr. represents Milwaukee’s Seventh District.
