When developers, builders and land owners want to do business with the City of Milwaukee, they know who to call ... Department of City Development Commissioner Richard "Rocky" Marcoux.

That's how developments such as the Menomonee River Valley, the former Tower Automotive site and the Beerline get done.

When the same people want to do business with Milwaukee County, they call ...

"That's the problem. There's nobody in charge. There's no quarterback. When it comes to creating jobs, to getting things done, they don't do anything. They do absolutely nothing," said one frustrated local developer who asked not to be identified in this report.

"There is no leadership at the county. They don't do job creation. They don't do jobs. Nothing. It's frustrating. They just fight with each other," said another.

Increasingly, private sector developers are becoming frustrated with the lack of vision related the still-undeveloped county-owned land in the Park East corridor and the county's resistance to progress with the Gateway of Milwaukee's aerotropolis project.

At a time when job creation is critical to economic recovery, the county's economic development director's position has been vacant for nearly seven months.

Who's to blame for this lack of a go-to person at Milwaukee County? That depends upon whom you ask.

County Supervisor Johnny Thomas put the blame this week directly at Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's feet. Thomas Nardelli, Walker's chief of staff, says it is the county board's fault.

Today, I'm going to let both Thomas and Nardelli have their say, and you can decide for yourself.

Here's the text of the statement Thomas made about Walker:

"The single most important issue facing Milwaukee County is the creation, retention and protection of jobs. The reckless economic policies of the past have decimated our workforce, resulting in declining revenue and a population looking for leadership when it comes to jobs.

Unfortunately, Scott Walker's campaign rhetoric on jobs does not match his actions as Milwaukee County Executive.

"In the midst of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, County Executive Walker has let a key economic development position sit vacant for nearly seven months. The County Executive had abolished the position of Economic Development Director in the 2009 Budget, but the position was re-created in the 2010 Budget to coordinate the County's Economic Development activities. The County Board allocated full funding in the budget to fill this position, yet it continues to sit vacant.

"I am calling on the County Executive to fill this position with a qualified individual immediately. Historically, the County Executive has tapped campaign operatives, including Tim Russell and Bob Dennik, to fill the position. Both appointees ran the department into the ground, and the position was abolished.

"Milwaukee County needs leadership when it comes to jobs creation. Now, more than ever, with the economic challenges facing County residents, we need to do everything we can to spur additional economic development. The bottom line is that the Economic Development Director position should be filled right now.

"As I indicated in a letter to the County Executive earlier this month, I am willing to help get the ball rolling by identifying qualified candidates and presenting plans for action as Wisconsin and Milwaukee County work their way out of the recession."

Here is the text of a memo Nardelli wrote to Thomas in response:

"Your memo contains a number of issues, which don't deserve attention, given your interest appears to relate to the long vacant ED director position. Please also know that this information had previously been shared with the ECD Vice Chair in response to his call to my office.

"It was during the 2010 budget review that the Finance and Audit Committee, with your support, chose to eliminate the County Executive's proposal for a Business Development Department of four people. The lone position of an Economic Development Director was created instead, placing that position within the Department of Public Works.

"The budget amendment required that the chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee work with our office to develop a position description, so the new position could be advertised. After repeated attempts in November and December to arrange a meeting with the then chair of the ECD committee, I took it upon myself to create a draft position description on Jan. 14, 2010, for her consideration.

"The new description was again sent to the chair, but we received no response. At his request, I shared my draft position description with the vice chair, Supervisor Theo Lipscomb. He was good enough to give it his immediate attention and offered some very fine recommendations, most of which were included in the draft. I sent the new draft to the chairwoman, but again, received no response.

"On Feb. 24, 2010, I e-mailed the ECD chair again asking her to review and approve the draft position description, which she approved. A request was sent to Chairman Lee Holloway, asking that the position be changed to the unclassified service. A subsequent request was sent to the chairman asking that the position description be approved. It wasn't until your board meeting at the end of March that the necessary paperwork had been approved, allowing the position to be advertised.

"The position was advertised by the Department of Human Resources. In early May, a panel reviewed the applications that had been received. Qualified candidates were interviewed by phone, and five applicants were ultimately recommended for face-to-face interviews that were held in late May.

"We found only one very qualified candidate. A meeting was arranged and the County Executive offered him the position.

"The candidate asked for a second meeting with the County Executive on June 9, 2010. At that meeting, he advised us that he had decided to take a position with the County Clerk's office. It should be noted that the top of the pay scale the board approved was well below salaries being offered by Wauwatosa and Brookfield who were also looking for an ED director.

"In mid-June, the position was again advertised. The application process is now closed and arrangements are being made to conduct interviews. We appreciate your offer of assistance, but as you can see, we are doing all in our power to get this post filled as soon as possible given that most of the delays were not a result of any actions by this office."