Alderman suggest some interesting budget cuts

Milwaukee aldermen resorted to some intriguing attempts at snipping expenses from the city budget. Some of the more creative ideas were axing the city's official weather forecaster and cutting books from the library.

One day members of the Finance Committee wanted to raise parking rates from $1 to $1.50, which would bring in an extra $500,000 for the city and also wanted to increase parking tickets by 10%, but killed that idea the next day.

Ald. Joe Dudzik suggested that the city eliminate painting 11 miles of bike lanes on city streets, "given the low number of people using bicycle lanes."

That would have cut $46,000. The city has about 50 miles of bike lanes. That effort failed. So did Dudzik's move to eliminate the city's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, which would have cut $44,000.

As for the weather forecaster -- Murray and Trettel -- Dudzik called the $3,000 fee an "utter waste." He asserted Murray and Trettel was responsible for miscalculating a major snowstorm last year and caused the city to send out plows late.

"I can tell you what the weather is in La Crosse right now," Dudzik said, referring to the Internet.

"We waste $3,000 before lunch each day. I can't get that excited about it," quipped Ald. Bob Bauman.

Dudzik also took on a proposed elevator remodeling project for the Frank Zeidler Municipal Building that's slated to cost $1.22 million.

"I think at this point that's asking a bit much of our constituents," he said.

Citing dire predictions from the budget office that the city will have to have fewer workers to prevent major tax increases, Dudzik, with some wry humor, said the elevator's not needed since, "that building may be empty in a couple of years."

Budget office officials noted the elevator dates back to the building's opening in 1959 and will required replacement. It added that repair costs will rise 5% a year if the work is delayed.

Dudzik also proposed saving $121,167 by not repairing city tennis courts. "If it comes down to police or tennis courts I'm going with the guys that shoot straighter," he said.

But Ald. Bohl, who has earned a reputation for quirky cost-cutting proposals and fiscal grandstanding, offered a plan to cut library acquisitions in half in order to save $602,700. Aldermen on the committee danced around that touchy topic before voting it down, but Ald. Michael Murphy opined "I think he has a chance at getting this passed," when the budget goes to the full council.

Out of the mouths of babes: Sen. Barack Obama received 87% of the vote among Milwaukee Public Schools students taking part in a first-ever mock election. As of Nov. 1, 37,031 votes were cast. A few schools continued balloting earlier this week. Following Obama were: Sen. John McCain at 10%; Ralph Nader at 1%; the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney at 1%; the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin at .05% and Libertarian Bob Barr with .05%.

A Chilling Effect: A judge's attempt at determining whether a false ad can be run was thwarted by a higher court this week. Last week a Jackson County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Coalition for America's Families because the ad was false.

Now, if every time some candidate felt slighted by an ad went to a judge to have it removed from the airwaves, the court system would certainly be a lot more clogged than it is now.

Even though the Coalition is quite the conservative gathering, it still has a right to advertise and sling mud to its heart's content -- a point the state court of appeals made to the errant judge, especially when the judge issued the restraining order without the Coalition there to defend itself.

A rare occasion when a candidate was punished for an ad about his opponent occurred when Ed Garvey ran for U.S. Senate against Bob Kasten in 1986. Kasten's campaign ran a blatantly false ad accusing Garvey of stealing money from the NFL players' union pension fund. Kasten wouldn't take it off the air even after Garvey sued him for libel, a case that was settled in Garvey's favor -- after Garvey had lost the election.

Future Tense: Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines is stepping up with a visionary plan of his own for the future budgets of Milwaukee.

Hines has been a media low-key council president for his first four years, but was tagged by pundits last year as mayoral material. He didn't run, but perhaps is setting himself up for a run in four years.

Hines is certainly looking beyond this budget, given his recent budget statement.

"When it comes to our system for delivering services to Milwaukee residents, we have a Yellow Pages mindset in an age that demands 21st-century solutions," he said. "We are operating with an outdated paradigm, and our citizens are paying the price. ... Merely getting through next year is not a long-term strategy. "

Hines suggests that privatization of certain services should be put on the table, as well as some unique new business opportunities for the city.

"We are in need of a fresh perspective on how we bring revenue into the City of Milwaukee. Comptroller Wally Morics has put forth the intriguing idea of selling Water Works for the purpose of creating an endowment. This idea has merit, in my opinion," he said.

"Another possible solution is to create private entities (probably LLCs) in partnership with city departments that can generate added revenue -- a pseudo-privatization initiative -- rather than completely giving up municipal control. We could, for example, create a private LLC to work with the Sanitation Department. ... This entity would contract out garbage removal for special events or clients beyond Sanitation's current duties in serving citizens. It could compete in the private sector and provide another revenue stream to keep Milwaukee taxes in check. Likewise, other departments -- Forestry? Snow Removal? Neighborhood Services?"