Milwaukee taxpayers are being asked to entrust a private corporation with a roughly $700 million contract to operate one of our region’s most essential public services. A decision of that magnitude demands more than assurances. It demands transparency, accountability and confidence that the contractor entrusted with public dollars will protect workers, residents and the public interest.
Based on the record before MMSD, Jacobs Solutions has not met that standard.
Serious questions remain about Jacobs’ relationship with Palantir Technologies, the data company whose technology has been used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Jacobs has reportedly pledged not to use Palantir in connection with the MMSD contract.
But before hundreds of millions of public dollars are committed, MMSD should require clear, enforceable answers about what technology will be used, how resident and operational data will be protected, what subcontractors will have access to that information, and whether those commitments will be incorporated into the contract itself.
Those aren’t partisan questions. They’re basic questions of public accountability.
The concerns don’t stop there.
Our review of Jacobs’ wastewater operations and maintenance proposal found lower compensation across multiple job classifications compared with what workers currently earn, with reductions reaching as much as 14 percent in some categories. MMSD should explain why taxpayers should accept a contract that could leave the people performing this essential work worse off.
Jacobs’ performance elsewhere also deserves scrutiny. Officials in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, have raised serious concerns about the company’s wastewater operations as that community has moved toward ending its relationship with Jacobs. Before Milwaukee enters a contract of this size and duration, MMSD has an obligation to examine that record carefully.
This is precisely why transparency and accountability matter when the government spends public money.
A $700 million contract isn’t merely a procurement decision. It is a decision about who gets entrusted with public resources, critical infrastructure, workers’ livelihoods and potentially sensitive information.
Milwaukee residents should not have to simply trust that those interests will be protected. They should be able to see the safeguards, evaluate the record and expect their public officials to demand answers before signing on the dotted line.
Based on the unresolved questions surrounding data practices, worker compensation and Jacobs’ performance record, MMSD should reject the Jacobs proposal.
Milwaukee taxpayers deserve a contractor that clears a high bar for transparency, accountability and responsible stewardship of public resources. On a contract this consequential, “trust us” isn’t good enough.
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Paid for by Nick Ramos, WI Democracy Campaign
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