NeitherMilwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who just announced he'll be a Democraticcandidate, nor Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, running for theRepublican nomination, were handed problem-free fiscal pictures going into thisbudget cycle. But how both men have handled their budgetsand the claimsthey're making about themare worlds apart.
First up,Barrett's. Months ago, Barrett prepared city employees and taxpayers by tellingthem this budget was grim, the most difficult one he'd ever had to puttogether. Not only was the citylike other units of government and privatebusinessesfacing a recession, increased demand for social services and highhealth care costs, but it also had to contend with a huge $49 million lump-sumpension contribution. Barrett proposed a 4.4% tax increase, along with feeincreases, furloughs and belt tightening across the board. In the end, theMilwaukee Common Council approved a 4.1% property tax increase.
Walker has blasted Barrett's tax increase, tauntinghim with the nickname “Tom the Taxer.”
“Me: no taxincrease & no furloughs 4 Sheriff's deputies,” Walker Tweeted on the messaging serviceTwitter.
But Walker's “no tax increase” exists solely in Walker's imagination.Yes, Walker hadproposed a 2010 budget that did not increase taxes over last year. But in theend, the County Boardapproved a budget that raises taxes 2.18%less than the city's tax increase,but certainly not Walker'scampaign spin.
That isn'tthe only difference between the two budgets.
Barrett andthe Common Council crafted a 2010 budget that honors labor agreementsnegotiated with employees unions that combines a promise of no layoffs with awage freeze and other concessions.
In contrast,the county budget is based on ignoring the binding labor agreements. In fact, Walker built his “no taxincrease” budget around wage and benefits concessions that are not included inexisting contracts with the county's labor unions. That would have saved thecounty $32 million. After scuttling a tentative agreement similar to the onethe city has honored with AFSCME and sustaining Walker vetoes of other unioncontracts, Milwaukee County supervisors came up with $17 million of wage andbenefits concessionsbut like Walker's, this package hasn't been approved bythe unions.
In the end,the final county budget contains $17 million in “phantom revenue” as PattyYunk, public policy director of AFSCME District Council 48 put it, from theimaginary labor concessions.
Yunk saidthe county is expected to present an offer by the end of the month. Until thecounty and its represented employees craft new agreements, the county has amultimillion-dollar hole in its budget.
“We're not so na%uFFFDve to not know that there aresome fiscal issues facing both the city and the county,” Yunk said. “Thedifference is that [in our] relationship with the city, they're honorable.”
