What Does Milwaukee County Expect From Its Hefty Annual Payment To SEWRPC?

In its 2007 annual budget, Milwaukee County transferred $845,525 to the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, making up 36% of SEWRPC's 2008 annual operating budget, records show.

Grants, contracts and other payments bring the 2008 SEWRPC budget to more than $7 million - - all from public entities.

SEWRPC is comprised of seven counties; Milwaukee County's payment is by far the largest among the seven.

As I've noted many times on this blog, and in op-eds, City of Milwaukee property taxpayers accounted for about 48% of that payment, or just over $400,000 - - and though it has no representation on the SEWRPC board of 21 commissioners, the City of Milwaukee residents' $400,000 payment exceeds the individual county payments from five of the other seven SEWRPC counties (only Waukesha County's is higher).

Each of the seven counties has three seats on the SEWRPC board.

What does Milwaukee County ask for in return for that annual payment on behalf of county taxpayers, among them city residents who make up about two-thirds of the county population?

If SEWRPC were an $845,000 consultant or vendor to the county, or a $400,000 consultant or vendor to the city, wouldn't there be basic contract performance to be documented, and delivered?

Wouldn't there be diversity and affirmative action standards to be met and detailed, and penalties, perhaps cancellation, if that performance were fumbled?

According to SEWRPC, there are no minorities or City of Milwaukee residents on SEWRPC's 11-member management team.

This is not a new situation surrounding these key SEWRPC staff positions.

It's time for Milwaukee County government, on behalf of the city and county taxpayers who are paying the biggest share of the freight out at SEWRPC, to begin to hold the agency more accountable for how it spends public dollars and whom it hires to manage them.