Another Month Passes - - Nothing From The Feds About SEWRPC's Certification

Way back in October, officials from the Federal Highway Administration came to Milwaukee and held a court-reporter-equipped open meeting/hearing so that the public could tell the feds whether the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission should get another four-year permission slip to approve federal highway and transit spending in SEWRPC's seven-county region.

Federal officials have stopped answering email queries about why they haven't released the certification review, and findings about SEWRPC's activities, such as outreach, or an analysis of the public's input last Octoberm but what was supposed to be a short, few-months' process is now into month #9.

Could it be that they are trying to square SEWRPC's role and promises with two pending federal discrimination complaints about hiring, citizen committee composition and policy-making, and other dust-ups SEWRPC has had with its own Environmental Justice Task Force and, more recently, regional and statewide environmental groups?

Are they trying to figure out just why the Milwaukee Common Council approved a resolution asking for basic changes in SEWRPC's state-mandated composition.

Or why the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors asked the legislature in a separate resolution to subject SEWRPC to a performance audit, given SEWRPC's annual receipt of about 36% of its annual operating budget from Milwaukee county taxpayers to run what is basically a suburban agenda and planning operation?

I've asked more than once to see the draft report, but the feds and SEWRPC have said I have to wait for the final report to be released, and that I would be getting a copy.

Nothing in today's mail.

For some perspective, here's what the feds were saying about their delayed process - - in March.