More than 650 people balanced the Milwaukee County budget and shared their priorities at ABetter414.com MILWAUKEE, Monday, Oct. 8, 2018 – Milwaukee County set a record for the number of submissions through its online tool that asked residents to show how they would balance the 2019 budget, County Executive Chris Abele announced today. The County received more … Continue reading Balancing Act: Milwaukee County Gets Record Number of Submissions Through Online Budget Tool
WHAT WE’RE 4-1-FOR
Color by numbers
[Originally posted on Medium] We’re introducing the recommended 2019 Milwaukee County budget today. I want to paint a picture for you about what this whole process is like, and the closest metaphor I’ve got is a color-by-numbers piece. The actual budget gets more complex than this, but I liked the cow. (Image found here.) Here’s why … Continue reading Color by numbers
A Tale of One Meeting
[Originally posted on Medium] The Parks, Energy and Environment Committee meeting that the County Board held on Friday was anything but boring — both for the fiscal geeks and the fans of Milwaukee County among us. I fall into both camps; I’m hoping you fall into at least one or the other. (And if you don’t, I’ll … Continue reading A Tale of One Meeting
A Quiet Crisis
[Originally posted on Medium] Until about two years ago, the phrases “opioid crisis” and “opioid epidemic” were barely a blip on the radar. Suddenly, a quiet crisis became loud, after a year when 116 people in our country died per day due to opioid-related overdoses and more than 42,000 families lost loved ones to opioid-related deaths. The U.S. … Continue reading A Quiet Crisis
Wonky-talk
[Originally posted on Medium] An interesting thing happened the other day, and by “interesting” I mean maybe only for policy wonks like me. Let me back up this discussion a sec. Anyone in leadership in Milwaukee County government right now has one major topic on their mind: the 2019 budget. Yeah, I know, I’m probably … Continue reading Wonky-talk
Two copper coins
“…but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44 Fighting homelessness in Milwaukee is a commitment I made in 2015, when the number of homeless people in our community had risen to more than 1,500. Along with our County Housing division, we announced a challenging, but attainable goal: ending chronic homelessness in Milwaukee County by 2018. It’s 2018, and we’ve almost met that goal. When we get there, it’ll be something that all of our community professionals and advocates can take pride in — because it’ll mean that we have enough resources and housing to serve our most difficult-to-reach homeless population. Every single person who engages in outreach and provides services to the homeless in Milwaukee County will be able to take a moment and celebrate the great work we’ve done together. But I want to be clear: Anyone who thinks that celebrating a goal achieved and a challenge met is the end of our fight is flat-out wrong.
