The following is a guest column by a Milwaukee County Deputy Sheriff.

I’ve never been one to be very political. Opinionated yes, but I don’t attribute myself to either major party.

I’ve been a Milwaukee County employee for some time now and read about the first pension scandal and thought to myself ” jeez, that was nice, why can’t I get that?” But the fact is that most county employees do not qualify for the big back drop.

Around that same time I found out I missed the Rule of 75 by some time also, Boy, there’s a novel idea, when your length of time worked plus your age equals 75 you get to retire. I’d retire EARLY — earlier than most that is for sure. Again, I didn’t qualify for that benefit.

Now I read about buybacks!? What? How long does one have to work for the county to get a subscription to the “Counties Hidden Perks” newsletter? Although, yet again, I wouldn’t qualify for a Buy Back but I’D SURE LIKE TO KNOW WHICH FUTURE SCANDAL I DO QUALIFY FOR.

Oh, I understand the pension thing is going to cost a bundle and it’s going to be a thorn for a long time. There will be lawsuits and debate over how to correct the problem, one which the board SHOULD have known about and STOPPED. Emphasis on STOPPED!! But, in a politics as usual, the finger pointing and the blame game has already begun.

Tis a sad day in Milwaukee County government, makes me wonder if ANYONE cares about ethics?

###
Publishers Note: I don’t agree with several things in this post but respect the right of this deputy to say his piece. For starters, the rule of 75, now 85 as I understand it, allows employees to retire early if they meet the criteria AND they will receive reduced benefits unless the stay with the county for 40 years.

The flippant comment about “hidden perks” should be followed up by an expertise in additional areas. Clearly DeputyInsider is an expert in law enforcement but not personnel. In fact, County Government has many departments because it serves many needs. For any one person, elected or otherwise, to fully comprehend all areas would be impossible. The only person who would have access to all of the information he wants about any given part of County government is the County Executive and that would be Scott Walker.

It is also worth mentioning that deputies do not qualify to receive the backdrop because they shot down the original offer from the county because it wasn’t lucrative enough for their liking but neither they, nor the board, understood the ramifications of the plan when it was passed. Deputies can blame their former union President, Geoff Bilda, for killing their chance at that benefit. They ousted him in their next election.