11
October
2006
October
2006
Sheriff Clarke Supports Tax Increase
This week, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke asked the County Board's Finance committee to restore the cuts to his departmental budget that County Executive Scott Walker presented to the board in his annual budget.
Clarke didn't stop there. He then asked for an inflationary increase.
Is this the same David Clarke who is against tax increases (which he is now for) and is a darling of the Republican party for running as a Democrat in a Democratic county?
Why yes. Yes it is. Will Walker still say nice things about Clarke at every opportunity? Stay tuned.
Jim McGuigan
Clarke Watch, Jim McGuigan
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I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually support a tax increase as well. As a Milwaukee County taxpayer, I have no problem paying a small amount more each year to see things run right. This includes the Shierff’s Office. The County Board and Scott Walker have slashed as far as they can. It’s time to fix things. If I have to pay a little more each year to ensure the Sheriff’s Office has appropriate staffing, then so be it. I’ll still blame that increase on Ament, since he and his buddies created the mess we’ll be paying for for years.
Now that David Clarke has streamlined his agency and made the people who work there actually WORK, the office can get by with fewer staff. They are at this point now. If the Board takes away any more, that’s too many. All the Sheriff asks for is to maintain his current levels of staffing.
David Clarke, unlike his predecessors, works within the budgetary guidelines given to him by the County Board. He’s stepping up now and saying “enough.” If it costs a little more to provide services to the people, then so be it. That’s the cost of inflation. Normal.
Not a problem for me.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Clarke obviously isn’t on the same page with the GOP in Wisconsin, but these are much needed funds. I wouldn’t blame ALL of it on Ament, but I think it is an intelligent move by Clarke to see the need to increase the taxes for the appropriate staffing/department.
Wrong again, Chris. The budgetary guidelines come from Department of Administration, not the board or it’s Finance Committee. Lev Baldwin, right or wrong, was more of a fighter for his budget. You should hear Ament’s aides curse under their breaths about Baldwin and sheriff’s overtime. There is nothing that the exec or the board can really do about the sheriff’s department, because the sheriff is a constitutional officer.
What has been happening these past four years is that CLarke and Walker have been holding hands under the table … so no conflict. As Jim notes, this is a sign that the lovefest is over — back now to the nonpartisan county we used to have.
Also, this comes on the heels of courts analysis that says Milwaukee County courts are so understaffed [bailiffs and sheriff's deputies] that courtrooms are now unsafe. Walker and Clarke are responsible for that.
And we’ll again say the words conservatives hate to hear: SKYROCKETING HEALTH CARE COSTS. That, and not Ament, drive the budget woes of just about every municipality or government taxing body (MPS, the county, etc.). It’s okay, though, we know how hard it is for Republicans to say the words “Health Care Reform.”
John-David,
I disagree that we\’re headed back to a non-partisan county. Clarke is careful not to criticize Walker despite Walker\’s budget which takes a lot of chances with safety in Clarke\’s department.
It\’s interesting that Clarke and company are still being given a free pass by the mainstream media. It\’s six years later and they\’ve done nothing to fix the problem — how long will they let them ride that pony?
The great irony here is that if Clarke really does need the extra manpower, the safety problem in the jail will be exacerbated and there will be a breakdown at some point.
BTW, the Department of Administration takes direct orders from the County Exec. He, and his policies, drive all they do.
And finally, here\’s an interesting tidbit. JS reporter Dave Umhoeffer who covers the county was in the room when Clarke asked for the changes but this morning we see no mention of Clarke\’s request. We\’re not laying all this on Umhoeffer because past reporters covering the board have written stories only to have them never see publication. If there is an issue of space, it would be nice to at least see an online column which addressed the issues appear. There\’s little cost in publishing online.
On the other hand, Umhoeffer has an interesting story in this mornings JS about the museum. I\’m sure took a fair amount of time out of his day. The question is, will we see the Clarke story tomorrow?
You worried about a non-article in the JS? Newsflash…the JS has a continually declining readership! I would be more worried about other media not there (i.e. TV/radio).
Bobot was seen last night at a Clarke event. I think he wanted a picture with the Sheriff.
Well it would make sense that Bobot was there since they are both democrats. The loser of the democratic primary should support/endorse his fellow democrat in the general eletion. It’s not a huge surprise Bill.
The daily is still about as direct media as you can get, and its aging readers vote. The thing JS lacks in these elections is repetition on anything that isn’t Green-Doyle. If Clarke and Walker are in conflict over this budget, it’s news. I’d like to see the story just to see whether or not Clarke can make a coherent budget argument. Walker’s never forced him to make one until now, so it’d be a first.
The daily is a direct media? By the time their writers write a story about something, it’s already old news and people have moved onto the next thing.
The next “daily” is really going to be internet-based information where something can happen and it can be up on a web site within a few minutes. TV has this ability too but with the fragmentation of the market, everything is diluted.